SPINACH 195 



a mixture of flowers of sulfur with the air-slaked 

 lime used for the entire garden. With intelligent 

 care in the soil and tillage and plenty of water, 

 despite the season the gardener may expect a crop 

 of spinach. 



Home-garden spinach is not much like market 

 spinach. Keep on stirring the surface and sup- 

 plying water, and let the plants grow as big as 

 they will, so long as the center shows no sign of 

 opening out for the stalk. They are ready for 

 greens as soon as they are the size of your hand. 

 Pull the biggest plants, along the rows, thus mak- 

 ing room for bigger growth. Pull them, root and 

 all, while crisp with early morning dew; shake 

 off the soil, discarding any injured or mined 

 leaves, and trim off the root ends. Then they are 

 ready for washing; and the best place, in fair 

 weather, for cleaning greens and all kinds of vege- 

 tables is at the sill -cock or by the well or the open 

 trough. Plunge them into fresh water until no 

 sign of grit is found at the bottom of the pan. 

 Do not allow them to wilt. Leave them down 

 cellar or in some other cool place until dinner 

 time. They are so succulent, they will need no 

 extra water in the pan when cooking. Merely 

 pack the big tender bunches of green into the 

 biggest pan, turning them as they wilt. These 

 thick tender leaves are so juicy that they shrink 

 amazingly when put into the pan; they are so 

 rich in spinach flavor that they may be served 



