352 



VEGETABLE GARDENING 



made of lettuce in the following descriptions are those 

 recognized by most seedsmen and horticultural writers; 

 namely, the cos, distinguished by their upright habit, 

 long, loaf-shaped heads, and spatulate leaves; the butter, 

 distinguished by their buttery flavor; and the crisp, dis- 

 tinguished by their hard, crisp texture. . . . There 

 is no difficulty in identifying the cos varieties (Figure 

 84), but certain of the crisp and the butter varieties are 

 much alike. The latter are generally more delicately 

 flavored, softer, and more pliable in texture. The crisp 

 varieties are coarser veined and larger ribbed than the 

 butter sorts, but not more so than the cos varieties. 



-g*f*r 



FlG. 84. COS LETTUCE 



Their borders are also more developed than other parts 

 of the leaf, and the cotyledons of the young seedlings are 

 generally longer than those of the butter sorts. On ac- 

 count of their much-developed borders they are some- 

 nmes called frilled lettuce. 



"These three classes of lettuce are each again separated 

 into two subclasses. The cos are divided into those 

 which are self-closing, or comprise kinds which form 

 well-blanched heads without tying up, and the loose- 

 closing, or those open sorts, which will not form well- 



