LEEK-LETTUCE 65 



purpose in cookery for which Onions or Shallots are usually employed. 

 They are called 'Leek Bulbs,' and are obtainable only in early 

 summer. 



LETTUCE 



(Lactuca sativa) 



THE LETTUCE is the king of salads, and as a cooked vegetable it 

 has its value ; but as it does not compete with the Pea, the Asparagus, 

 or the Cauliflower, we need not make comparisons, but may proceed 

 to the consideration of its uses in the uncooked state. The scientific 

 advisers on diet and health esteem the Lettuce highly for its anti- 

 scorbutic properties, and for its especial wholesomeness as a corrective, 

 supplying as it does the blood with vegetable juices that are so need- 

 ful to accompany flesh foods when cooked vegetables are unattainable. 

 Our summers are usually too brief and too cool to permit us to 

 acquire a true knowledge of the uses of the Lettuce, but in Southern 

 Europe and many parts of the East it acquires the importance of a 

 necessary of life, and those large red Lettuces that are occasionally 

 grown here as curiosities are prized above all others because of their 

 crisp coolness and refreshing flavour under a burning sun. 



The numerous varieties may, for practical purposes, be grouped in 

 two classes Cabbage and Cos Lettuces. They vary greatly in habit 

 and are adapted for different purposes, the first group being invalu- 

 able for mixed salads at all seasons, but more especially in winter 

 and early spring ; the second group is most serviceable in the summer 

 season, and is adapted for a simple kind of salad, the leaves being 

 more crisp and juicy. A certain number of both classes should be 

 grown in every garden, both for their exceeding usefulness to appetite 

 and health, and their elegance on the table, whether plain or dressed. 

 In the selection of sorts, leading types should be kept in view, as in 

 departing from these types for the mere sake of variety or novelty 

 we are likely to be rewarded for our waywardness by securing bad 

 Lettuces. Some of the varieties produced of late years have no 

 claim to a place in a good list, for their size is a sign of coarseness, 

 and if they afford a great bulk of blanched material, it is too often 

 destitute of flavour, or altogether objectionable. The best types are 

 tender and delicately flavoured, representing centuries of cultivation 

 and selection, and the sub-varieties of these types should retain their 

 leading characteristics, though perhaps they are more hardy and stand 

 longer, and are therefore much to be desired. For the earliest crop we 



