3^8 THE GARDENER. [Aug. 



tectors, are good places to put the plants which are drawn out. In 

 such positions they may be planted without being protected from the 

 first ; but here they will be convenient when severe weather does 

 come. 



Along the bottom of walls are also good places for Lettuce, as 

 they can easily be protected there. As a rule, Lettuce and Endive 

 seed germinates very freely, and the young plants are frequently much 

 injured through becoming too close in the rows before being thinned 

 out or transplanted. This is a bad beginning for any Lettuce crop, 

 but it is most felt by the winter ones, as they hardly ever quite recover 

 from such a check. Sowing thin, and thinning in time, are two good 

 ways of working. The after-culture consists chiefly in keeping the 

 ground clean and open with the hoe, blanching and protecting in 

 severe weather. When Lettuce are backward in folding in and 

 blanching, they can soon be made to do this by tying up the leaves ; 

 and Endive must always be treated in this way. They should only be 

 tied when quite dry, otherwise they soon decay. Protecting may be 

 done in various ways. The safest is to lift the plants and place them 

 in some dry, cool, dark shed. A month's supply or more may sometimes 

 be treated like this, and others may be lifted and packed close together 

 in frames where lights will keep them from wet, and where they can 

 be opened up on fine days. Full-grown plants, if lifted in this way 

 and so treated, will prove most satisfactory ; and it is astonishing the 

 time they remain good when kept from frost and wet. Nailing two 

 deal boards together in the shape of a V, and turning this over the 

 rows, also affords good protection, and so does turning a flower-pot 

 upside down over each plant ; but about mid-winter, or in long spells 

 of severe weather, they are most secure in frames or houses. 



Radishes are another useful addition to our wirter salads. They are 

 very easily grown, and may often be had when other things have failed ; 

 and as they are generally eaten by themselves, they are very valuable 

 for filling up gaps. The Chinese Rose is the best of all Radish for 

 winter culture. The first sowing of it should be made early in Sep- 

 tember and again in October. The first may be in the open, the 

 second in a frame under glass. The soil for both should be moderately 

 rich, and not too heavy, and the position well exposed to the sun and 

 light. Ours are always sown thinly broadcast, protected from severe 

 frost, and fair gatherings are had from them all winter. 



Beetroot is another excellent salad root, and it is so easily kept in 

 winter that nothing need be said about that here. Celery, too, comes 

 under this heading, and is equally well known. Mustard and Cress 

 are others requiring winter culture. Heat and moisture will produce 

 them anywhere or at any time. Small quantities may be grown in 

 plates or saucers, more in cutting or seed boxes, and any quantity in 

 beds in early vineries or suchlike. In November, when our first 

 Asparagus roots are put in for forcing, we sow Mustard and Cress all 



