302 VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES. 



and its leaves are of an oblong shape; the latter 

 has rounder leaves folded together, and forming a 

 low, full head, spreading out close to the ground. 

 When in perfection for gathering, the leaves of both 

 sorts are lapped one over the other in a compact, 

 close order, forming what is usually called the heart, 

 the inner part of which, being thus excluded from 

 light and air, becomes nearly white. This natural 

 blanching is often assisted by artificial means, and 

 when the inner leaves begin to close, the outer ones 

 are tied round them with a piece of bast.* The 

 blanching prevents the formation of the bitter or 

 acrid principle, which is very perceptible in all the 

 varieties, if allowed to remain in the ground and com- 

 plete their growth, when the leaves expand and the 

 flower-stalk begins to ascend. 



Lettuce being a hardy and free growing plant, may 

 be obtained early in the season, if sown in a warm 

 border, and protected from the frost during the night. 

 For early use the cabbage is the best, as in that stage 

 it is more delicate in flavour than the other; but when 

 both have arrived at maturity, the cos is the most 

 succulent. 



ENDIVE Cichorium endivia is abundantly culti- 

 vated, if not found wild, in China and Japan; and 

 thus the accounts that describe it as a native of those 

 countries, and as having been imported into the West 

 about the early part of the sixteenth century, have 

 probability on their side. Few particulars of the 

 history of this plant are, however, known. 



It is a hardy annual, producing a great stock of 

 leaves from the crown of the root. These leaves are 

 large, smooth on the surface, but much divided into 

 lobes, and toothed at the edge. The flowering stem 



* The material of Russia matting, made from the inner bark 

 of the lime-tree, and which is a well-known essential in 

 kitchen-gardens. 



