306 GARDENING FOR THE SOUTH. 



crops. At the end of the winter, the soil between the 

 rows of the winter standing crop should be gently stirred, 

 to assist their production in early spring. For summer 

 spinach and all other plants cultivated for their leaves, the 

 soil cannot be too rich. 



For Seed. Some of the latest plants of the standing 

 crop should be allowed to run up to seed ; let these plants 

 be eight or ten inches apart. Spinach is dioecious, and the 

 male plants may be removed when the seed begins to 

 form. When ripe, pull the plants, dry thoroughly on a 

 cloth, and beat out and store the seed in paper bags. 

 Spinach seed will keep three years. 



Use. Spinach and German Greens are the best plants 

 to raise for a supply of early spring greens. Spinach 

 eaten freely is laxative and cooling ; it is not very nutri- 

 tive, but very wholesome. It is so innocent that it is per- 

 mitted to be eaten in diseases where most vegetables are 

 proscribed. The leaves are very tender and succulent, 

 and of a most beautiful green when boiled. The juice is 

 often used for coloring various culinary preparations. 



SPINACH, NEW ZEALAND. (Tetragonia expansa.) 



An annual plant brought by Sir Joseph Banks from 

 New Zealand, in 1772, with thick, succulent, pale green, 

 procumbent, deltoid leaves, and with small, green, incon- 

 spicuous flowers. It grows four or five feet high, and is 

 of the same natural family as the ice plant. 



Culture. New Zealand Spinach may be sown early in 

 April. The best soil is loam, deeply dug, and enriched by 

 a liberal supply of manure. Make the drills three feet 

 apart, and scatter the seed about six inches apart in the 



