Spinach and Other "Greens"— By Barry Loring 



Long 

 Island 



THE BEST "POTHERBS" AND HOW TO GROW, COOK AND SERVE THEM— THE CABBAGE TRIBE AND HOW 

 TO TAME IT— HOW THE SAME HERB CAN BE MADE COARSE AND RANK OR TENDER AND DELICATE 



I REMEMBER the astonishment of one of 

 our city friends when I showed him some 

 spinach in our garden. "Why, I thought 

 any old leaves that you cook were called 

 spinach." 



"Indeed not," said I. "There is spinach 

 and spinach, and the very best I ever tasted 

 is called prickly." Both the prickly and 



352. Broccoli is a late, hardy cauliflower. Sown in 

 April it is ready to cut for October 



the New Zealand varieties grew in our 

 garden last summer. They differ widely, 

 and the latter is not a true spinach. There 

 are two seasons in which to gather this vege- 

 table — one is the early summer and the other 

 the early spring. For the early crop the seed 

 is sown as soon as possible in the spring and 

 fed well with nitrate. The New Zealand 

 spinach takes the place for summer use, and 

 a late crop of prickly (so called because of 

 its seed) is secured by sowing late in sum- 

 mer. Spinach is prepared for table by 

 thorough washing in cold water and packing 

 closely in a covered kettle, heating slowly 

 until the juices are started, then boiling hard 

 for an hour. A little sorrel cooked with it 

 is much liked by some people; it obviates 

 the necessity of adding vinegar at the table 

 and is a softer acid. 



For very early spring use the seed should 

 be sown in August or September. When 

 freezing weather comes it should be protected 

 with several inches of hay, and then the leaves 

 will surely start to work at the very earliest 

 sign of spring. 



If it happens that more important matters 

 prevent your making the fall sowing of 

 spinach seed, you may, if you have a partially 

 protected border, plant them in February. 



The New Zealand spinach was planted 

 -the same time as the prickly — April 25th — 

 after the seeds had been soaked over night 

 in warm water. The seedlings came up 

 fifteen days later, and the first crop was 

 gathered by thinning, June 21st. As the 

 prickly was gathered June 7th, this variety 

 made a very good companion crop to fill 

 in gaps. 



Photographs by H. B. Fullerton 



A distinct variety of beet leaves, eaten and 

 boiled as greens, is called Swiss chard, 

 though some people use the leaves of the red 

 table beet in the same way. Both are excel- 

 lent and popular in the country. The gen- 

 eral culture is just like that of beets. Sown 

 in drills the thinnings may be used as the sea- 

 son progresses — the whole plantlet is boiled. 

 Beet tops make an excellent substitute for 

 spinach at a time when the genuine article 

 is not to be depended upon. The Swiss chard 

 has a pale yellowish green leaf, which is 

 pulled off and successive crops become avail- 

 able. 



PLEBEIAN AND PATRICIAN CABBAGE 



The cabbage and its relations comprise 

 a remarkable group of every-day vegetables. 



Result of tying up cauliflower when wet. 

 starts and the head is ruined 



Rot 



In the supply of green vegetables for boiling, 

 one member or other of this great family is 

 always the mainstay at any season of the 

 year. 



The number of cabbages consumed in one 

 year by the population of a small corner of 

 our great country is appalling. A crate of 

 cabbage holds about seventy-five heads. 

 Thousands of tons are used up in and around 

 a great city like New York. And yet the 

 cabbage is not a popular garden vegetable. 

 People seldom give it room, presumably 

 because it can be bought for such a small 

 sum. But I shall never forget my surprise 

 when I tasted the first cabbage out of our 

 own garden, plucked and served at once. 

 It did not seem possible that there could 

 270 



be such a difference of flavor and crispness 

 between the home-grown and store-bought 

 heads. If you want very early cabbage 

 plant the seeds in the hotbed in February. If 

 you want early cabbage the seed may be 

 planted in a sheltered and well-prepared 

 seed bed in the garden at the end of March, 

 and the seedlings will be ready to set in the 

 garden in May. Late varieties should have 

 the seed planted about the middle of June. 

 These seedlings will be ready to go into their 

 allotted place in the garden in July, making 

 fine, large cabbages for November. If the 

 seed be sown out of doors the drills should 

 be made twelve inches apart. One foot of 

 drill will probably give you fifteen to twenty 

 seedlings. The late varieties are set out in 

 July, in places left vacant by the matured 

 crops of lettuce, radishes, early peas, etc. 



THE VARIETIES OF CABBAGE 



There are three distinct varieties — red, 

 smooth and wrinkled. The smooth are those 

 usually grown, being larger and heavier than 

 the wrinkled variety, although this last 

 (Savoy) is extremely delicate in flavor. They 

 are gross feeders, need plenty of manure, 

 and a little chicken-house refuse will suit 

 them. Transplant them on a cloudy day, 

 if possible, but if fortune does not favor 

 wait until toward evening, and shade the 

 plantlets the next day, without fail, after 

 which they will be pretty well able to take 

 care of themselves. 



Their enemies are cabbage-worm, loopers, 

 flea-beetle, black-rot and club-root. Arsenical 

 poison should be used for the first two. 

 Spray either with Bordeaux mixture and Paris 



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354. As soon as the flower forms draw the leave; 

 together and tie or fasten by a shewer. This Keeps 

 the head white, greatly improving the appearance 



