CHAi'. xxiii VILLA GARDENING 487 



The object of growing Lettuces in frames is to secure a better 

 climate and get them in early ; and if the atmosphere is sweet and 

 buoyant, whatever warmth the sun creates in winter should be 

 kept in the frame so long as a circulation is kept up. In very 

 severe weather a little Fern or dry litter should be scattered over 

 the glass, as much to keep out the sun as to keep out frost, for 

 the alternate freezing and thawing may do injury. 



Forcing Lettuces. — Some of the best and finest Lettuces I 

 have ever had were sown in a box in January and pricked out in a 

 frame on a slight hotbed of leaves and dung in February. The 

 best kinds for this work are the Paris Market Cabbage and Paris 

 White Cos. The former is rather larger than Tom Thumb, but not 

 so hardy in constitution ; its growth is faster whei'e the conditions 

 are suitable, and better adapted for forcing than that variety. 

 The Paris Cos is also an excellent early kind, of good size and sub- 

 stance. The two varieties just named are also very suitable for 

 summer cultm-e. 



Saving seeds is a very easy matter. We have only to leave a 

 few plants of the kind we wish to save seeds from some time during 

 summer, when there is time for the seeds ripening, cut the pods as 

 they ripen, and lay them in a box or on a tray in an airy building. 

 When the ripening process is completed, dress out the seeds and 

 pack them away in a dry cool place. As for varieties, besides those 

 already named I would add Carter's Giant, AVliite Cos, Kingsholm 

 Cos, Lee's Hardy Green Cabbage, and All the Year Round Cabbage. 



Endive. — For autumn and winter salads Endive is indispen- 

 sable, and, like Lettuces, may also be cooked as a vegetable. In 

 the average English household this is seldom done. The 



First Sowings should take place about the 1st and the middle 

 of June. If sown earlier Endive is very apt to bolt, and even in 

 June it will be better to sow in drills h inch deep and 15 inches 

 apart, and thin the plants to 1 foot, leaving them on the ground 

 where sown without transplanting. Though in many instances 

 and on most soils transplanting may be a benefit, yet, in a dry 

 time, plants which have experienced no check generally stand the 

 best. The soil should be in good condition and of good depth, 

 but immediate contact with a large quantity of manure is not de- 

 sirable. In the early time it is best to sow often, as, if the earliest 

 sowing fails, the crop raised a week later may be all right. Sow 

 twice in July, and from these sowings the autumn supply will be 

 obtained. In the case of jjlants raised after the middle of July 

 transplanting will be an advantage, as the roots being more at 

 home, and perhaps nearer the surface, the growth will be more 

 curled, shorter, more compact, and better. Sow twice in August. 



