SPINACH. Ill 



the surface soil twenty or thirty loads of manure per 

 acre. I would work it into the soil not more than four 

 inches deep; but recollect it must be worked in and com- 

 pletely broken up, and so mixed with the soil that you 

 would hardly know, except from the loose, mellow ap- 

 pearance of the land, that any manure had been applied. 



Many fail in their first efforts to grow spinach in the 

 autumn for use in spring. The reason is, they do not 

 take sufficient pains in preparing and mellowing the 

 land; they do not work in sufficient 

 manure; they do not sow early 

 enough; they do not sow seed 

 enough; or, if the weather is dry, 

 they do not roll the soil, or press 

 it down hard enough after the seed 

 is sown. In this section, just be- 

 fore winter sets in, it is generally desirable to scatter 

 a thin layer of straw or horse litter over the plants, 

 say three inches thick, as a protection. It is not always 

 necessary, but will do no harm, and in some seasons 

 may prevent loss. 



For summer use, spinach is sown in rows a foot apart, 

 early in the spring, and again every two weeks for a suc- 

 cession. In warm weather it soon runs up to seed, and 

 as we have, or may have, an abundance of other green 

 vegetables, it is not worth while to sow spinach largely 

 in the spring. Still, every garden should have a few 

 rows or a small bed of it. There are two varieties com- 

 monly cultivated, the Prickly-seeded or Winter, and the 

 Eound-seeded or Summer. One is just as good as the 

 other, either for spring or winter, and the Prickly or 

 Winter variety should be dropped. The Round or Sum- 

 mer will stand the winter just as well as the Prickly, and 

 some prefer it, thinking it is more easily sown with the 

 drill. If sown as thickly as it ought to be sown, a good 

 drill will sow either kind evenly and well. 



