158 AMERICAN GARDENER, 



that Celery is; the other third, covered in the 

 same way that Celery is, will be ready for spring 

 use. See Celery . Three leeks planted out for 

 seed, will ripen their seed in August, and will 

 give you seed enough for the next year, and some 

 to give to five or six neighbours. 



230. LETTUCE. -This great article of the 

 garden is milky, refreshing, and pleasanter to a 

 majority of tastes than any other plant, the Aspa- 

 ragus hardly excepted. So necessary is it as the 

 principal ingredient of a good salad, that it is 

 both in France and England called "salad" by 

 great numbers of people. It is good in stews : good 

 bolied with green-peas ; and, even as a dish boiled 

 as cabbage is, it is an excellent vegetable. Yet, 

 I never saw a really fine Lettuce s n America. The 

 obstacles are, the complete impossibility of pre- 

 serving plants of the fine sorts iu the natural 

 ground during the winter ; and the great heat, 

 which will not suffer those sorts to loave, if they 

 be sowed in the natural ground in the spring. 

 The hard sorts are the green cabbage-lettuce (or 

 hardy green], and the brown cabbage. These are 

 3at plants. Their outside leaves spread forth 

 upon the ground, and they curl into a sort of 

 loaf in the centre. The plants of these may be 

 preserved through the winter in the natural ground 

 in the manner directed for Endive plants (which 

 see under Endive) and may be sowed at the 

 same tinv for that purpose. But these are very 

 poor things. They have, though bleached at 

 the heart, a slimy feel in the mouth ; and are 

 not cris/i and refreshing. There are, I believe, 

 twenty sorts, two of which only it will be enough 

 to mention, green-coss and white-coss^ the former 



