The Culture of Vegetables 



After this brief digression it is necessary to add that a crowded 

 Lettuce crop is an encumbrance to the ground ; and one of the 

 evils of the best system, that of sowing where the crop is to finish, 

 is the tendency of the cultivator to be timid in the thinning, which 

 should be done with a bold hand, and in good time. 



Winter Lettuces are produced and provided for in various 

 ways. In some places Lettuces stand out the winter without cover- 

 ing, and turn in early in the spring. But in other districts they 

 seldom survive the winter without protection, even when the 

 sparrows spare them. The summer sowings will afford supplies to 

 a late season of the year, and the crop that remains when frost sets 

 in may be preserved with slight and rough protection. But for 

 the profitable production of Winter Lettuces frames are a necessity, 

 and care must be taken not to promote a strong growth, for after 

 a term of mild winter weather a sudden and severe frost will probably 

 annihilate those that are in a too thriving condition. In the least 

 likely places, however, it is well to have a small plantation of Winter 

 Lettuces in the open, and to give some rough protection in bad 

 times, as these often prove of great advantage, and even outlive 

 frame crops which have been allowed to get too forward by the aid 

 of warmth and a rich soil. The Hammersmith Cabbage Lettuce and 

 the Bath Cos have long been in repute as hardy Lettuces. The 

 former is poor in flavour, while the latter is of excellent quality. All 

 the Year Round will brave a certain amount of winter weather with- 

 out harm, if on a dry bottom, and assisted with occasional protection. 

 The best of all the Winter Lettuces, however, are Button's Winter 

 White and the popular Black-seeded Bath Cos, which are used in 

 almost every good garden, and are seldom injured by frost. 



The June sowings may be considered the last of the summer crop. 

 In August we begin for the winter crop, and sow small lots succes- 

 sively until the middle of October, after which it is waste of time and 

 seed to sow any more. The August and September sowings may be 

 made partly on an open border and partly in frames, but the October 

 sowings must be in frames only, for winter may overtake them in the 

 seed-leaf. The seedlings must in all cases be thinned and pricked 

 out as soon as large enough, and should be planted in fine soil, free 

 from recent manure, being carefully handled to avoid needless check. 

 Some should be planted in frames on beds of light soil near the 

 glass, at three inches apart, and when these meet they must be 

 thinned for the house as may be necessary : the remainder of the 

 thinnings may be put out on warm borders at six inches, and, if 



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