SPINACH. 446 SPINDLE TREE. is an annual widely cultivated for its young leaves, which are used as greens. Two very dis- tinct botanical varieties are cultivated: prickly spinaeli, with somewhat triangular and arrow- headed leaves and rough knobby fruit; smooth spinach, or round spinach (fipinacia glabra of some botanists), with round and blunt leaves and smooth fruit. Upon poor soil and after the ap- pearance of the stem, which reaches a height of two feet, the leaves become bitter, lience the more luxuriantly spinach grows, the better it is. It maj' be sown in spring in rows about one foot apart, but it is generally sown in autumn for early spring use. The smooth spinach is very generally preferred for the former purpose, and the prickly kind for the latter. Several unre- lated plants are also called spinach, of which the best known is New Zealand spinach (Telragonia expansa) , a plant of the natural order Mesem- 'bryaeea', a trailing, succulent annual that with-
- stands the heat of summer and is a valuable suc-
cessor to true spinach. See Plate of Yam, jSweet Potatoes, etc. SPINAL CARIES. See Spine, Cukvature DP THE. SPINAL COLUMN (Lat. spinalis, relating to a thorn or to the spine, from sjiina, thorn, spine), or Spixe. The most important and char- acteristic part of the skeleton of the highest ani- mal siib-kingilom, which includes mammals, birds, rc])tiles, amphibians, and fishes. In each of these classes it is composed of a series of bones placed one above or in front of another, and called the vertebra^; and hence, these animals, having this distinguishing characteristic in common, are all included in the term verlebrates. The vertebrfe vary greatly in number in different animals, and in shape they differ extremely, even in differ- ent parts of the same spine, in accordance with their special functions. In man the number of vertebne which collectively form the spinal col- innn is 7 in the neck (cervical vertebrte), 12 in the back (dorsal vertebra;), 5 in the loins (lum- bar vertebra;), 5 ossified together, forming the sacrum, and 4 similarly united forming the ter- mination of the column or coccyx. However long or short the neck may be, every mammal has 7 cervical vertebra;, excepting the three-toed sloth, which has 9, and the sea-cow, which has 0. In the other regions of the spine no such law exists. Each vertebra is attached to the two between which it lies by nmiierous strong and more or less elastic ligaments, and between each pair of vertebrie there is interposed a lenticular disk of fibro-cartilage, which acts as a buffer. By these arrangements the spinal column is rendered highly elastic, the communication of jars or shocks is prevented, and a very consideralile gen- eral range of movement permitted, although the motion between any two adjacent vertebra; is slight. The elasticity of the column is further increased by the component vertebrie being ar- ranged in curves, instead of being placed perpen- dicularly. These curves enable the spine to bear a greater vertical weight than it could otherwise maintain; they facilitate the movements of the body, especially in the act of running; and they are so disposed as to protect the cord in move- ments of (lie spine. The vertebral canal formed by the apposition of the spinal foramina, or neural arches, and containing and protecting the spinal cord, varies in its size at different parts of the column. The intervertebral foramina through which the nerves emerge vary in shape and position in different parts, but are always of sufficient size to pre- vent injurious pressure on the nerves during movements of the spine; and in the dorsal region, which is the ordinary seat of angular curvature, the nerves are so protected by bony arches that 'they may escape injury, even when the bodies of several dorsal vertebrae have been destroyed by ulceration. SPINAL CORD. See Nervous System and Brain. SPIND'LER, Karl (1796-1855). A German novelist, born at Breslau. He studied law at Strassburg, fled thence to escape being drafted into the military service of France, and became an actor. In 1825 he turned to literature, and became one of the group, including Hauff and Hiiring ('Wilibald Alexis'), which imitated in historical fiction the ^V^l•crley methods of Scott. Jlost of his work, which fills 101 volumes in the Stuttgart collective edition of 1854-50, while fas- cinating as to plot, is careless in execution. In a few cases, however, as Der Jesuit (1820), Der Jude (1827), Der Invalids (1831), and Der Voiielhiiiidler von Imst (1842), he skillfully de- picted the historical background, and merited, though he did not gain, a more than temporary success. SPINDLESHELL. A genus (Fusus) of gastropodous mollusks nearly allied to Murex (q.v. ), having a spindle-shaped sliell, with a very elevated spire, the first wdiorl often much 8P1NDLE-6HELLB a, A living species {Fusus proboscidahs); b, A fossil (Miocene) species (Fusus loDgirosths), dilated, and with a straight elongated eanal. About 100 existing species have been described, and more than three times that number of fossil ones. SPINDLE TREE (Euomjmus). A genus of about CO species of shrubs or small trees of the natural order Celastracete. The common spindle tree {Euonymus Eiiropwus) , a European shrub with an orange-colored aril, is often planted for ornament. The haid, fine-grained wood is used for fine turnery and for skewers. It was for- merly used for making musical instruments and for spindles, whence the name. Charcoal made of it is much valued for crayons. In the United States walioo, or burning bush {Euonymus atropurpureus) , is a small crimson-fruited tree or shrub, which occurs from New York to Ne- braska and southward. Strawberry bush {Euony- vjus Atnerieanvs) is a low shrub often found along wooded river banks from Illinois south- ward.
