130 Home Vegetable Gardening 



It is grown from either seed or pieces of the root, 

 the former method, being probably the more satis- 

 factory. Sow in April, in drills fourteen inches 

 apart, thinning to five or six. Transplant in the fol- 

 lowing spring as described for rhubarb — but setting 

 three feet apart each way. In the fall, after the 

 leaves have fallen — and every succeeding fall — cover 

 each crown with a shovelful of clean sand and 

 then about eighteen inches of earth, dug out from 

 between the rows. This is to blanch the spring 

 growth. After cutting, shovel off the earth and sand 

 and enrich with manure for the following season's 

 growth. 



Spinach: — For the first spring crop of this good 

 and wholesome vegetable, the seed is sown in Sep- 

 tember, and carried over with a protection of hay 

 or other rough litter. Crops for summer and fall 

 are sown in sucessive plantings from April on. Long- 

 standing being the best sort to sow after about May 

 15th. Seed of the New Zealand spinach should be 

 soaked several hours in hot water, before being 

 planted. 



For the home garden, I believe that the Swiss 

 chard beet is destined to be more popular, as it 

 becomes known, than any of the spinaches. It is 

 sown in successive plantings from April on, but 

 will yield leaves all season long ; they are cut close 

 to the soil, and in an almost incredibly short time 



