SPINACH, spInlj, or SPINAGE, an an nual herb (Spinacia oleracea) of the family Chenopodiacece. The plant is probably indige nous to southwestern Asia, whence it has been carried to all cool climates throughout the civilized world for use as a potherb. The original species has a rosette of arrow-shaped radical leaves, from the centre of which a flower-stalk is developed two to three feet tall and bearing small axillary clusters of dicecious flowers followed by seed-like fruits (akenes). In cultivated varieties the form of the leaf is various and its size and thickness greater than in the wild. Only one other species of the genus is now recognized (S. tetrandra) but is not cultivated. There are, however, groups of varieties which have been given specific names mainly because of the form of the fruits. Though the popular names are retained in the trade the plants are considered one species. The original form is not known. Spinach thrives in light, well-drained, loamy soils and always gives best returns when abundant nitrogenous food is readily available. It is easy of cultiva tion. The seed may be sown in early autumn in the North and covered during the winter with loose straw or marsh hay, free from weed seeds. In spring the mulch should be removed very early. Early spring sowing may be done
but, since the plants produce smaller, fewer and poorer leaves, and are prone to develop a seed stalk at the approach of warm weather, the planting season in spring must be curtailed. About eight 'weeks usually elapse between sow ing and gathering the plants except when the crop is wintered. In field practice spinach is usually sown in beds about 10 feet wide made by plowing several furrows toward a centre and leaving dead furrows between the beds for surface drainage. The seeds are sown in drills about 15 inches apart and the ground kept cleanly cultivated. Since the crop is of short duration it is generally used prior to or after summer-maturing crops. It is, however, also frequently sown between the rows of other crops. Immense quantities of spinach are grown in the South, especially upon the Atlantic sea board for the Northern markets, and except for home use the cultivation of the crop under cold frames is now little practised in the North. The plants are gathered when dry with some of the root attached, trimmed of dead leaves and shipped in tightly packed barrels or crates.