Lettuce  ; Mushrooms. 
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grow  if  sent  to  market  early  in  the  season.  A variety  called 
“Schofield”  (a  cabbage  lettuce)  is  popular  in  some  parts,  and 
many  acres  of  similar  lettuce  are  grown  in  South  Worcester- 
shire. The  seed  is  sown  in  September  and  the  plants  are 
j)lanted  out  in  October  in  good  breadths  among  the  plum  trees, 
from  which  they  receive  much  protection.  They  grow  slowly 
but  continuously  during  the  autumn  and  winter,  and  are  ready 
for  use  in  February,  March,  and  April.  The  crop  sold  well  in 
the  spring  of  1903. 
Where  very  light  greenhouses  are  available,  heated  or 
unheated.  Lettuce  may  be  grown  therein  very  profitably 
during  the  early  months  of  the  year  if  borders  of  good  soil 
are  available.  Either  Cos  Lettuce  or  Cabbage  Lettuce  may  be 
grown,  but  the  former  commands  the  highest  market  price.  It 
should  be  remembered  that  good  Lettuce  must  be  tender,  and 
tenderness  and  crispness  can  only  be  obtained  by  luxuriant 
growth,  hence  the  necessity  for  rich  soil  and  a warm  atmosphere. 
A ^ pinch  of  seed  sown  in  January  under  glass,  and  the 
young  Lettuce  planted  in  February  as  suggested  above,  will 
produce  good  and  tender  Lettuce  for  use  in  March  and  April, 
and  I have  grown  and  sold  Lettuce  under  those  conditions  at 
that  season  for  three-halfpence  each. 
The  growth  of  Lettuce  for  summer  use  is  so  well  understood 
that  it  requires  no  description. 
Mushrooms. — The  common  Mushi’oom  (^Agaricus  campestris) 
is  considered  to  be  one  of  the  most  savoury  of  the  genus,  and 
is  in  much  request  for  the  table.  The  St.  George’s  Mushroom 
(^Agaricus  arvensis')  and  the  Fairy-ring  Mushroom  (^Marasmius 
oreades')  are  also  very  delicious,  though  not  quite  so  delicate 
in  flavour. 
Mushrooms  are  cultivated  in  sheds  specially  built  for  them, 
in  spare  sheds  and  outbuildings,  in  cellars,  on  ridges  in  the 
open  air,  and  in  fields.  Whether  they  are  grown  in  all  or  any 
of  the  four  first  mentioned  ways,  the  preparation  of  the  manure 
and  the  other  details  are  almost  identical. 
Manure  from  corn-fed  horses  is  essential  to  the  greatest 
success,  and  it  is  not  veiy  material  whether  straw  or  peat  moss 
has  been  used  as  bedding  for  the  horse  or  horses.  Maiden 
spawn  should  be  used  if  possible  ; and  of  course  it  should  be 
living  and  vigorous.  The  temperature  of  the  air  in  which  the 
Mushrooms  have  to  grow  should  be  as  uniformly  as  possible 
about  60“  F.,  and  the  bed  should  be  in  darkness  and  in  a 
moist  atmosphere. 
