74 GARDENING FOR ALL. 
with a fork, in order that their roots may be easily and safely 
withdrawn from the soil. Use a trowel for planting in 
trenches, and a dibber for planting in beds. 
The after culture is the same as for producing good 
celery. Give abundance of liquid manure. 
LETTUCE.—(Lactuca sativa). 
The lettuce is a smooth, herbaceous, annual plant, 
containing a milky juice, which has been cultivated from 
remote antiquity, and is in general use as a salad. The 
original locality is unknown. The immature plant only is 
eaten, as it is narcotic and poisonous when in flower. Over 
twenty species of Lactuca are known from various parts 
of the globe. The inspissated or thickened juice, known 
as lettuce-opium, is used medicinally to allay pain and induce 
sleep. 
Lettuces form a profitable crop to grow if obtained and 
sent to market early in the season. The tenderest and most 
appreciated lettuce is that grown in borders, early in spring, 
under glass. [he seed may be sown in autumn, planted in 
the borders in November, and the crop sent to market in 
February. Seed sown in January will produce plants ready 
for sale in April if grown under the same conditions as the 
previous. 
Many acres are grown about Evesham and sent to 
market early in the spring. These are obtained from seed 
sown in September and October and planted out under 
shelter of the fruit trees and fences, at the end of October 
and beginning of November, where they receive much 
protection from frost. 
Large quantities of excellent lettuces are grown under 
bell-glasses and hand-lights, and come into use a little earlier 
than those under the trees, &c. 
A pinch of seed of Tom Thumb or Early Paris Market 
sown in a box in February, and planted out in April on a 
warm and sheltered border, will give good and crisp lettuce 
at the end of May and early in June. 
A later and successional supply will be obtained by 
sowing in the open border in April, and at intervals up to, 
