SPI 



SPI 



" Tho soil requires to be rich to pro- 

 duce large, line leaves, tliougli spin- 

 ach will grow even in the jjoorest 

 soil, if well manured. 'J"he time of 

 sowing for a winter crop, to come in 

 from March till May, is from the mid- 

 dle of August to the 8th of Septem- 

 ber ; but if frost occurs soon after the 

 latter sowing, it will seldom survive 

 the winter. For a summer crop, to 

 come in after the winter crop has run 

 to seed, the end of April is the prop- 

 er time ; though, if an August sowing 

 have been neglected, seed may be 

 sown in the end of February or even 

 in January. AMien sown in June and 

 July, it will run rapidly to seed. 



"The sorts are the prickly-seeded, 

 or, what is better, the Ilolland, for the 

 August sowing, and the round-leaved 

 for spring. 



" For a bed five feet wide and 

 twelve feet long, an ounce of seed 

 will be enough, or half an ounce for 

 the same space drilled. 



" Sow thinly broad-cast in a finely- 

 dug bed, or, rather, in very shallow 

 drills six or eight inches apart ; or, 

 as some prefer, double that distance, 

 with rows of radishes or lettuce be- 

 tween, treading it well before raking. 

 The earth over the seed should not 

 exceed the third of an inch, for if 

 much thicker, the seed will be lost. 



" Sparrows and other birds, if not 

 prevented, will endeavour to purloin 

 the whole sowing, as has frequently 

 occurred within our knowledge ; and 

 when the young plants come up, pi- 

 geons, if they get at them, will devour 

 the whole. Careful weeding and hoe- 

 ing up the earth, so as not to choke 

 the hearts of the plants, are indispen- 

 sable. Thinning also must be duly 

 attended to, and the plants should be 

 left three or four inches apart. If a 

 few plants of the winter or spring 

 crops are allowed to remain, they will 

 produce an abundance of seed, which 

 should be protected from birds. For 

 summer crops, it is a good plan to 

 sow the seed in drills, between the 

 rows of pease, as the latter will af- 

 ford it shelter and shade, and assist 

 much in preventing it from running 

 to seed ; besides which, the ground 

 744 



will thus be better and more profita- 

 bly occupied. 



"While hcct of the curled sort, and 

 several wild plants and weeds, such 

 as Good King Henry, goosefoot, or 

 mylcs, yield leaves little inferior to 

 spinach." 



SPINDLE. The axis of a wheel 

 or roller. 



SPINDLE-SHAPED, FUSI- 

 FORM. Roots are so called which 

 taper at both ends, as the radish. 



SPINDLE-TREE. Euonymus Eu- 

 ropcEus. A small tree or shrub, the 

 wood of which is extremely hard, and 

 used for spindles. It is improperly 

 called strawberry-tree by some nur- 

 sery men. 



SPINDLE WORM. The caterpil- 

 lar which destroys the young ear of 

 corn, Gortyna ZecE of Harris : they 

 make known their presence by leav- 

 ing a small hole on the shuck, and 

 should be destroyed when found, as 

 they hinder the formation of the ear. 

 See Corn, Diseases of. The moth is 

 thus described by Dr. Harris : 



"The fore wings are rust-red ; they 

 are mottled with gray, almost in 

 bands, uniting with the ordinary spots, 

 which are also gray and indistinct ; 

 there is an irregular tawny spot near 

 the tip, and on the veins there are a 

 few black dots. The hind wings are 

 yellowish-gray, with a central dusky 

 spot, behind which are two faint, 

 dusky bands. The head and thorax 

 are rust-red, with an elevated tawny 

 tuft on each. The abdomen is pale- 

 brown, with a row of tawny tufts on 

 the back. The wings expand nearly 

 one inch and a half." 



SPINE. The vertebrated column 

 of quadrupeds. It is composed of 

 forty or more pieces, or verlebra, ar- 

 ticulated by cartilage ; through these 

 runs the spinal marrow, or pith, 

 which sends off at every bone a pair 

 of spinal nerves, which distribute the 

 sensation of touch and the power of 

 movement to the skin and muscles, 

 over which they are distributed. 



SPINES. In botany, imperfect 

 branches. * 



SPIRACLES, The breathing open- 

 ings or pores of insects. 



