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Spinach

THE Lapathum hortense, or Spinach, (of the Goosefoot tribe), as grown in our kitchen gardens, is actually a Persian plant which was brought to England during the sixteenth century; its spiny leaves have given it the name it bears, "Spinage," being the more correct spelling. The plant contains salts of potash abundantly. It is a light vegetable, of which the thick, succulent leaves are cooked, and eaten, being readily digested, and somewhat laxative. It is richer in iron than the yolk of egg, which in its turn contains more thereof than lean beef does. Spinach," says Evelyn, "if crude, the oft'ner kept out of sallets the better; but its juice, when produced by boiling the leaves without adding any water, is a wholesome drink, and improves the complexion. What is known as the pigment ("Spinage Green"), as used for colouring, is the freshly expressed juice of this plant, or its precipitate. An excellent way of cooking 66