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THE SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST AMONG LETTUCES 
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VARIETIES Seas oa Saas ela COLOR OF PLANT DOR eS SHINEE FLAVOR SPECIAL NOTES 
Sonn 4’ APART | FOR USE GROWTH |conpition| QUALITIES 3 
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Early Loose-Leaf 
Black Seeded Simpson (| June 14 Light yellowish green Spreading | June 30] Excellent Mild Best of Class 
Grand Rapids \ April 25 June rt ~| June 12 Light green Upright June 25 Good Mild For Porcine 
Prizehead {i June 20 Brownish, green and bronze Upright July 5 Excellent Bitter Biggest seller 
| 
Early Butterhead 
B. S. Tennisball i aise Maw Pens) Deep yellowish green Spreading | July 2 Good Mild For Forcin 
B. S. Big Boston ( April 25 May 20 | June2o i Light green. brown edge Upright | July 3 Good Pronounced For Porcine 
Wayahead April 18 Maw ae §| June 10 Dark yellow green Upright | June 24 | Excellent Mild Best early outdoors 
Naumburger j nie (| June r5 Dark green. brown spots Upright June 27 | Excellent Mild Long Standing 
Midseason Butterhead \ Does exceptionally 
A 5 Se} 
California Cream Butter ) ; June r | June 30 Dark green with large brown spots Upright | July 5 Excellent Pronounced | well on poor ail 
All Seasons (6 April 25 May 20 | June 25] __ Dark green Spreading | July 10! Excellent Pronounced Stands cold better 
Speckled Dutch Butter June 2 July 2 Light green, red tinge on edge of leaves Upright July 8 | Good Pronounced than heat 
Late Butter and Crisphead 
Brown Dutch a June r July 5 Dark green, with brown tints Spreading | July to] Excellent Bitter Good for fall 
Iceberg April 25 May 20 June 20 Light green, pink edges Upright July 3 Good Crisp but tasteless 
New York ii a >) | June r June 25 Dark green Upright | July 12] Excellent Crisp but tasteless 
Crisp as Ice May 20 | June 30 Dark green with bronze shades Upright | July 5 Excellent Bitter Good for fall 
Cos Lettuce : | ie Sweet while young 
Paris White April 25 | June r July «x | Dark green Upright | July 8 Excellent Pronounced later 
Remark: “Pronounced” stands for stronger than mild; “Bitter” stands for stronger than Pronounced. All are Good. 
istics into four groups: Loose-leaf, through the centre of each leaf and _ frosts and do real well clear up to cold 
Butterhead, Crisphead and Cos. 
THE FOUR SHARP GROUPS 
The Loose-leaf sorts do not form 
heads, but just large bunches of leaves 
which, while young, make an elegant 
salad, but are good for garnishing only 
as soon as one gets taste of a good But- 
terhead variety. (An understanding of 
this fact will prevent asking the peren- 
nial question, ‘“‘Why don’t my lettuces 
head?”—Ep.) Lettuce of the Butter- 
head group form solid heads, varying in 
size with the different sorts, according 
to the soil on which they were grown. 
Ideal soil grows very much larger heads 
than poor soil, hence the inadvisability 
of giving dimensions of heads of the 
different sorts. 
The Butterhead sorts are the real let- 
tuces for the connoisseur. They have 
the real “fatty” and “buttery” smooth 
flavor which cannot be described in cold 
language, while a few hours of cold 
storage will give them any degree of 
crispness besides. 
The Crisphead sorts are so called on 
account of the strong midrib that goes 
Making the Best of | eee Stephen F. Hamblin, a3. 
which incurves strongly, giving the 
heads almost the appearance of cab- 
bages. As compared with the Butter- 
heads, the Crispheads are of rather 
“flat” flavor, but they are indispensable 
on account of their heat resisting quali- 
ties. 
The Cos or Romaine lettuces are of 
quite distinct growth and appearance. 
They form upright, oblong, tightly 
folded bunches of leaves and make a 
pleasing salad of rather stronger flavor 
than the other classes. In England, 
where Cos lettuces are appreciated 
most, they are sometimes served and 
eaten like celery. 
Little need be said regarding the 
looseleaf sorts I recommend—the tables 
tell the story. The Butterheads I am 
dividing into early and midsummer 
sorts. Do not attempt to grow the early 
sorts during July or August. 
All Seasons, Iceberg, and California 
Cream Butter will fill the bill admirably 
during those months. Early in July, 
plant Brown Dutch among Butterheads 
and Crisp-as-Ice among the Crispheads 
for late fall use. Both sorts stand light 
I. A Garden in Pure Sand 
weather. The same may be said of 
Wayahead and Naumburger, but these 
should be planted the middle of July to 
be ready early in September. 
REAL LETTUCE FROM JUNE TO OCTOBER 
For a real schedule of “lettuce that 
is fit to eat” from June until October 
1st, try this: 
Start Black Seeded Simpson, Wayahead, and 
Naumburger in the house, coldframe or spent 
hotbed on March 15th, to be set outdoors at 
garden making time. 
On April 15th, or as soon as weather permits, 
sow a fifteen-foot row each of Black Seeded 
Tennisball, Black Seeded Big Boston and Cali- 
fornia Cream Butter. 
On May Ist follow with a fifteen-foot row 
each of All Seasons, Iceberg and New York. 
In July wind up your efforts to have lettuce 
all the season with plantings of the late Butter- 
head group as suggested previously. 
Sow seeds somewhat deeper during 
the summer months than you do early in 
the spring. Press soil in firm contact 
with seeds to induce quick germination 
and if soil and weather should be rather 
dry at planting time, sprinkle soil well 
after seeds are sown. 
Massa- 
[Epitor’s NoTtE.—In this series of articles Mr. Hamblin (a practising landscape designer) will give in brief form some 
practical suggestions for dealing with the difficult corners that always occur. Each month a different phase will be considered. | 
ERHAPS the most discouraging 
soil for garden operations is a 
stretch of pure sand, whether on 
a flat area or in a sloping bank. 
Still, in nature, something is always 
growing even in the driest sandy fields. 
If the soil is damp there are sure to be 
willows and grasses already; in a sand 
perenially moist one can do a great deal. 
For our present study we shall take the 
extreme case of a sloping stretch of 
sand where there is nothing green save 
a few briers and wiry grasses. Were it 
not so close to the flower garden it 
would be enough to let it alone to grow 
up in its own wild way. Similar sand 
banks in your neighborhood will show 
you what you can expect to be able to 
add to yours. 
If you wish to take this problem in 
hand as a garden proposition you can 
far outdo nature, for you have the re- 
sources of the northern hemisphere at 
your command. If the area is large, or 
you wish merely to hide the soil, there 
are not a few trees and shrubs that 
grow very well in pure sand. Though 
they will grow on the driest slopes it is 
not fair to make them struggle from the 
start, but give each a shovelful of loam 
when you set them, and their start will 
be more vigorous. 
Even evergreens are not denied you; 
most of the Junipers will help but the 
Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) will 
give height to the planting and not in- 
terfere with the herbs. Several pines 
are not averse to pure sand, as the Pitch 
Pine (Pinus rigida), Jersey Pine (P. 
virginiana), Mountain Pine (P. mon- 
tana), and others. It may surprise you 
to know that the White Pine (P. Stro- 
bus) grows well in the poorest soil, and 
if you wish to hide a sandy field this 
tree will soon turn it into a forest. 
