LETTUCE. Ill 



are covered with coarse manure or litter in the fall, and 

 during February and March this is removed, the earth 

 spaded up, and the plants set about eight inches each 

 way, covered by sashes, and afterwards treated as cold- 

 frames, except as the object is to force the plants they are 

 kept quite close, and allowed more moisture. 



Marketing. When the plants have formed heads 

 (which, by the way, never get solid as that term is ap- 

 plied to cabbage), they are fit to cut. This applies to 

 open-air culture, those growing under glass seldom form- 

 ing much head. Cut them close to the ground ; remove 

 to the market-house ; trim off the outer or decayed 

 leaves ; rinse in clean water, and pack lightly in well- 

 ventilated barrels. 



Seed. When the stock is pure, there is little choice to 

 be made. It is best to go over the bed when the heads 

 are in their prime, and remove all such as will not head 

 or that show signs of impurity, if any there be. For 

 stock seed, select such as are extra fine, and by the side 

 of each head firmly set a tail stick as a mark, when 

 the seed from all such plants may be saved by itself. 

 When the seed is ripe, the heads in which it is contained 

 become plump and yellow, but as it ripens very un- 

 evenly, the only way is to average the whole. For 

 instance, some stalks will show more than one half of 

 the heads to be ripe, when the stalk must be cut off, 

 although there may be blossoms still on the same plant ; 

 but if left for these blossoms to set and ripen, the first 

 and best seed will fall out and be lost. The stalks will 

 require two or three cuttings, as some will be more 

 advanced than others. The small branches to which the 

 seed-heads are attached must be cut from the stalks 

 upon cloths, exposed to the sun until dry, and thrashed. 

 The cleaning of lettuce-seed is often quite tedious, espe- 

 cially if there be much wet weather when the blossoms 

 are shedding, for. then they are apt to curl up and 



