CHAPTER VI. 

 SPIN.ACEOUS PLANTS. 



Leaf-beet, or Swiss Chard. New-Zealand Spinach. Spinach. Orach. 



LEAF-BEET, OR SWISS CHARD. 



Sicilian Beet. White Beet. Beta cicla. 



THE Leaf-beet is a native of the sea-coasts of Spain and 

 Portugal. It is a biennial plant, and is cultivated for 

 its leaves and leaf-stalks. The roots are much branched or 

 divided, hard, fibrous, and unfit for use. 



Propagation and Cultivation. It is propagated, like 

 other beets, from seeds sown annually, and will thrive in 

 any good garden soil. The sowing may be made at any 

 time in April or May, in drills eighteen inches apart, and 

 an inch and a half deep. When the plants are well up, thin 

 them to ten or twelve inches apart, and treat during the sea- 

 son as the common Red Beet, stirring the surface frequently, 

 and keeping clear of weeds. The excellence of this vege- 

 table consists in the succulent character of the stems and 

 nerves of the leaves ; and these properties are best acquired 

 in moist and warm seasons, or by copious watering in dry 

 weather. 



The seed, or fruit, has the appearance peculiar to the 

 family ; although those of the different varieties, like the 

 seeds of the Red Beet, vary somewhat in size, and shade of 

 color. 



An ounce of seed will sow a hundred feet of drill, or be 

 sufficient for a nursery-bed of fifty square feet. 



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