New Vegetables for 1 869. 3 5 ^ 



NEW VEGETABLES FOR 1869. — No. III. 



Bv Fearing Burr, Hingham, Mass. 



Lee''s Giant Orach, or Moicntain Spinach. — This variety of orach 

 evidently originated in England, although the seeds were obtained from 

 Prussian seedsmen. The plant is a strong grower, erect, much branched, 

 and, in good soil, attains a height of six feet and upwards. It strongly re- 

 sembles, and is closely allied to, some of the species oi Clienopodium^.ox 

 weeds commonly known as " goosefoot," and, when fully developed, really 

 presents the appearance of a gigantic specimen of some of these vegeta- 

 bles. The leaves, which are produced in great abundance, are somewhat 

 triangular, five or six inches long by nearly the same in breadth, whitish, 

 and powdered beneath, thick, tender, and fleshy. The flowers are numer- 

 ous, greenish, and unattractive. 



The plant is a hardy annuil of the easiest culture. The seeds should 

 be sown in April or May, in rows two feet apart ; and, as the plants require 

 much space, they should be thinned to nearly the same distances in the 

 rows. The leaves may be cut for use as soon as they attain a suitable 

 size : but the cutting should be moderate until the seedlings have become 

 well established ; after which, not only the leaves, but the young sprouts, 

 may be gathered freely. The yield is immense, and a few plants will sup- 

 ply the table of almost any family. 



Though highly relished by some persons, it is " spinach " scarcely more 

 than in name, as it is deficient in the delicate buttery quality for which 

 true spinach is so much esteemed. On the whole, it appears to belong to 

 that class of spinaceous plants which a cultivator has described as being 

 destitute of the " bland, buttery bitterness and appetite-p'/ovoking odor " of 

 genuine spinach, and which, on account of their wholesomeness and nega- 

 tive excellence as regards flavor, are admirably adapted to the service of 

 those unfortunate persons who have never been able to discover in real 

 spinach " the charm it has for that happier portion of mankind who can 

 conscientiously regard it as a luxury, and ask for more." 



Among the numerous kinds o£ orach we have tested, or that have come 

 under our observation, including the green, white, lurid, purple, yellow, 



