HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



217 



SPH 



follows: in preparing the soil for seeds we get 

 it as fine and rich as possible, passing it through 

 a very fine sieve. This soil is placed in boxes 

 only two or three inches deep, and it is then 

 made perfectly level and as smooth as possible; 

 on tjis smooth surface of soil the seeds are 

 sown, and then pressed down into the soil with 

 a smooth board. The seed being thus sunk 

 just to the surface of the soil, we now sift dry 

 Sphagnum, that has been run through a mos- 

 quito net wire, over the seed, just thick enough 

 to well cover it. This Moss forms a light, 

 spongy covering, and affords just the best con- 

 dition needed for germination; and we have 

 found that any seeds having any vitality in them 

 are certain to germinate by this method. 



Sphserogyne. From sphaira, a globe, and gyne, 

 a female. Linn. Octandria-Monogynia. Nat. 6rd. 

 NdaxtomacecK. 



This genus is remarkable for the color of its 

 foliage. 8. latifolia has large, broad, and flat 

 leaves, deep green on top, the under side cinna- 

 mon brown, the leaves and stem being very 

 hairy. It makes a magnificent specimen plant. 

 A few other species are to be found in choice 

 collections of ornamental-leaved plants. They 

 are natives of tropical America. Propagated by 

 cuttings. Introduced in 1864. 



Sphenogyne. From sphen, a wedge, and gyne, a 

 female. Linn. Syngenesia-Frustranea. Nat. Ord. 

 Asteracecp,. 



A genus of hardy annuals and green-house 

 evergreen perennials, mostly natives of the Cape 

 of Good Hope. They have large, spreading, 

 rayed flower-heads, of an orange color barred 

 with black. They are rarely cultivated. 8. 

 speciosa is a showy annual, a native of South 

 America, and resembles the Anthemis. First 

 introduced in 1768. 



Spice Bush. See Lindera. 



Spiderwort. See Tradescanlia. 



Spigelia. Worm Grass. Named after Adrian 

 Spigdius, a botanist at Padua. Linn. Pentandria- 

 JUonogynia. Nat. Ord. Loganiacea*. 



An extensive genus of half-hardy annuals and 

 herbaceous perennials, some of which are or- 

 namental border plants. The Pink Root, Worm 

 Grass, or Indian Pink, is S. Ufarilandica, com- 

 mon in Pennsylvania and southward. It is well 

 known for its medicinal properties. 



Spikenard. See Aralia racemosa. 



Spinach. See Spinacia oleracea. 



Spinacia. From spina, a prickle; in allusion to 

 the prickly processes of the seeds. Linn. Dice- 

 cia-Peniandria. Nat. Ord. ChenopodiacecK. 



The common Spinach is a hardy annual, and 

 supposed to be a native of Western Asia, from 

 the fact that in the early works of the Arabian 

 physicians this plant is mentioned in connec- 

 tion with its medicinal properties, without the 

 slightest allusion to its uses as a vegetable. 

 Spain is supposed to have been the first Euro- 

 pean country into which it was introduced; for 

 many of the old botanists call it Olus Hispanicum, 

 and some of the old writers call it Hispanach, or 

 Spanish plant. Beckmann, who wrote about 1790, 

 says the first notice of its being used as a vege- 

 table was in 1351, in a list of the different vege- 

 tables consumed on fast days by the monks. 

 Turner, who wrote in England in 1538, men- 

 tions its being in common cultivation, and pre- 

 pared for the table in precisely the same man- 

 ner as it is at present. Spinach is an annual 

 plant, having large and succulent leaves; the 

 flower-stems rise to the height of two or three 



SPI 



feet. The male and female flowers grow on 

 different plants, the female yielding the seed. 

 The former are produced in long, terminal 

 spikes, and the latter in close clusters at the 

 joints of the stem or axils of the leaves or 

 branches. 8. oleracea is the only known spe- 

 cies, and from this the several garden varieties 

 have been obtained. The smooth Round Leaf 

 is the variety mostly grown for market; the 

 Prickly Leaved is more hardy, and is, there- 

 fore, the kind which used to be sown in the fall 

 for a first early spring crop, until the variety 

 known as the Savoy Spinach was introduced in 

 1875. This has a crumpled leaf resembling Savoy 

 Cabbage, and is now extensively cultivated, par- 

 ticularly as a fall or winter sort, as it has proved 

 hardier than any of the others, and produces a 

 greater weight of crop. It has the fault, how- 

 ever, of running up sooner to seed than the 

 Round Leaved, and, for that reason, is not so 

 good to sow in spring. Spinach in the latitude 

 of New York should be sown from the 5th to 

 the 15th of September, in rows twelve to fifteen 

 inches apart. It is important with this, as with 

 most other seeds, to firm the soil by treading 

 on the rows with the feet, or using a heavy 

 roller after sowing, as otherwise, if the weather 

 is dry, the seed may be shriveled so that it will 

 not germinate if loosely covered. In all sections 

 of the country where the thermometer falls be- 

 low zero, and where there is not a certainty of 

 snow for a covering, the Spinach should be cov- 

 ered up on the approach of severe weather 

 (which is usually about the middle of Decem- 

 ber) with hay, straw, or leaves, to the depth of 

 two or three inches, which covering should be 

 allowed to remain until the Spinach begins to 

 show green through it in the spring. The 

 Viroflay and the Thick Leaved Spinach are 

 promising new kinds of French origin. 

 Spindle Tree. See Euonymus. 

 Spiraea. From speirao, to become spiral; in al- 

 lusion to the flexile branches being suitable for 

 twisting into garlands. Linn. Icosandria-Dipen- 

 tagynia. Nat. Ord. ftosacece. 



An extensive genus of hardy herbaceous 

 plants and deciduous shrubs. Of the former, S. 

 lobala, Queen of the Meadows, is one of our best 

 hardy plants, and the most stately of all the 

 herbaceous Spiraeas. (Dr. Gray gives the com- 

 mon name as Queen of the Prairies; but we are in- 

 clined to think this a misprint. ) It is common in 

 meadows in Pennsylvania, and south and west- 

 ward. The flowers are very handsome, of a deep 

 peach-color, produced in clustered panicles on 

 long, naked peduncles. It is greatly improved 

 by garden cultivation. There are many who 

 think it finer than S. palmata, a species from 

 Japan, and not so recent as some think it. 8. 

 ulmaria, flowers white, is the Meadow Sweet. It 

 is a native of Britain. 8. JUipendida, also white, 

 and a native of Britain, is known as Drop Wort. 

 Many of the shrubby species, with white and 

 pink flowers, make beautiful clumps for the 

 lawn and shrubbery, as they grow without diffi- 

 culty, and continue a long time in bloom. Some 

 of the best species are indigenous to the Mid- 

 dle States. Several choice species have been in- 

 troduced from Japan, among which may be 

 mentioned S. Reevesiana, S. prunifolia, S. Doug- 

 lasii, S. Thunbei-gii, 8. callosa, etc. 8. Japonica, 

 sometimes called AstUbe and Holeia Japonica, and 

 Aslilbe barbata, though best known here as Spiraea 

 Japonica, is the most useful of the genus. It 

 belongs to the herbaceous division, forms a most 



