rly or quite equal to Spinach. For this
purpose, the rows need be but a foot apart.
LARGE-RIBBED CURLED.
Curled Leaf-beet.
Stalks white; leaves pale yellowish-green, with broad mid-ribs, large
nerves, and a blistered surface like some of the Savoys. It may be grown
as a substitute for Spinach, in the manner directed for the Common or
Green-leaved variety.
LARGE-RIBBED SCARLET BRAZILIAN.
Red Stalk Leaf-beet. Poiree a Carde rouge. _Vil._
Leaf-stalks bright purplish-red; leaves green, blistered on the surface;
nerves purplish-red. A beautiful sort, remarkable for the rich and
brilliant color of the stems, and nerves of the leaves.
LARGE-RIBBED YELLOW BRAZILIAN.
Yellow-stalked Leaf-beet. Poiree a Carde jaune. _Vil._
A variety with bright-yellow leaf-stalks and yellowish leaves. The
nerves of the leaves are yellow, like the leaf-stalks. The color is
peculiarly rich and clear; and the stalks are quite attractive, and even
ornamental. Quality tender and good.
SILVER-LEAF BEET.
Great White-leaf Beet. Swiss Chard. Sea-kale Beet. Large-ribbed
Silver-leaf Beet.
Stalks very large; leaves of medium size, erect, with strong, white ribs
and veins. The leaf-stalks and nerves are cooked and served like
Asparagus, and somewhat resemble it in texture and flavor. It is
considered the best of the Leaf-beets.
* * * * *
MALABAR NIGHTSHADE (WHITE).
Climbing Nightshade. White Malabar Spinach. Baselle blanche. _Vil._
Basella alba.
From the East Indies. Though a biennial plant, in cultivation it is
generally treated as an annual. Stem five feet and upwards in length,
slender, climbing; leaves alternate, oval, entire on the borders, green
and fleshy; flowers in clusters, small, greenish; seeds round, with
portions of the pulp usually adhering,--eleven to twelve hundred
weighing an ounce. They retain their vitality three years.
LARGE-LEAVED CHINESE MALABAR NIGHTSHADE.
Large-leaved Malabar Spinach. Baselle a Tres Large Feuille de Chine.
_Vil._ Basella cordifolia.
A Chinese species, more vigorous and much stronger in its general habit
than the Red or the White. Leaves as large as those of Lettuce,--green,
round, very thick, and fleshy; flowers small, greenish; seeds round,
nearly of the same form and color as those of the White variety, but
rather larger.
The species is slow in developing its flower-stem, and the best for
cultivation.
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