674 



ACETARIACEOUS ESCULENTS. 



sidered by some as the Lactuca virosa in a cultivated state, and by others as 

 a different species, of Eastern origin. It has been cultivated in British gar- 

 dens from the time of Elizabeth, and by suitable management may be had 

 all the year. Lettuce is in universal esteem in a raw state, as a cooling and 

 agreeable salad, and it is also used in soups and stews. 



1504. Varieties. — The varieties are very numerous, and are included 

 under two divisions. 



1, Cos lettuces^ of which the best are the black-seeded green, a very hardy 

 kind, which does not run readily to seed ; the Bath cos, which is the best 

 for standing the winter in the open ground ; the brown cos, and the whit 

 Paris cove cos. 



2. Cabbage lettuces, the best of which are : the brown Dutch, hardy and 

 of good quality ; the grand admirable, a very fine lettuce, which continues 

 a long time without running to seed ; the Hammei'smith hardy green, the 

 best for standing through the winter ; the Marseilles, a large excellent 

 summer lettuce ; the Malta, excellent in the early part of summer ; and 

 the Dutch forcing, the best kind for growing through the winter under 

 glass. 



1505. Propagation and culture. — All the sorts are raised from seed, which 

 being small and light, for a seed-bed four feet by ten feet \ oz. is sufficient, 

 and will produce four hundred plants. It comes up in ten days or a fort- 

 night. To grow large succulent lettuces, it is essential that the soil be 

 deep, light, sandy, and rich, on a dry subsoil ; and that it be abundantly 

 supplied with water during the hot season. In Spain, recent night-soil is 

 used as a manure for the lettuce ; being buried in a trench between every 

 two rows of plants. To produce a supply of lettuce throughout the year, 

 the first sowings may be made in the beginning of February, on a warm 

 border, or on the south side of an east and west ridge, either broadcast or in 

 drills, and of the kinds preferred by the famil3^ Some persons dislike the 

 cabbage lettuce from its softness, while others prefer it for that reason. 

 As soon as the plants have shown the third leaf, they should be thinned with a 

 two-inch hoe, so as not to stand nearer together than six inches ; or in the case 

 of the large-growing varieties, such as the Marseilles and Malta, a foot. 

 From this time till the beginning of August a sowing may be made every 

 fortnight or three weeks, choosing a north border, or screening the ground 

 from the sun, by wickerwork hurdles, in the hottest part of the season. 

 The crop sown in the first week of August will last till it is destroyed by 

 frost, or tiU October ; from which time recourse must be had to the lettuces 

 grown under glass in the manner before described (1109). Independently 

 of the forced crop, a sowing may be made in the third week in August, 

 which, if the winter should be mild, will afford some plants for use during 

 the winter ; and a sowing in the last fortnight of September, under the 

 shelter of a south wall, in poor, dry, sandy soil — or in the same soil, covered 

 by a frame and sashes — or by hoops and mats, to be taken ofi" qxqyj fine day, 

 will produce plants for transplanting early in spring. These, if put into 

 light rich soil, in a warm situation, at one foot apart every way, will 

 produce plants fit for use about the end of April, when the forcing of lettuces 

 may be given up ; and this spring-transplanted crop will be in perfection 

 during great part of the month of May. In this way lettuces are obtained 

 throughout the year both in private and public gardens ; but the market- 

 gardeners about London, instead of sowing the crops where they are to remain, 



