Leucadendron 



Leucojum 



Soil. Well-worked, rich loam for preference, 

 but good Lettuces can be produced in almost any 

 fertile soil. 



Summer Lettuces. Seeds should be sown under 

 glass during January and February, and the plants 

 subsequently placed on a warm border. From 

 March onwards, outdoor sowings are made, and 

 the best system is to draw shallow drills 1' 

 apart, disposing the seeds thinly so as to reduce 

 the necessity for thinning. The advantage of this 

 over broadcast sowing is that the thinnings may be 

 utilised for forming other rows, while those that 

 remain will develop'into splendid produce. The last 

 sowing for summer Lettuces may be made in July. 

 Though tying is frequently neglected, owing to the 

 time occupied, it is false economy, as, without ex- 

 ception, the Cos varieties are all improved thereby. 



Winter Lettuces. The hardiest varieties are 

 employed for this purpose, notably Hammersmith 

 Hardy Green, All the Year Round, Hicks' 

 Hardy White, and Black Seeded Bath, the first 

 two being Cabbage varieties and the last two 

 Cos. All the Year Kound and Bath Cos are 

 the best, the last named being probably the 

 hardiest. August sowings outdoors practically 

 commence the winter crop, and the successional 

 plants must be in frames, some of them to remain 

 for development, and others to have a place on 

 warm borders. The greatest possible amount of 

 air, consistent with safety, must be admitted to 

 the frames, and the soil should be moist. It is not 

 advisable to attempt very rapid forcing, as it will 

 end in failure in many cases, but Cabbage Lettuces 

 force well. One of .the best varieties for the pur- 

 pose is Golden Ball. 



Selection of Varieties : 



Cog Section : 



Black Seeded Bath. Superb Green. 



Hicks' Hardy White. Superb White. 



Cabbage Section : 

 All the Year Round, Continuity. 



Commodore Nutt. Golden Ball. 



Hardy Varieties : 

 All the Year Round. Black Seeded Bath Cos. 



Lettuce Fly. Fortunately this pest (Anthomyia 

 Lactucse) is not much known to gardeners, because 

 it does not commence its attacks until the plants 

 begin to flower. It is the seed grower who suffers 

 most from the Lettuce fly. Eggs are deposited on 

 the flowers, and the larval bore into and destroy the 

 seeds as they mature. Some system of spraying 

 just before the flowers expand would probably 

 save the crop, but this is seldom done, and the 

 safe plan of uprooting and burning badly infested 

 stocks is followed. The Lettuce fly resembles 

 the Onion fly and Cabbage fly in form, but the 

 male is black, with light stripes, and has a dull 

 brown head ; while the female is greyish, with 

 conspicuously black legs. 



LEUCADENDRON. (SILVER TREE.) 

 Very pretty shrubs or small trees (ord. Pro- 

 teacese) now seldom found in cultivation, but 

 adapted for the greenhouse or conservatory. The 

 dried leaves of argenteum, the most ornamental 

 species, are imported in great numbers from the 

 Cape, and are much used, because of their silvery 

 appearance, for wreaths and other ornamental 

 purposes. Propagation, by cuttings of the young 



Lettuce, Lamb's (see Corn Salad). 



tips under a bell-glass in May, in sand. Argen- 

 teum, however, is raised from seeds, and can only 

 be grown successfully for any length of time where 

 the air is particularly pure. London fogs have 

 been responsible for the death of many plants. 

 They require a greenhouse temperature and a. 

 compost of fibrous peat and a little loam, with a, 

 few pieces of charcoal. 



Principal Species : 



argenteum, 15', Aug., yel., foliage silvery. 



Other Species : 



icmulum, 4', Jy.. yel. pur. (syns. stellare and 



aiigustatum, 4', Je., yel. Protea fuscinorum). 



ciuereum, 3', Je., yel. graudiflorum, 4', Ap., yel. 



ciirymuosum, 4', Ap., yel. plumosum, 4', Jy., yel. 



(.I/H. Protea corym- sericeuni, 3', My., yel. 



bbsa). tortum, 5', small oblique 



fuscinorum, 3', Je., pale Ivs. 



LEUCERIA (syn. LEUCHERIA). 



Greenhouse annual or perennial herbs (ord. 

 Composite) closely related to the Chaptalias. Of 

 the twenty-five species comprising the genus only 

 one, runcinata, 1', June, white and pink, fragrant, 

 needs mention. It may be treated as a half-hardy 

 annual, and will flourish in warm spots in any 

 ordinary soil. (Syns. Chabraa rosea, C. runcinata, 

 Lasiorriu'za rosea, and L. runcinata.) 



LEUCHTENBERGIA. 



A greenhouse succulent (urd. CacteaV), closely 

 allied to Echinocactus, and needing similar treat- 

 ment. The only species is Principis, 1', June, 

 yellow. 



LEUCOCARPUS. 



A. small genus (ord. Scrophularineaj). The only 

 species of note alatus, 2', summer, yellow is a 

 half-hardy perennial that requires winter protec- 

 tion. Propagation, by division when growth com- 

 mences in spring. Soil, loam and leaf mould, with 

 coarse sand. 



LEUCOCORYNE. 



Pretty little half-hardy bulbous plants (ord. 

 Liliacea;), cultivated like the Ixias (which see). 

 They resemble the Brodiaeas in appearance. 



Principal Species : 



alliacea, 9", Je., lil.or wh. wh. (til/in, odorata, 



ixioides, 1', Aug., bl. or irarcissiflora, purpurea, 



etc). 



LEUCOJUM. (SNOWFLAKE.) 



Charming bulbous plants (aril. Amaryllidete) of 

 much value for the garden, and highly prized for 

 cut flowers. The sub-genus Acis, now included 

 with Leucojum by botanists, is described under 

 AciS. Propagation, by offsets removed when the 

 leaves become yellow, and by seeds sown when ripe, 

 either in the open or in pans in frames. Seedlings 

 are several years before they bloom. Soil, light, 

 rather sandy loam for the spring-flowering species, 

 but a moister and heavier one for the forms of 

 rcstivurn, which in some places thrive as semi- 

 aquatics. 



Principal Species and Varieties : 

 a-stivum, 1.'.', Ap., My., hyemale, 6", Ap., frame, 



wh.; flowers larger, Ivs. wh. (yns. nie.veuse- 



broader than those of and Acis hyemale). 



pulchellum, and blooms pulchellum, 1^', Ap., 



a little later. wh. 



Lcucadendron (of Salisbury, see Leucospermum). 

 Leucadendron (i<f Linnaeus, see Protea). 



