SPINACH 



plant of great economic value, Beta vulgaris, the Garden Beet. 

 Native to the Mediterranean region and cultivated from Roman 

 times, this species has been developed along three lines — as a 

 root-vegetable, a leaf -vegetable, as well as a foliage plant. 



The root-vegetable varieties cultivated in our gardens consti- 

 tute our table Beets. Their color and form vary from dark blood- 

 red to pink and white and from turnip-shaped to long-tapering 

 forms. As a vegetable, the Garden Beet is boiled, pickled, used 

 as a salad, and the tops cooked for "greens" in the same way that 

 spinach is cooked. 



Mangel-wurzel is a coarse form used for cattle-feeding, having 

 large tops and often very large roots. The Sugar Beet is simply 

 a form of the common Beet in which the percentage of sugar has 

 been largely increased by cultivation and selection. 



The strain of Beta vulgaris which is grown as a leaf-vegetable is 

 generally known as Chard, or Swiss Chard. It has large tops, 

 broad leaf-blades, and succulent leaf -stems. 



The foliage varieties of Beets are grown for their ornamental 

 value, and are used for bedding and for borders where strong 

 and heavy effects are desired. The large leaves of the several 

 varieties are richly marked with different shades of red, orange, 

 white, and intermediate tints. 



SPINACH. SPINAGE 



Spinacia oleracea. 



Spinach, bearing a spine; referring to the projection on the fruit- 

 ing calyx of one species. 



The common potherb of the garden. Native to south-western Asia; 

 now widely cultivated. Annual. 



Leaves. — Radical, soft, fleshy, triangular, eaten for "greens." 

 Flower itew.— Branching, two to three feet high, bearing axillary 

 clusters of small flowers. Fruit an akene. 



The cultivated forms of Spinach have developed large, radical 

 leaves, and the shape of the leaf varies away from the tri- 



114 



