feeds. Spinacia vulgaris, capfula feminis non echinata. 
Tourn. Info .533. Common Spinach with feed-vejfds 
which are not prickly , hut fmooth. 
The firft: fore was formerly more cultivated in the 
Englifh gardens than at prefent, becauie it -is much 
hardier, fo not in much danger from cold, therefore 
was generally cultivated for ufe in winter. The leaves 
of this are triangular, and fhaped like the point of an 
arrow ; the 
ZD, 
{talks are hollow. 
branching. 
and her 
baceous ; they rife about two feet high. The male 
flowers are produced in long fpikes ; they are herba- 
ceous having no petals, but each has five {lender {la- 
mina, terminated by oblong twin fummits filled with 
a yellowifh farina, which, when ripe, flies out on the 
plants being fliaken, and fpreacis all round ; thefe 
plants after their farina is fired foon decay. The fe- 
male flowers which are upon feparate plants, fit in 
clutters clofe to the Italics at every joint; they are fmall, 
herbaceous, and have neither ftamina or petals, but 
have roundifh comprefled germen, which afterward 
turn to roundifh feeds, armed with fhort acute fpines. 
The plant flowers in June, and the feeds ripen the be- 
ginning of Auguft. 
There are two or three varieties of this now cultivated 
in the kitchen-gardens, which differ in the fize and 
fhape of their leaves, and their feeds being more or 
iefs prickly. 
The feeds of this kind fhould be fown upon an open 
fpot of ground the beginning of Auguft, obferving, 
if poffible, to do it when there is an appearance of 
rain ; for if the feafon fhould prove dry for a long 
time after the feed is fown, the plants will not come 
up regularly ; part of them may come up foon, and 
a great part of them may remain till rain falls before 
they come up, which if that fhould not happen in a 
little time after, many times there will not be half a 
crop. When the Spinach is come up, and the plants 
have four leaves, the ground fhould be hoed to deftroy 
the weeds, and alfo to cut up the plants where they 
are too clofe, leaving the remaining plants about three 
or four inches afunder ; but this fhould always be 
done in dry weather, that the weeds may be deftroyed 
foon after they are cut. 
About a month or five weeks after the firft: hoeing, 
the weeds will begin to grow again ; therefore the 
ground fhould be then hoed again the fecond time, 
obferving, as before, to do it in dry weather. But 
if the feafon fhould prove moift, it will be proper 
to gather the weeds up after they are cut, and carry 
them off the ground ; for if the Spinach is not clean- 
ed from weeds before winter, they will grow up and 
ftifle it fo much, that in wet weather the Spinach will 
rot away. 
In October the Spinach will be fit for ufe, when you 
fhould only crop off the largeft outer leaves, leaving 
thofe in the center of the plants to grow bigger ; and 
thus you may continue cropping it all the winter and 
fpring, until the young Spinach lowed in the fpring 
is large enough for ufe, which is commonly in April •, 
at which time the fpring advancing, the Winter 
Spinach will run up to feed ; fo that it fhould be all 
cut up, leaving only a fmall parcel to produce feeds 
if wanted. 
But if the ground in which this Winter Spinach is 
fown, being commonly planted with early Cabbages, 
it is not proper to let any of the Spinach remain there 
for feed ; therefore it fhould be cleared oft" as foon as 
ever the Spring Spinach is fit for ufe, that the Cab- 
bages may be earthed up and laid clear, which is of 
great fervice to them •, wherefore you fnould fow a 
fmall fpot of ground with this fort of Spinach, on pur- 
pofe to Hand for feed, where there fnould be no other 
plants among it. 
The fecond fort differs from the firfl: in having oval 
thick leaves, which are not angular at their bafe ; the 
feeds are fmooth having no fpines, and the ftalks and 
leaves are much more flefihy and fucculent : of this 
there are two or three varieties, which differ in the 
thicknefs and fize of their leaves, which in one 
much rounder and thicker than the other. 
are 
Thefe are fown in the fpring upon an open fpot of 
ground by themfelves, or elfe mixed with Radifb-feed, 
as is the common praftice of the London gardeners, 
who always endeavour to have as many crops from 
their land in a feafon as poffible ; but where land is 
cheap in the country, it will be the better method to 
fow it alone without any other fort of feed mixed with 
it ; and when the plants are come up, the ground 
fhould be hoed to deftroy the weeds, and cut out the 
plants where they are too clofe, leaving the remaining 
about three inches afunder ; and when they are grown 
fo large as to meet, you may then cut out a part of 
it for ufe, thinning the plants that they may have 
room to fpread ; and this thinning may be twice per- 
formed, as there is occafion for the herb, at the laft 
of which the roots fhould be left eight or ten inches 
afunder; and if then you hoe the ground over again to 
deftroy the weeds, it will be of great fervice to the 
Spinach ; for if the land is good upon which it is fown,- 
the fort with broad thick leaves,, commonly called. 
Plantain Spinach, will with this management many 
times produce leaves as large as the broad-leaved 
Dock, and be extremely fineT 
But in order to have a fucceffion of Spinach through 
the feafon, it will be proper to fow the feed at three 
or four different times in the fpring ; the firft in Ta- 
il esaiy, .which muft be on a dry foil; the fecond the 
beginning of February, upon a moifter foil ; the third 
the beginning of March, which fhould be on a moift 
foil ; and the fourth the beginning of April ; but thefe 
late fowings fhould be hoed out thinner at the firfl: 
time than either of the former, for there will be no 
neceffity to leave it for cutting out thin for ufe, be- 
caufe the former fowings will be fufficient to fupply 
the table till thefe are full grown ; befides, by leaving 
it thin at firft, it will not be apt to run up to feed fo 
foon' as it would if the plants were clofe. 
Thefe fowings here mentioned are fuch as are praftifed 
by the kitchen-gardeners near London ; but as this 
herb is much ufed in foups, &c. for great tables, 
there fhould be fome feeds fown every three weeks 
during the fummer feafon, to fupply the kitchen; but 
thefe late fowings fhould be on moift ftrong ground, 
otherwife, if the feafon proves hot and dry, the Spi- 
nach will run to feed before the plants obtain ftren^th, 
efpecially if the plants do not ftand thin. 
In order to fave feeds of either of thefe kinds, you 
fhould fow an open rich fpot of ground, with the fort 
you intend in. February, after the danger of being in- 
jured by fr'oft is over ; and when the plants are come 
up, they fhould be hoed out to fix or^eight inches 
diftance, obferving to cut down the weeds at the fame 
time ; and when the plants have grown about three 
weeks or a month longer, they fhould be hoed a fe- 
cond time, when they fhould be left twelve or four- 
teen inches. afunder at leaft, for when they have fliot 
out their fide branches they will fufficientiy fpread 
over the ground. x 
You muft alfo obferve to keep them clear from weeds, 
which, if fuffered to grow amongft the Spinach, will 
canfe it to run up weak, and greatly injure it. 
When the plants have run up to flower, you will ea- 
fily perceive two forts amongft them, viz. male and 
lemale. The male will produce fpikes of ftamineous 
flowers, which contain the farina/ and are abfolutely 
neceffary to impregnate the embryos of the female 
plants, in order to render the feeds prolific. Thefe- 
male plants are, by the gardeners, commonly called 
She Spinach, and are often by the ignorant pulled 
up as foon as they can be diilinguifhed from the fe- 
male, in. order, as they pretend, to give room for 
the feed-bearing to fpread ; but, from feveral experi- 
ments which I have made on thefe plants, I find where- 
ever the male plants are entirely removed before the 
farina is fhed over the female plants, the feed will not 
grow which they produce, fo that it is abfolutely ne- 
ceffary to leave a few of them in every part of the 
fpot, tiiough theie may be a great many drawn out 
where they are too thick, for a fmall quantity of male 
plants (if rightly fituated) will be fufficient to impreg- 
