March 3, 1870 ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



159 



Rivers has informed the public of the history of this variety; 

 nevertheless, as it is so suitable for most soils, aud is sure to 

 have at least another ten-years run of popularity, allow me to 

 request that the much respected name of " Rivers," should be 

 preserved. Everybody to whom it is of consequence is aware 

 of its origin, but as it has been so long aud universally known 

 by its present prefix, it would be no boon now to withdraw it. 

 I at once aud for ever disclaim having conuected this Potato 

 with Mr. Rivers's name ; that is everybody's fault, if fault it can 

 be called ; for at auy rate Mr. Rivers was the chief cause of its 

 being introduced to the public. Unlike Mr. Rivers, I have 

 about '200 kinds of Potatoes to make trial of this year, and I 

 wish my ground were as extensive as his is at Siffbridgeworth 

 for the purpose. — Roet. Fexn. 



LETTUCES, AND THEIR CULTIVATION. 



(Continued from pajc 142.) 

 The greatest scarcity of Lettuces is usually iu May and 

 June, when those. from the autumn sowings are over, and 

 those from the spring sowings should be in use ; but from 

 due regard not having been paid to the first summer crop, 

 there is often a want of succession between the spring aud 

 early summer crop. 



SPRING AND SUMMER LETTUCES. 

 For the first summer crop preparation should be made in the 

 September preceding, by making up a dung bed 2 feet high at 

 the back, and 1 foot high in front. On this place a two-light 

 frame. The site should be dry and sheltered from the north 

 and north-east, but open aud sunny. The lights must have a I 

 steep incline, so that accumulated moisture may run down the 

 sashes, and not drip on the plants. The heat of the bed 

 not being required, the bed should be made sufficiently early 

 to allow of the heat subsiding before sowin™, which should be i 

 performed in the second week in October. The bed should be 

 covered with I) or S inches of light soil, which must not be 

 rich, though if poor you may mix with it a little leaf soil, 

 which will be sufficiently stimulating. It must be brought to 

 within o inches of the glass, but not nearer thau 4 inches, j 

 The kinds best for this sowing are Cath Cos, AU-the-Year- 

 Round, and Tom Thumb. 



Sow moderately thickly, and keep the lights close until the 

 seeds germinate, then admit air freely, and in mild weather 

 draw them off ; and when they are replaced at night or iu wet 

 weather tilt them, so as to admit an abundance of air. In severe 

 weather the lights should be kept close, and no air admitted 

 until the temperature within the frame becomes as warm as 

 that of the external air. This will be the case when the plants 

 have been for a time deprived of air in severe weather ; the 

 plants and soil may be frozen, and if air be given before 

 the leaves are thoroughly thawed they will be liable to damp 

 off. Protected as the Lettuces ought to be by mats over the 

 lights in severe weather, the protecting materials must not be 

 removed until the plants and soil are completely thawed. 

 Little water will be needed, aud if it nrist be given, give it 

 early in the day, and in fina, mild weather only. If the plaut3 

 come up thickly, thin them out as soon as they cau well be 

 handled to an inch apart, drawing out the weakest. The weather 

 is often in dot climate quite mild and sunny in December or 

 January, and the plants, if the lights are at all kept over them, 

 are apt to become drawn. To keep down growth more air 

 must be given, for it is nothing more than a slow, steady 

 growth we seek at this period, therefore allow a free circulation 

 of air whenever it can be done safely, at the same time afford- 

 ing protection from wet. 



By February the young Lettuces will he fit to plant out if 

 the weather is mild; at least the ground for planting should 

 be prepared by that time. The situation should be sheltered, 

 the soil light and rich, but no manure must be applied near 

 the surface. In damp soils, and indeed all soils, it is well to 

 take out trenches 2 feet wide and 1 foot deep, put in each 

 9 inches of fresh stable litter, cover it with soil from the next 

 trench, andjso on. The plants, being v. ell hardened-off, ruay be 

 planted out at the end of February, or as soon after that as the 

 weather permits. Six inches each way will be ample for Tom 

 Thumb, 9 inches for All-the-Year-Round, whilst Bath Cos 

 should be allowed 1 foot from plant to plant every way. The 

 holes must be well closed around the plan's, and if it is mild, 

 dry weather, water should be given as the planting proceeds. 

 The ground should be frequently stirred with a hoe between 

 the rows, but not in very wet weather. 



At the end of January another bed should be got ready in 

 the same manner as for the October sowing, and by the second 

 week in February the heat will have subsided sufficiently for 

 sowing the seed. The kinds recommended for the October 

 sowing are the most suitable. The same course of treatment 

 should be followed as for the October sowing, only as the sun 

 will have greater power more air will be necessary ; by tilting 

 ei withdrawing the lights it must be freely admitted, so as to 

 keep the plants stiff, for if they become leggy and weak they 

 are of little value. Thin the plants out, wheu large enough, 

 to 1! inch apart, and though water is to be given as required, 

 it must be done cautiously and early in the morning. Plant 

 out in April on sheltered borders. 



Early in March another sowing should be made at the foot 

 of a south wall, the kinds being those mentioned for the 

 October and February sowings in frames, aud the plants from 

 this sowina will afford a good succession to those obtained by 

 sowing in February. Protection bhonld be given them at night, 

 and by day during severe frost, by branches of spruce or 

 other evergreens, and though such protection is necessary, it 

 must not be practised in mild weather, as the plants are then 

 liable to be drawn up weak. The plants from this sowing 

 must be thinned out when large enough to handle, and be 

 watered as necessary ; and as water will only be required in 

 bright weather, when the nights are generally frosty, the water 

 ought to be given in the early part of the day. The plants 

 will be St to plant out at the end of April or beginning of May. 



At the same time as the above last sowing of spring and 

 early-summer Lettuces is made, summer Lettuces, both Cab- 

 bage and Cos, should be sown in a similar position, to forma 

 succession to the hardier sorts sown at the same time, which, 

 from their greater hardiness, will come in some days before 

 the summer kinds: hence the necessity of towing the first 

 summer Lettuces when the last of the hardier kinds are sown. 



The best summer Lettuces are : — 



Malta or Drumhead— Large, crisp, and excellent. 



Neapolitan.— Very large, forming a good heart, aud earlier 

 than the Malta; crisp and tender, but not so good in thosa 

 respects as the Malta, though by some preferred to that ex- 

 cellent sort for its better hearting qualities. It is the best of 

 all the Cabbage Lettuces for summer. 



The above are Cabbage Lettuces. 



Wheeler's Tom Thumb and Dickson's All-the-Year-Round 

 are also good for summer and autumn use, and as they heart 

 more quickly than either the Malta or Neapolitan, they are 

 very desirable for successional summer sowings. 



Of Cos Lettuces : — 



Ivery's Xonsuch.—Veiy large, blanches well without tying, 

 stands long without running to seed, crisp, and excellent. 



Paris White. — Of good size, leaves turning in well, so that 

 blanching is effected without tying ; it is crisp and excellent. 

 It requires rich soil, and is then the best of summer Cos 

 Lettuces. 



The Black-seeded Bath Cos is equally good for summer or 

 for standing the winter, and is the most useful of all Lettuces. 

 When well cultivated and properly blanched it is equal to any 

 other iu crispness aud llavour. 



There are, besides, many Lsttuces possessing excellent pro- 

 perties, in some respects equalling those named ; but the 

 above answer every practical purpose, and there is no necessity 

 to multiply names when we have in a small number of varieties 

 all that is desirable. — G. Abbey. 



(To be continued.) 



THE CRYSTAL PALACE FLOWER SHOWS 

 THIS YEAR. 



I ah glad to be able to say that the shows at this favourite 

 place of resort promise this year to be as good and interesting 

 as usual, and the managers, with that liberality and good judg- 

 ment which mark all their proceedings, have introduced some 

 new features aud given more prominence to some old ones. 

 Thus, at the May Show, there will be reuewed the grand con- 

 test in bouquets, which made so fine a display last May ; but 

 in order to give a fairer chance to competitors there will be 

 separate classes for amateurs and professional artistes; then 

 some special arrangements are in contemplation to make the 

 competition more international than it was last year by in- 

 ducing the best bouquet-makers of Paris to send over some of 

 their bouquets. At the June Show there will be a contest in 

 table decorations on the same scale as last year, while there 



