102 A Peep into a Salad Bowl. 



they progressed lapidly, so that by the 16th of June each plant had 

 formed a tuber about as large as a nutmeg. On that day, after 

 hardening them off, I planted them out, having first prepared a 

 ridge on a southeastern slope, the soil being a very light sand ; this I 

 stirred to two feet in depth, mixing' with it a good quantity of rotten 

 manure. I placed no glasses over them, considering that if it is really to 

 prove a hardy esculent fit for general culture, such e.xtreme care should 

 not be required. And now for my success ! By the 30th of June they 

 were much less than when planted out; the heavy rains in July gave 

 them a " heavy blow and great discouragement," and at this moment only 

 two out of six are alive, and they have shoots perhaps 6 inches long. 



In the extreme south of France, and in Spain, with careful culture, it 

 may succeed, but with our cloudy skies and equable temi)erature, I fear it 

 will not even reward the amateur gardener, who looks only for small re- 

 turns after much labor. As an article of general culture it never can be 

 of the slightest utility, and it is really a pity that so much was done in 

 the puffing way with it. A very clever French gardener has made a for- 

 tune by it; and when he was with me a short time since 1 showed him 

 my plants, telling him at the same time that I was aware it had filled his 

 pocket, but that I thougtit it would never fill our stomachs. His saga- 

 cious grin and shrug were things worth looking at. 



The flesh is white and very mealy, not equal in flavor to the potato. 

 The plant has a rambling stem which reaches the height of five and six. 

 feet, the leaves heart-shaped, the flowers very small, dicecious, of a yel- 

 lowish color, and produced from the axles of the leaves. It is a perennial, 

 and can therefore remain in the ground several years, the tubers increas- 

 ing iu size with advancing age. We have seen them two feet long. In 

 this latitude they will doubtless require some winter protection. 



A PEEl' INTO A SALAD BOWL. 



"Mv dear, learned friend," said the doctor, "a bowl of lettuce is the 

 Venus of the dinner-table I It rises upon the sight cool, moist and beau- 

 tiful, like that very imprudent lady coming out of the water, sir! And^ 

 to complete the image, sir, neither should be dressed too much I" 



When Doctor Bushwhacker had issued this observation, he drew him- 

 self up in a very portly manner, as if he felt called upon to defend him- 

 self as well as his image. Then, after a short pause, he broke — silence. 



" Lactuca, or lettuce, is one of the most common vegetables in the 

 world ; it has been known, sir, fi«m time immemorial ; it was as common, 



