LETTUCE. 95 



plenty of air on bright days, with a light covering of straw, 

 old carpet or matting when the weather is very severe as, 

 when the thermometer indicates twelve or fifteen degrees 

 of frost. They are as hardy as cabbage plants, but if not 

 kept well aired, they become more susceptible to the cold 

 and are less robust. 



In the month of March, or as soon as the ground is in 

 working order, these plants may be transplanted into a 

 good rich warm border, and will be fit to cut for use in 

 May. They should be planted in rows, twelve inches apart 

 each way. 



As early cabbages are planted at the same time, it is the 

 custom of some of our market gardeners to set them two 

 feet apart on the row, and set a lettuce plant midway be- 

 tween each, which becomes fit to use long before the cab- 

 bage grows large enough to interfere with it; by this 

 means much room and some labor is saved. 



Another mode is to sow the seed very thinly in a dry, 

 warm, sheltered bed, leaving it out all winter, but protect- 

 ing it with leaves or a sprinkling of straw when frost sets 

 in. Some persons sow a sprinkling of seed along with 

 autumn- sown spinach, but it repays the trouble to trans- 

 plant them into frames, as above directed. 



The tender or summer lettuce should be sown in a cold 

 frame in February or March, being careful to keep the 

 frame well covered up at night, but airing it well during 

 the day, to prevent the. plants being drawn up. These 

 plants will be ready to set out in April or May, or when 

 they are about two inches high. 



The soil for lettuce can scarcely be too rich, for to have 

 it in its greatest perfection it must be grown rapidly. The 

 soil should be well hoed every two, weeks after planting, aa 

 lettuce thrives best in soil that is frequently stirred and 

 kept open. 



