122 THE BOOK OF USEFUL PLANTS 



Thousands of years separate the wild parent 

 plant from its domesticated offspring. But the 

 relationship is established without a doubt. Cen- 

 turies before Christ the Persian kings were served 

 with salads made of the leaves of wild lettuces. 

 The parent species grows in Europe and has come 

 as an immigrant to America, but the original home 

 was Central Asia. Let the garden lettuce stand a 

 few days after it reaches prime condition for the 

 table and it bolts to seed. The flowers and dande- 

 lion-like head of seeds are like those of the wild 

 species. The leaves have been broadened and the 

 stem shortened through the centuries of cultivation. 



Most of us remember the lettuce bed in the 

 garden, crowded with plants from seeds sown 

 broadcast. We picked the leaves, one by one. 

 The individual plants were not considered. The 

 later method is to transplant the seedlings, and 

 let each one form a head. 



Three lines of development have been followed 

 in the improvement of the wild lettuce, with the 

 understanding that succulence of the leaves, and 

 delicacy of flavor are striven for first of all. The 

 first aims at a rosette of crowded, flaring leaves; 

 the second, at a close, self-blanching head; the 

 third at a long, moderately close head of fleshy 

 leaves, with particularly tender midribs. 



