1152 



PB ACTIO AL GUIDE TO GABBEN PLANTS spinach 



of the first sowing, the seedHngs of which 

 ai'e sometimes killed off by frost, altliough 

 it is ill the case of the others. 



Where ground is scarce Beetroot may 

 be intercropped between rows of Lettuce 

 and Spinach, and even on young Aspara- 

 gus beds when the clumps are not too 

 thick. 



To check attacks of insects, slugs, 

 caterpillars &c., the drills should be well 

 dusted with lime and soot preparatory to 

 sowing the seed. 



Thinning out. — When the young 

 plants have made 3 or 4 leaves, they may 

 be thinned out to 6 or 9 inches apart in 

 the rows, leaving the strongest and 

 healthiest looking plants. Beetroot 

 should not be transplanted, as this injures 

 the main or tap root, and more or less 

 effectually spoils the shape and symmetry 

 of it afterwards. The same may be said 

 of Turnips, Carrots, and Parsnips, which 

 are always thinned out, but not trans- 

 planted, to avoid ' fangy ' or ' forked ' 

 roots. 



During the summer months the soil 

 between the plants should be stirred 

 occasionally with the hoe, to keep the 

 weeds down and also lessen evaporation. 



Storing the roots. — Although fairly 

 hardy. Beetroot is not improved by being 

 severely frosted. About the end of 

 October, therefore, the roots should be 

 carefully lifted with a fork. If the roots 

 are broken or injured in any way they 

 ' bleed ' or lose their coloured juice, and 

 are then useless for cooking. It is also 

 better not to cut the leaves off for the 

 same reason, until the roots are to be 

 cooked, although they may be twisted off 

 by the hand close to the crown. They 

 may be stored in a cool dry and airy 

 shed, packed in dry sand or soil. Or 

 they may be stored out of doors, being 

 arranged in layers between soil, and 

 covered with a little straw, litter, or 

 bracken to ward off heavy rains. The 

 main point in storing is to keep the roots 

 cool, but protected from frost, so that they 

 shall not heat and begin to grow in con- 

 sequence. 



Varieties. — There are many varieties 

 of Beetroot, and not all of them are con- 

 fined to the kitchen garden. A few forms 

 are useful for the decoration of the flower 

 garden, as may be seen by reference to 

 p. 766. The following are some of the 

 best and most useful cooking varieties : — 



Dell's Crimson; Frishy's Excelsior; 



Nutting's Selected Dwarf Bed ; Prag- 

 nell's Exhibition ; Covent Oarden Bed; 

 Egypticm Turnip-rooted ; Veitch's Blood 

 Bed; Cheltenham Qreen-leaf ; and Pine- 

 Apple Short-top. 



In the case of the Spinach Beet, the 

 leaf-stalks are served like Asparagus, and 

 the leaf-blades like Spmach. With the 

 Silver or Seakale Beet, the leaf-stalks 

 and midribs are cooked like Seakale. 



SPINACH (Spinaoia olekacea). — 

 The Spinach is a dicecious plant — that is, 

 the male and female flowers are borne on 

 different individuals — and belongs to the 

 same order (Chenopcjdiaceai, p. 765) as the 

 Beetroot. In a wild state the leaves are 

 more or less arrow-shaped and pointed, 

 but cultivation has made them broader 

 and rounder, and more fleshy in texture. 

 When cooked they are remarkable for 

 retaining the green colouring in great 

 intensity, although they lose a good 

 deal of their flavour. The words ' round ' 

 and ' prickly ' applied to Spinach in cata- 

 logues have reference not to the leaves, 

 as might be imagined, but to the seeds. 

 The latter, of course, are produced only 

 by the female or pistillate plants. Some 

 seeds are furnished with sharp prickles, 

 while others are round and free from 

 prickles. The Prickly-seeded varieties 

 are usually sown to produce crops in win- 

 ter and are very hardy ; while the Eomid- 

 seeded varieties are usually sown for 

 summer supplies. 



Cultivation dc, — Spinach flourishes 

 in any good garden soil which has been 

 well dug or trenched and manured some 

 time previous to solving the seed. Open 

 or partially shaded situations are equally 

 suitable in summer for Spinach. More 

 water, however, is required in open situa- 

 tions in hot weather to prevent the plants 

 ' bolting ' or running to seed prematurely. 



Summer Spinach. — To obtain a good 

 supply of fresh tender leaves during the 

 summer months, seeds of a round or 

 summer variety, such as the Flanders, 

 Victoria. Bound, or Monstrous Viroflay, 

 may be sown at intervals of 2 or at the 

 most 3 weeks from the middle of Febru- 

 ary onwards till the middle of July. It is 

 necessary to sow seeds at intervals as 

 recommended during the spring and 

 summer, as the plants are very much 

 inclined to run to seed durmg that period, 

 and this seeding robs the foKage of its 

 juiciness and tenderness, and also imparts 



