120 GARDENS AND THEIR MEANING 



should be tossed about for a moment in a piece of cheese- 

 cloth or mosquito netting. Then lay it directly on the ice. 

 The delicious crispness and coolness of prime lettuce can- 

 not be equaled ; indeed, its food value lies largely in its 

 refreshing qualities. Lettuce is the chief constituent of most 

 salads ; eaten with an oil dressing and a dash of vinegar, 

 not too much, it is considered most wholesome. There are 

 several varieties of lettuce which are now only slightly known 

 in America, but which could easily become popular ; their 

 flavor, according to the taste of many persons, is superior. 



Onions. Onions have the name of being one of the best 

 stimulant vegetables known; they deserve to be even better 

 appreciated than they are. Onions are bulbs ; they may be 

 grown from the seed or from onion sets. Sets are baby onions, 

 formed by division of the parent bulb. Growing onions from 

 the seed requires very careful handling, for the seedlings are 

 mere wisps ; this makes prompt cultivation most important, 

 because if weeds once get the right of way, it is almost impos- 

 sible to kill them. In this case a steel rake loosens the earth 

 well, for it allows the seedlings to pass between its teeth. Seeds 

 may be sown in a box indoors in January or February. The 

 plants must then be pricked out into deeper boxes and finally 

 planted in rich, firm ground at the end of April. They will 

 be ready for harvesting by the end of August, when they 

 should be drawn from the ground and thoroughly sunned. 



A more satisfactory method, however, is to plant the sets. 

 The first year they can be purchased from seedsmen. Onion 

 sets should be put into the ground at the earliest possible 

 moment, and the bed reserved for them must be as richly 

 prepared as possible. Well-rotted manure, poultry drop- 

 pings, bone meal, and wood ashes are sometimes all dug in 

 together. Plant the sets in rows about six inches apart. 

 Put them in just deep enough for the green top to show 



