SPINACH.
It does not appear that spinach was known to the Greeks and Romans. Some authors think that it might be the chrysolacanon of the Greeks,[IX_34] but it is probable that this was no other than the orach;[IX_35] Beckmann[IX_36] thinks, with several botanists, that this plant came from Spain; and, indeed, it has been often called the Spanish vegetable.[IX_37]
We only speak of this plant by way of memento, and regret that our first masters in cookery have not been able to transmit to us the results of their studies and experience in the preparation of spinach, whose precocity must always render it valuable to amateurs of vegetable food.