CONTRASTS. 
New Perpetual Lettuce. 
BY A. C. NELLIS. 
Hear the children's merry voices ringing on the 
frosty air, 
See the rosy, smiling faces—baby faces fresh and 
fair; 
See the dainty, clinging fabrics fashioned well by 
loving fingers, 
See the red lips softly fragrant, where the mother- 
kiss yet lingers— 
Gladder poem ne’er was written: gladder song was 
never sung; 
Never merrier, sweeter cadence on the frost-winged 
breezes rung, 
Than the careless, childish laughter—than the pat¬ 
tering of the feet, 
Beating rhythmic rhyme and measure up and down 
the city’s street. 
Hear the children's sobbing voices trembling on the 
frosty air, 
See the hopeless little faces-baby faces, old with 
care: 
Not for them the dainty wrappings fashioned well 
by loving fingers— 
Not for them the red lips fragrant, where a mother- 
kiss yet lingers, 
Sadder poem ne’er was written—sadder song was 
never sung 
Than the mournful, melting cadence on the frosty 
breezes flung, 
Speaking in the piteous faces—wailing in the voices 
sweet, 
Of the little children wandering, homeless, on the 
city’s street. 
Hear the girlish voices sounding on the 
laden air, 
perfume- 
See the eyes with pleasure dancing; faces sweet as 
pictures rare, 
Dainty fingers, wooing pressure of some other clasp¬ 
ing fingers, ^ 
Red lips, redder where the sweetness of a lover’s 
kisses lingers, 
Gladder poem ne’er was written—gladder love-song 
never sung b 
Than the chiming, rhyming measure from youth’s 
mystic heart-throbs rung, 
And the dancing, flying footsteps round the sym¬ 
phony complete, * 
As they gayly, lightly flutter up and down the city’s 
Hear the siren voices sounding on the sorrow-laden 
air, 
See the faces, bold in beauty; smiles that only lost 
ones wear; J 
See the gaudy, dear-bought fabrics, fashioned well 
by sinful fingers, 
And the lips or borrowed brightness where no moth¬ 
er kiss yet lingers; 
Gracious God! was ever poem written in so strong a 
rhyme, 6 
As the legend in those faces, lined with sin and 
shame and crime? 
Sure, Thy judgments tarry strangely, when such 
piteous contrasts meet, 
In the sweet, glad light of Heaven, on the city’s 
crowded street! J 
—Lucy M. Blinn in Godey's Lady's Book. 
This new sort of Lettuce, though not a 
novelty of recent origin, is yet the more 
valuable from the fact that after the test 
of four (4) years throughout the length and 
breadth of the United States, it has been 
shown to possess very superior qualities as 
a summer Lettuce which are not equaled 
by any other sort ever introduced. The 
accompanying cut gives a fair idea of its 
habit of growth but does not do justice to 
the delicate, light, buttery-green leaves and 
to its real appearance in nature which in¬ 
dicates its crisp and tender qualities. 
Nellis’ Perpetual lettuce. 
The length of time it continues fit for ta¬ 
ble use from one sowing is something truly 
wonderful. 
To obtain the experience and results of 
other growers besides that of our own we 
offered prizes for the past three years to 
the parties who had it the longest fit for 
table use from one sowing. This caused 
many experiments and records to be made, 
which developed the fact that this variety 
possessed the longest enduring quality'of 
any ever offered to the public. 
In the season of 1883 a gentleman of Penn 
Yan, N. Y., of good reputation, made the 
best record with this variety, viz.; 219 days 
from the time of sowing he had crisp and 
tender Lettuce, of quality as good as at any 
former stage of its growth. Other^remarli¬ 
able records have been made which would 
be interesting to communicate if space 
would allow. 
Its eating quality, its size of head andjits 
