4(U 
CUI'HEA PLATl'CENTRA. 
from frost may be had recourse to. Leaves, 
fern, or similar light materials may be laid over 
the beds to a thickness of a foot or more, which 
will generally exclude a great deal of wet as 
well as frost. But to keep them as long as 
possible, the last crops should be taken up on 
a dry day, before any serious frost happens, 
and they should be packed close together, in 
rather dry mould, in frames or pits, where 
they can have the benefit of air in fine weather, 
and be thoroughly protected from frost and 
wet at all times. 
SPINACH. 
The Spinach (Splnacia oleracea of 
Linna?us), appears to have been a cultivated 
plant at a very early period ; in fact, so early 
that its native country seems not to be known, 
although it appears to have been first noticed 
as a culinary vegetable in this country about 
1568. There can be little doubt but it was in 
cultivation long before that period, even in 
this country ; if not elsewhere, in the reli- 
gious establishments, which in the times pre- 
ceding the above date were almost the only 
places where anything deserving the name of 
gardening was carried on. Its common growth 
and well-known uses as a vegetable in early 
spring and through the summer, render it un- 
necessary to say anything about the various 
methods of preparing it for the table. 
The most common varieties of Spinach in 
cultivation are the Prichly-seeded, or Winter, 
and the Round, or smooth- seeded, or Summer. 
These differ in little except the seed, as indi- 
cated by the names, and in the prickly-seeded 
standing the winter best. The summer variety 
is also rounder in the leaf, and does not run to 
seed quite so soon in the summer. 
The Flanders Spinach was introduced 
from Paris rather more than twenty years 
ago, and is a most excellent sort. The seeds 
are roundish and smooth, the leaves very 
large, often exceeding a foot in length, very 
thick and succulent; they are produced in 
greater quantities than by the common sorts, 
and the plant grows more bushy. It is hardier 
than the others, and does well either as a 
winter or summer crop, being slow in running 
to seed. 
The Lettuce-leaved Spinach is a variety 
cultivated in the French gardens, and is re- 
commended as an excellent sort for winter 
crops. The leaves are dark green, large, 
thick, and very succulent. It is a round- 
seeded variety. 
Riley's New Burdock Spinach is an Ame- 
rican variety, originated near Philadelphia, 
and said to attain the size of half a bushel, 
when properly treated. The leaves are de- 
scribed as perfectly smooth, and the plant to 
resemble the savoy in appearance. The qua- 
lity is stated to be very superior, and the plant 
stands a North American winter without 
injury. It appears to be a very desirable 
sort, but does not appear to have been intro- 
duced. 
The ground for Spinach should be well and 
deeply dug, breaking the soil up fine, and 
leaving it as light as possible. It should be 
well dunged, if not previously in good con- 
dition, and for the winter crops a warm shel- 
tered spot should be chosen. About the 
middle of August, earlier or later according 
to climate and exposure, sow the main win- 
ter crop in drills, from fifteen to eighteen 
inches apart, according to the variety pre- 
ferred. Cover the seeds barely an inch with 
soil, and slightly tread them in, especially in 
light soils ; rake the ground level, treading as 
little as possible on or between the rows. If 
the weather is very dry when this crop is 
sown, it is a good plan to well water the 
drills previous to depositing the seed in them, 
they then vegetate quickly, and the young 
plants soon establish themselves. When the 
plants are large enough to be clearly distin- 
guishable, thin them out to six or nine 
inches apart in the rows, hoeing the ground 
deeply, and cutting up all weeds. An occa- 
sional hoeing after this, is all the further 
attention the crop will require, taking care to 
well stir the ground every time. If very 
hard weather sets in, a portion of the crop 
may be sheltered with the spray of trees, 
which will generally prove a sufficient pro- 
tection. 
If the weather is sufficiently open, a small 
crop should be sown about the middle of 
January, in a sheltered situation, to succeed 
the winter crop. The sort should be the 
summer or Flanders, whichever is preferred. 
From this time forward additional sowings 
should be made as the last sown crop appears 
above ground, making a considerable sowing 
about the end of March. The crops for use 
in the summer are generally sown between 
the rows of peas, beans, and in similar places, 
where the partial shade is very beneficial to 
the plants, delaying their running to seed. 
Of course, similar attention to thinning, weed- 
ing, and stirring the soil, should be paid to 
these as to the winter crop. Pigs are very 
fond of Spinach, and therefore any excess of 
crop can generally be made good use of. 
CUPHEA PLATYCENTRA. 
(Bmtham.) 
BROAD-SPURRED CUPHEA. 
Tnis species of Cuphea forms a small suf- 
fruticose tuft of about a foot in height, or less ; 
the branches are compressed and very slightly 
