LAC 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



LAC 



the wild than the garden Lettuce. The leaves are of a 

 deeper green, and resemble those of the Oak : whence its 

 name. Native of Sweden and Germany. 



2. Lactuca Intybacea; Endive-leaved Lettuce. Leaves 

 runcinate, tooth-ciliate, blunt, embracing; stem panic-led. 

 The whole plant is smooth and milky; corollets sulphur- 

 coloured. Native of South America. 



3. Lactuca Saliva; Garden Lettuce. Leaves rounded; 

 stem-leaves cordate ; stem corymbed. Stem strong, round, 

 two feet or three-quarters of a yard in height, bearing abun- 

 dance of small yellow flowers. This plant has long been 

 celebrated for its cooling and wholesome properties; and as 

 it contains a quantity of milky juice of an opiate nature, it in 

 consequence promotes sleep ; and it is also in some degree laxa- 

 tive and aperient, and very proper for hot bilious dispositions. 

 The seeds are of an emollient nature ; they unite with water 

 by trituration into an emulsion or milky liquor, which has 

 nothing of the aperient bitterness of the milky juice of the 

 leaves ; it is very similar to the emulsion of almonds, but 

 more cooling in its nature, and therefore a better medicine 

 in heat of urine, and oilier disorders which arise from acrimony 

 and irritation. The native country of this plant is not known. 

 The Germans call it yartensalat ; the Dutch, tuinsalade, or 

 latuw ; the French, la laitite cultivee, on commune. Lac- 

 tuca, a little changed, is the prevailing word in the European 

 languages for Lettuce. The Russians, Danes, and Swedes, 

 call it laktuk; the Italians, lattuga; the Spaniards, lechuga; 

 and the Portuguese, leituga. The several varieties culti- 

 vated for use in kitchen-gardens, are, 1. Common, or Garden 

 Lettuce ; 2. Cabbage Lettuce ; 3. Cilicia ; 4. Dutch Brown ; 

 5. Aleppo; 6. Imperial; 7. Green Capuchin; 8. Versailles, 

 or Upright White Cos; 9. Black Cos; 10. Red Capuchin; 

 11. Roman; 12. Prince; 13. Royal; 14. Egyptian Cos. 

 Propagation and Culture. The common Lettuce is sown 

 for cutting very young, to mix with other salad herbs, and 

 is only different from the Cabbage Lettuce in being a dege- 

 neracy therefrom ; or rather the Cabbage Lettuce is an im- 

 provement by frequent cultivation upon the Common Let- 

 tuce; for if the seeds be saved from such plants of the 

 former as did not cabbage closely, the plants produced from 

 that seed will degenerate to the first sort, which is by the 

 gardeners called Lapped-Lettuce, to distinguish it from the 

 other, which they call Cabbage-Lettuce. The seeds of the 

 Common Lettuce, which are usually saved from any of the 

 plants without regard to their goodness, are generally sold at 

 a very cheap rate, especially in dry seasons, when they always 

 seed in the greatest abundance; and is sometimes sold for 

 Cabbage Lettuce, so that the buyer is disappointed in his 

 crop. This sort therefore should never be cultivated but to 

 be cut up very young, being the only kind fit for that purpose. 

 It may be sown at any time of the year, observing only to 

 sow it in shady borders during hot weather, and in the spring 

 and autumn, upon warm borders; but in winter it should be 

 sown under glasses, otherwise it is subject to be destroyed 

 by severe frosts. The Cabbage Lettuce may also be sown 

 at different times of the year, in order to have a continuation 

 of it through the whole season. The first crop is generally 

 sown in February, upon a warm spot of ground; and when 

 the plants are come up, they should be thinned out to the 

 distance of ten inches each way, which may be done by hoe- 

 ing them out, as is practised for Turnips, Carrots, Onions, &c. 

 provided you have no occasion for the superfluous plants ; 

 otherwise they may be drawn up, and transplanted into an- 

 other spot of ground at the same distance, which, if done 

 before the plants are too large, they will succeed very well, 

 though they will not be so large as those which are left upon 



the spot where they are sown, but they will come somewhat 

 later, which will be of service where people do not continue 

 sowing every fortnight or three weeks in summer. You must 

 also observe, in sowing the succeeding crops, as the season 

 advances, to choose a shady moist situation, but not under 

 the drip of trees, which would cause them to run up into 

 seed in summer before they cabbage. In the beginning of 

 August, sow the seeds for the last crop, which is to stand 

 over winter, ihiuly upon a good light soil, in a warm situa- 

 tion ; and when the plants are come up, they must be hoed 

 out, that they may stand singly. Remove all the weeds, and in 

 the beginning of October transplant them into warm borders, 

 where, if the winter is not severe, they will stand very well ; 

 but in order to be sore of a crop, it will be advisable to 

 plant a few upon a bed pretty close together, where they 

 may be arched over with hoops, and in severe frosts covered 

 with mats, straw, or pease-haulm, to secure them from being 

 destroyed. In the spring of the year they may be trans- 

 planted out into a warm rich soil, ten inches asunder; but still 

 those that grew under the wall, if they escaped the winter, 

 and were suffered to remain, will cabbage sooner than those 

 which are removed again ; but you must observe not to 

 place them too close to the wall, which would occasion their 

 growing up iall, and prevent their being large or hard. In 

 order to save good seeds of this kind, look over your Lettuces 

 while in perfection, and mark such as are very hard and 

 grow low, by placing sticks in the ground close to them. 

 Pull up all that you do not want for seed, as soon as they 

 begin to run up, lest, when they come to flower, the farina 

 of the bad should mix with the good, and so degenerate the 

 seeds, which should always be saved either from those which 

 stood through the winter, or those which were sown early in 

 the spring, for the later ones very seldom perfect their seeds. 

 The Cilicia, Imperial, Royal, Black, White, and Upright 

 Cos Lettuces, may be sown first at the latter end of Febru- 

 qry, or the beginning of March, upon a moderate hot-bed, 

 or on a warm light soil, in a sheltered situation ; and when 

 the plants are come up, and are fit to transplant, those which 

 are sown on the hot-bed should be transplanted on another 

 warm bed about four inches asunder row from row, and two 

 inches' distance in the rows, shading them from the sun until 

 they have taken new root ; after which, they should have a 

 larger share of air daily, to prevent their drawing up weak; 

 but in favourable seasons, transplant them at the beginning 

 of April, where they are to remain, placing 1 them sixteen inches 

 apart each way, because the large sorts must not be placed 

 near each other; those sown in the full ground will be later 

 before they come up, and should be either hoed out, or trans- 

 planted into another spot of ground, especially if the soil 

 be good. After they have taken fresh root, weed them care- 

 fully, which is all the culture they will require, except the 

 Black Cos Lettuce, which should be tied up when they are 

 full grown, in the manner as directed for blanching of En- 

 dive, (See Cichorium Endivia,) to whiten their inner leaves, 

 and render them crisp, otherwise they are seldom good for 

 much, rarely cabbaging without this assistance. When they 

 are in perfection, mark those you intend for seed, as already 

 directed for the Common Cabbage Lettuce, and take away 

 the rest, for the reasons above given. These sorts may also 

 be continued throughout the Lettuce season, by sowing them 

 in April, May, and June, observing to sow the late crops in a 

 shady situation, otherwise they will run up to seed before 

 they grow to any size ; but in the middle of September you 

 may sow of these sorts to abide the winter; which plants should 

 be transplanted either under glasses, or into a bed, which 

 should be arched over with hoops, in order to be covered in 



