GroAV Salad Crops at Home 



E\'ERV person who has a garden 

 should plan to grow a succession of 

 salad plants. They are easily 

 grown and will succeed under most 

 adverse circumstances. Much of the 

 crispness and tenderness of salad plants 

 bought from the grocer are lost by the 

 necessary handUng from the producer 



lettuce in quaUty, having a crispness, 

 tenderness and flavor particularly its 

 own. The long and narrow leaves 

 require to be tied, when they soon form 

 solid heads and quickly bleach to snowy 

 whiteness. They become as stiff, crisp 

 and as sweet as celery stocks, and are 

 delicious when eaten in the same manner 



A Simple and Effective Summci 



to the consumer. To have them fresh 

 every day and in variety throughout the 

 season, the amateur should set apart a 

 place for them in the home garden. 



LETTUCE 



The salad plant that is grown the most 

 extensively in the home garden or for 

 market is' lettuce. It has one serious 

 drawback, however, and that is it cannot 

 stand the hot summer sun. This does 

 not prevent its culture during the sum- 

 mer, but necessitates a Uttle extra 

 trouble to afford it a screen to ward 

 off the sun's rays. These screens may 

 be made of laths or cheese cloth, tacked 

 on frames and placed a foot or so above 

 the plants. 



Edrlv spring lettuce may be grown in 

 hotbeds and cold frames. Not much 

 bottom heating is required. The seed 

 is sown in March. Some of the plants 

 may be allowed to mature in the frame 

 and others are transplanted to the open. 



As soon as the soil is fit to work in the 

 garden in spring, the seed may be sown 

 out of doors. vSced thinly in rows 10 

 or 12 inches apart, and, for head lettuce, 

 thin the plants to stand 10 inches in the 

 rows. The thinnings may be trans- 

 planted into new beds. For a succession , 

 however, it is better to sow seed every 

 two weeks. There are many good 

 varieties, among which are Big Boston 

 and Hanson. For a loose leaf or cutting 

 lettuce, probably Black Seeded vSimpson 

 is the best. 



Cos or celerv lettuce exceeds all other 



Playground for Old and Young 



or prepared for salad. Plant cos let- 

 tuce in rows 10 or 12 inches apart, and 

 thin to six inches in the row. 



already done so. It is a tender and 

 dehcious salad. Sow in June and have 

 a succession until late fall by sowing a 

 new row every two weeks. The leaves 

 will have to be blanched before used, 

 either bv tying together with some soft 

 material' or by standing boards on each 

 side of the row, allowing the tops of the 

 boards to meet over the centre. The 

 rows should be one and one-half feet 

 apart, and the plants should stand about 

 10 inches apart in the rows. 



CORN SALAD 



Com salad, or fetticus, is one of the 

 earUest spring salad vegetables coming 

 into condition to use with spinach. 

 Sown in fall and protected during the 

 winter, it starts into rapid growth when 

 the cover is removed in March or April. 

 The seed mav be sown also in spring and 

 the plants will be fit to use in six or eight 

 weeks. One packet of seed will suffice 

 for a small family. Sow in rows a foot 

 apart. 



CRESS 



The curled garden cress is a useful 

 plant, as its leaves may be used for garn- 

 ishing as well as for salads. It will grow 

 in anv good soil. Sow early in spring 

 and a crop may be cut in four or live 

 weeks. A succession of sowings must 

 be made as it runs quickly to seed. 

 Sow thicklv in drills about a foot apart. 



The Beautiful Home of a Horticultural Enthusiast 



The residence of Dr. Dryden, Guelph, Ontario. Note particularly the effect produced by window boxes and 



read the short article on page 147. 



A salad plant that is at its best during 

 the summer, when good lettuce is scarce, 

 is endive. For this reason, you should 

 cultivate a taste for it, if you have not 



Water cress grows rapidly on the 

 edges of springs, brooks, open drains or 

 ponds. A few plants for private use 

 mav be grown in a frame, provided a 



145 



