356 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES. 



be had all through the rainy season. The culture is the 

 same as for lettuce. The plant also resembles lettuce ; we 

 have some varieties of open growth and some which are 

 disposed to form somewhat compact heads of foliage. In 

 this State both the French and Italian improved kinds are 

 hardy in California valley winters. 



Cress. Lepidium sativum, and Water Cress. Nastur- 

 tium officinale. 



Garden cress is easily grown all the year in the coast 

 region if the ground is kept moist. The seed should be 

 sown at short intervals, as the leaves come on very quickly. 

 In the interior it is chiefly a winter plant, as summer heat 

 checks leaf growth and carries the plant to seed. Water 

 cress has grown freely in California ponds and pools, and 

 was found in such places by our earlier botanists. In Cali- 

 fornia it makes very rank growth, producing stems five 

 and six feet high and proportionate luxuriance of leaf 

 growth. It usually volunteers freely wherever water 

 stands, filling road-side ditches and similar places. All that 

 is needed is to prepare a place suitable for its growth. 



Dandelion. Leontodon taraxacum. 



This plant has been widely introduced on the moister 

 lands throughout the State, and is used for salad and for 

 boiling, as it appears in abundance after the fall rains. 

 The plant is also grown to a limited extent by foreign-born 

 market gardeners, and some of the improved garden va- 

 rieties have been introduced for their. use. It can be grown 

 as lettuce is, whenever the soil carries moisture enough. 



Gherkin. Cucumis anguria. 



This plant is different from the small pickling cucum- 

 bers which are often called gherkins. It is a creeping, 

 branching plant, making a dense mat of stems well laden 

 with small, oval fruit covered with spine-like protuber- 

 ances. It endures heat and drought well, and is very pro- 

 lific even in interior situations in California. 



