ed, whether wanted or not, to promote continuous growth.

==Orache== is frequently used as a substitute for Spinach where the
ordinary variety fails. Seed should be sown during the spring months,
and as the plant frequently attains a height of five feet allow a
distance of at least three feet in each direction for development. Red
Orache is useful for growing in ornamental borders, but it is not so
suitable for culinary purposes as the white variety. The leaves only are
eaten.

==STACHYS TUBERIFERA==

This vegetable is commonly known as the Chinese Artichoke, and from the
peculiar form it is also called Spirals. A wide difference of opinion
exists as to its value, but in its favour the fact may be stated that
tubers are often exhibited in the finest collections of vegetables
staged for competition.

The time for planting is early spring, in rows eighteen inches apart,
allowing a distance of nine inches in the rows. The proper depth is four
inches. The roots are quite hardy and the crop gives no trouble. After
planting it is only necessary to keep the plot free from weeds.

The tubers do not mature until late in autumn, and as far as possible it
is advisable to lift them when they are wanted. Should it be necessary
for any reason to clear the ground, the Stachys must be covered with
soil. When exposed to light and air they soon become discoloured and are
then unfit for cooking. It is usual to boil them in the same manner as
Potatoes, but the finish must be by steam alone. An agreeable variation
consists in frying the boiled roots with butter until slightly brown,
when the dish is considered by many connoisseurs to be very delicious
and suitable for serving with poultry or joint.

==STRAWBERRY==

==Fragaria==

Probably the first thought will be that the Strawberry is a fruit, and
that the consideration of its treatment is out of place in a series of
articles on the culture of vegetables. The answer is that the plant
forms an essential feature in every good Kitchen Garden, and the general
routine of work has to be arranged with due regard to this crop, so that
we need make no apology for alluding to it here.

==When to Plant.==--The Strawberry is the most certain of all our hardy
fruits, and is much valued both for eating fresh as a summer luxury and
as a preserve for winter use. Although it deserves the best of
cultivation, its demands are few, for under the poorest system of
management it is often extr