LAC 



LAC 



near an inch in width, the other much narrow- 

 er, deep green on both sides, unspotted, shin- 

 ing, quite entire, and not rough about the 

 the scape round, shining, pale green, unspotted, 

 almost upright, weak: the raceme upright, 

 three inches long, with about twenty flowers, 

 somewhat remote, and inodorous: the bractes 

 sessile, concave, acuminate, whitish: the pedi- 

 cels one-flowered, round, almost upright, the 

 length of the bractes at least: petals whitish, 

 the"three outer wholly green above the middle, 

 the inner marked tlurc only with a green line. 

 It is a native of the Cape. 



In the third the leaves two, radical, lanceolate, 

 like those of the common white lily, thin, not 

 tteshv, dusky-spotted on the upper surface : the 

 scape round, like that of the garden hyacinth, 

 scarcely a foot high, dusky-spotted : the flowers 

 alternate : the petals lanceolate, unequal ; the 

 three outer fastened lo the inner ones, which do 

 not at all cohere at the base : the filaments de- 

 clining, inserted into the receptacle: the anthers 

 blood-red : Btigma white : the stem is almost 

 comose, with abundance of awl-shaped bractes 

 that sprine out below the upper rudiments of 

 the rlowe-rs. 



It varies with yellow, saffron-coloured, blood- 

 red purple at the tip, and greenish yellow co- 

 rollas; also in the proportion between the inner 

 and outer petals ; and in the breadth of the 

 leaves. It is a native of the Cape. 



Culture. — These plants may be increased by 

 offsets from the bulbs, aud by seeds, when they 

 are produced. 



The offsets should be planted out in pots of 

 Kgbt fresh earth, when the bulbs are in a stale of 

 inactivity of growth, placing them in a warm 

 border to be covered with hand glasses, or, what 

 is better, in a drv stove or green- house. 



They b^.tr forcing tolerable, and their flower- 

 ing is much promotetl by being preserved in the 

 warmth of the stove. 



They aff.ird variety among collections of pot- 

 ted bulbous-rooted flowering plants. 



LACTUCA, a genus containing a plantof the 

 herbaceous annual kind. 



It belongs to tne c^s and order Syngenesia 

 ,imia jEqualis, and r.mks in the natural 

 order of Composite Semiftosaulosce. 



The characters are: that the calvx is common, 

 imbricated, cvhndric : scales very mane, sharp, 

 membranaceous on the margin: the corolla 

 compound, imbricated, uniform : conflicts her- 

 maphrodite, very many, equal : proper one-pe- 

 talled, lieu ate, truncated, four- or five-toothed : 

 the stamina have live capillary filaments, very 

 short: anther cvhndric, tubular : the pistillum 

 is a subovate germ : style filiform, length of the 



stamens: stigmas two, reflex: there is no pcri- 

 carpium : calyx converging, ovate-cvlindric : the 

 seeds solitary, ovate, acuminate, even, com- 

 d : down capillary, on a long stipe attenu- 

 ated below : the receptacle naked. 



The species is L. saliva, Common Garden 

 Lettuce. 



It has the leaves large, milky, frequently 

 wrinkled, usually pale green, but varying much 

 in colour, form, &c. in the different van i: 

 the stem strong, round, two feet or three quar- 

 ters of a yard in height, bearing abundance of 

 small yellow (lowers. In native place is un- 

 known ; and it is not improbable but that it 

 may be improved by cultivation from one of the 

 wild sorts. 



There are several varieties cultivated: the prin- 

 cipal of which are, of the Cabbage Lettuce 

 kind, the Hardy Green, White Hon. 

 Admirable White, Brown Dutch, Small Early, 

 White Ball, Green BhII ; and of the Coss Let- 

 tuce kind, the Green Coss, White Coss, Egyp- 

 tian Coss, Spotted Coss, Black Coss, Brown 

 Cilicia, Green Cilicia, Bed Capuchin, Green 

 Capuchin, Large Imperial, the Boman, the 

 Prince: but the three or four first of the dif- 

 ferent sorts are the most valuable, and it is of 

 much consequence to have the best kinds. 



Culture. — This species, and all the varieties,, 

 are raised by sowing the seed annually, at dif- 

 ferent times, as in February and the three fol- 

 lowing months, for the summer supply of 

 plants; and in August aud the follow ing month, 

 for the autumn, winter, and very early, spring 

 supplies. 



These different sowings should be performed 

 upon beds of line light drv earth, in an open 

 situation, and exposed to the sun. Some of 

 the late sowings may be made under hand 

 glasses, orin frames or boxes, inorder to have the. 

 young plants protected from frosts. Each of the 

 varieties or sorts should be sown separately, and 

 t from the others, and be slightly raked in. 



It is sometimes the practice to sow them 

 among other low growing crops, such ;.- ra- 

 -, spinach, onions, See. to save ground ; 

 but this should always be avoided as much as 

 lie, as a verv small portion of laud is suf- 

 ficient for raisinu large supplies of plants. 



For the very early spring use, as open Let- 

 tuces, the early white cabbage sorts are the most 

 proper; but for the main crops, to remain for 

 owth, the principal sorts of the Coss and 

 bage kinds must be employed. 



W hen the plants appear, they must be kept 



perfectly free from weeds, and properly thinned. 



As they attain a proper growth, as three or four 



. - in height, some of the different sort.* 



