182 LETTUCE. 



placed behind a handglass well fastened to the wall, 

 which will exclude rain and frost, and admit, till 

 late in autumn, the benefit of the declining sun. 



Lettuce. Of it there are many varieties ; but 

 two or three of the best may suffice. Of the tall 

 growing sort, named cross or ice lettuce, the green 

 is the fittest for this climate. To have it early, it 

 may be sown by a south wall in February, or for 

 convenience, along with onions or carrots. The seed 

 cannot be too lightly covered. When the seedlings 

 are three or four inches high, they may be trans- 

 planted in showery weather, in rows one foot apart 

 in each direction. By tying the leaves together 

 near the top, when well grown, they soon become 

 beautifully blanched and delicate. Of the cabbage 

 kind, the brown is best for standing the winter, 

 and eats very tenderly in spring. It may be sown 

 in drills on a warm dry border in A ugust, and must 

 be well thinned and cleared, in order to get hardy 

 before the frosts come on. Another cabbage lettuce. 



o 



which has obtained the nume of drumhead, blanches 

 well of its own accord, and is the most tender of 

 all the tribe. It does not stand the winter, but is 

 excellent for summer and autumn use. To have 

 lettuce at all times, no other rule is necessary than 

 to make successive sowings, keeping pace with the 

 eating or the shooting of the crops. The milky 

 juice common to this family is an opiate, and has 

 been used medicinally. 



Mangold, or Mangel-wurzel a species of beet. 

 The French, probably from mistaking the German 



