SP1NACEOVS VEGETALS. 



109 



gather every single pod as it is fit for use. A very coarse variety has 

 been lately introduced, which, however, is not to be commended. 



SPINACEOUS VEGETALS. 



Spinach (Spinacia oleraced] may be obtained nearly all the year, 

 except in the hot month of August and in the beginning of September. 

 There are two varieties ; the round-seeded and prickly-seeded. The 

 round-seeded (fig. 151) is sown between the rows of peas, and gives 

 produce till the heat of summer causes it to run to flower, when it is 

 pulled up and given to the animals. We sow our first crop in 

 February, and repeat the sowing every month till June. The prickly- 

 seeded is sown in the middle of August, and again in September, 

 and these plants stand the winter. 



F'iG. 151. - Spinach, \ diam. FIG. 152. New Zealand Spinach, \ diam. 



When common spinach cannot be procured, the New Zealand spinach 

 (Tetragonia expansa, fig. 152) comes to our aid. It is a plant which 

 was found by Captain Cook in the Pacific, and used by him to prevent 

 scurvy. We sow a few seeds in a pan in a hot-bed in April, and plant 

 out in May, when abundance of leaves are yielded in August and 

 September. It is not so much used as it ought to be. 



We have occasionally used in summer the Spinach Beet (fig. 153), 

 which yields plenty of leaves and affords a good spinach in August 

 and September. At the Trossachs Hotel, in Scotland, the gardener 

 informed me that the spinach beet was the first vegetal to sprout 

 in spring in that country, and, for that reason, he found it a valuable 

 addition to the garden produce. 



