LETTUCE LILY 147 



Lettuce is probably the most extensively grown 

 salad vegetable. It is now in demand, and is procurable, every 

 month in the year. The winter and early spring crops are 

 grown in forcing-houses and coldframes, but a supply from 

 the garden may be had from April to November, by the use 

 of a cheap frame in which to grow the first and last crops, 

 relying on a succession of sowings for the intermediate 

 supply. Seed for the first crop may be sown in a coldframe 

 in March, growing the crop thick and having many plants 

 which are small and tender ; or, by thinning out to the dis- 

 tance of 3 inches and allowing the plants to make a larger 

 growth, the plants pulled up may be set in the open ground 

 for the next crop. Sowings should be made in the garden 

 from April to October, at short intervals. A 

 moist location should be selected for the July 

 and August sowings. The early and late sow- 

 ings should be of some loose -growing variety, 

 as they are in edible condition sooner than 

 the cabbage or heading varieties. plant of heading lettuce 



The cabbage varieties are far superior to the loose - 

 growing kinds for salads. To be grown to perfection, they 

 should have very rich soil, frequent cultivation and an oc- 

 casional stimulant, such as liquid manure or nitrate of soda. 

 The Cos Lettuce is an upright -growing type much es- 

 teemed in Europe, but less grown here. The leaves of the 

 full grown plants are tied together, thus blanching the cen- 

 ter, making it a desirable salad or garnishing variety. It 

 thrives best in summer. One ounce of seed will grow 3,000 

 plants or sow 100 feet of drill. In the garden, plants may 

 stand 6 inches apart in the rows, and the rows may be as 

 close together as the system of tillage will allow. 



Lily. Bulbous plants of many kinds. It has 

 been said of this family of plants that it has no "poor 

 relations," each of them being perfect in itself. Many of 

 the choicest kinds are comparatively unknown, although 



