1879] THE AMATEUR'S GARDEN. 279 



occasions, as a close damp atmosphere is to be guarded against. The hardi- 

 est Cos varieties are generally grown for this purpose, because they stand 

 the winter well. All-the-year-round Cabbage-Lettuce, however, stands the 

 winter very well when justice is done to it while in the frames in the matter 

 of airing, stirring the surface-soil, &c, to maintain as sweet and dry an atmo- 

 sphere as possible. These plants should be transplanted in March or April 

 on a well-sheltered spot, and if room can be afforded them a few left in the 

 frame will come in a little earlier than the transplanted ones. By the end of 

 February a small sowing should be made under glass, or in the warmest place 

 possible outside. Once a month afterwards a small sowing should be made 

 and the thinnings transplanted, which will furnish as good a succession as if a 

 sowing were made once a fortnight. Allow them 18 inches between the rows, 

 and from 9 inches to 1 foot in the row, according to the variety grown and 

 the state of the soil. A good soaking of sewage or other manure water, and 

 a mulching of rotten manure, give Lettuces quite a different character from 

 those grown thickly on poor soils. Some varieties require tying up to secure 

 the best blanched heads possible, others again do very well without it. 



Radishes rank second in the esteem of small growers ; and indeed Lettuces, 

 Radishes, and Cress are all the salading grown in most amateurs' gardens. 

 They may be had all the year round when proper appliances exist, and nine 

 months out of the twelve where a cold frame, or a portion of it, can be devoted 

 to their cultivation. Under a frame, more especially if there be a little bottom- 

 beat, a sowing may be made by the end of January, and once a fortnight after- 

 wards. We have often grown them in a common greenhouse in 6-inch pots 

 placed near the glass, and where a little air had access to them when the 

 weather was favourable for airing. In sowing them outside, draw drills the 

 whole width of the hoe, and scatter the seeds thinly in the bottom of the flat 

 drill. Cover to the depth of half an inch, and thin, when up, to 2 inches 

 apart. The way amateurs generally grow them is the way to secure the worst 

 results ; for good Radishes cannot be grown when the seed is huddled together 

 in the rows, and the plants allowed to grow in tufts. Rich soil is also an 

 essential in the production of tender, well-flavoured Radishes. Sowings may 

 be made as late as the beginning of October ; but for such late sowings a warm 

 sheltered spot should be chosen, and protection by means of hand-lights, &c, 

 afforded if possible. These will come in for use during winter. 



Mustard and Cress require treatment very similiar to Radishes, so we need 

 not repeat the directions. Only, a sowing of each should be made once a week 

 in small patches where there is a little space, and places otherwise vacant can 

 be thus kept under crop. A rich soil and plenty of water in dry weather 

 cause them to grow quickly and tender. Late in autumn and early in spring 

 a supply may be kept up with a few flats and some clear sand or earth in the 

 kitchen-window or other room where there is a little heat. 



These are the more generally grown Salads, at least by amateurs ; but a 

 paper on Salads would be incomplete were we not to add others which are 

 occasionally grown, and which amateurs may desire to know something of. 



Endive is one of these. It is soon enough to sow Endive about the middle 

 of July, or even later, up to the end of August. Sow it in the same way as 

 Lettuce, in good rich soil. It will be ready to transplant in about a month 

 afterwards. For this purpose shallow trenches should be thrown out with the 

 spade about 18 inches apart. Plant at 9 or 10 inches apart in the rows, and 

 water plentifully, unless the weather be showery and moist, which is the best 

 condition under which to plant them. A soaking of manure-water will benefit 



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