1860 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 



Southern Apple. See Apple, Botany of. 



Spinach or Spinage 



Bpinacia oleracea. 



A garden annual pot lierb of tlie goose- 

 foot family. The plant lias a hollow stem 

 about two feet high, with large, thick 

 deep-green leaves, somewhat triangular 

 in shape. It is probably of Persian origin, 

 having been introduced into Europe about 

 the middle of the 15th century. 



It should be grown on good ground, well 

 worked and manured, and for the summer 

 crops abundant water will be necessary. 

 The first sowing of winter spinach should 

 be made early in August and another 

 toward the end of the month, in some 

 sheltered but not shaded situation, in 

 rows 18 inches apart, the plants as they 

 advance being thinned and the ground 

 hoed. By the beginning of winter the 

 outer leaves will have become fit for use, 

 and if the weather is mild, successive 

 gatherings may be obtained up to the be- 

 ginning of May, provided the winters are 

 not too severe, or provided the plants are 

 covered with a coating of hay, straw or 

 leaves. 



Spring sowing for summer use may be 

 early, and between early peas, cabbages, 

 potatoes, or other slow-growing crops; or 

 there may be a succession of sowings dur- 

 ing the season, about two weeks apart. 

 They will be ready for table use about six 

 weeks from the time of planting. 



Spinach is very hardy, and not difficult 

 to cultivate, but reguires a very rich soil 

 to get the best results. 



Varieties 



There are several varieties, differing in 

 their qualities of hardiness, succulence 

 and times of maturity. Among the best 

 in common use in the United States are 

 the following: 



Long Standing.—An excellent variety 

 for spring and summer. 



Prickly, or Winter,— An excellent win- 

 ter variety. » 



Bloomsdald— Very hardy and of good 

 quality. 



Geanvuxe Lowther 



spijnach diseases 



Downy Mildew 



Peronospora effusa (Grev) Rabh. 



During moist weather this fungus de- 

 velops a destructive disease of spinach. 

 Pale or water-soaked spots appear, and 

 the leaves may be rapidly killed. 



SPIFACH PESTS 

 Spinach or Beet Leaf Maggot 



Pegomyla vidua Lint. 



A leaf miner, distributed from the At- 

 lantic to the Pacific, infesting beets and 

 spinach, and sometimes rendering the lat- 

 ter unfit for consumption. The eggs are 

 laid on the underside of the leaves and 

 as soon as they hatch the larvae enter the 

 leaf, feeding between the upper and lower 

 surfaces. When mature the maggot drops 

 to the soil to pupate and emerges as an 

 olive, ash-gray fly about a quarter of an 

 inch long. 



It infests the common pigweed, or 

 lamb's quarters, hence tbe most impor- 

 tant remedy is to destroy all weeds of 

 this variety on the premises, as well as 

 tops of infested beets and spinach. 



Twelve-Spotted Ctjcumber Beetle. See 

 Cucumber Pests. 



Sprays and Other Means of 

 Control 



Insecticides and Fungicides 



Spraying for diseases and pests has be- 

 come a very important factor in the grow- 

 ing of all crops and especially in horti- 

 cultural work. As such it is now a reg- 

 ular and well established business, which 

 has received a tremendous amount of in- 

 vestigation work, with the result that 

 there is on the market a spray for every 

 individual ailment a tree or plant is heir 

 to. This is true of both the home-made 

 and commercial products, and it has be- 

 come an exceedingly difficult task for 

 the orchardist or farmer to select a spray 

 which is to give the best results for the 

 financial outlay. 



It is beyond the limits of this work 

 to give a complete list of the formulae 

 and uses of all these preparations, and 

 should this be done the results Vould 



