330 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
I ^rsii as, i88". 
Spiraea japonica, and Heaths, all dwarf compact specimens clothed 
in bloom, add their features of interest and beauty. There are 
foliage plants too, such as Dracaenas, Aspidistras, and various 
Palms ; but in these the trade is quiet at this season ; flowers are 
most in demand now. One modest flower I have so far omitted 
mention of, and yet, for reasons that are known too well to need 
explanation here, it is one of the most important features of the 
morning’s trade—the Primrose. There are cartloads of it, and 
the bunches are being bought in thousands for retailing as button¬ 
holes and for other decorative purposes. 
I have said that the Market opened at 4 A.M., and notwithstand¬ 
ing that it was crowded with plants far beyond its usual quantity, 
the stalls were nearly empty by eight o’clock. The products of 
industry had gone forth to furnish and adorn many sacred edifices 
for the Eastertide, to decorate the mansions of the great, to add 
cheerfulness and brightness to the homes of the poor and lowly. 
We quit the floral “ palace of an industrious people ” as the closing 
hour, which is the awakening hour of the great city without, 
approaches. One may reflect, with a patriotic satisfaction, on 
what a great institution is this business centre of British horti¬ 
culture ; but it is not until he hears the exclamations of wonder 
and admiration which are uttered by strangers who view it that 
he realises its claim to the high title of a nation’s pride.—W. P. 
Wright. 
SUMMER LETTUCES. 
We commenced cutting good Lettuce from a frame on 
April 9th, and that reminded me of an old resolution to make 
“ Summer Lettuces ” the subject of a paper for the Journal of 
Horticulture. The fact of having already cut Lettuce from a frame 
over a slight hotbed will not strike many as being specially note¬ 
worthy, the more so seeing others have succeeded in cutting earlier 
from plants on a warm border ; but before too hastily deciding 
upon this point the respective samples ought to be compared. If 
this could be done it would be found that the open ground produce 
is much inferior to our frame-reared Lettuce, the former being 
hard and indifferently blanched, while the latter is so very tender 
that great care has to be exercised in packing for the town house, 
or otherwise it would be useless when it arrived at its destination. 
We usually winter a considerable number of Lettuce plants in cold 
frames and on warm borders, but these are not required for 
furnishing early supplies. 
It is possible to have good Lettuce in about two months from 
the date of sowing, the variety best adapted for this purpose being 
the early Paris Market Cabbage ; and it is also of very quick 
growth on warm borders or at the foot of sunny walls. I was one 
of the first to discover and direct attention to the merits of this 
Lettuce, and since its iutroduction several excellent later varieties 
have found their way into general cultivation. Golden Queen, one 
of Messrs. Yeitch’s novelties, is also of quick, compact growth, 
and the quality is decidedly good. Yeitch’s Perfect Gem is some¬ 
what later, and is as near perfection as it is possible to attain. It is 
of compact growth, is nearly all heart in fact, and there is none of 
the flabbiness about it so apparent in and detrimental to the 
majority of Cabbage Lettuces. Messrs. Sutton & Sons have also 
introduced several good Cabbage Lettuces. Their Dwarf Brown 
Forcing is of very quick growth, while Golden Ball much resembles 
Golden Queen. The best of the whole list in Sutton’s catalogue in 
my opinion will be found in Sutton’s Favourite. This belongs to 
the Neapolitan section, is of quick growth, attains a great size 
without much waste, and the quality is of the best. It remains in 
good condition for several weeks, and frequently decays rather than 
runs to seed, consequently is well adapted for summer culture. The 
illustration of Carter’s Longstander Cabbage Lettuce in the cata¬ 
logue issued by that firm scarcely does justice to the variety. With 
us it forms somewhat spreading heads, more attractive in appearance, 
and it has proved decidedly serviceable and good in both a dry and 
showery summer. It remains crisp and sweet a surprisingly long 
time. 
Now that the Cabbage varieties have been so much improved 
there is less need for the Cos Lettuce, the latter being the least 
reliable in a hot season. The former are the most cultivated by 
the salad-loving Frenchmen, Messrs. Yilmorin’s catalogue containing 
illustrations of fourteen distinct varieties, several of which I am 
trying this season, while only three Cos varieties are figured. At 
the same time I have an old-fashioned regard for good Cos Lettuce, 
and for none more than the old Black-seeded Brown or Bath Cos. 
If this is properly blanched the heart is beautifully white, crisp, 
and sweet, and I am of opinion it is of more value for summer than 
winter culture. It is not of such quick growth as the green or 
white variedi* s, but forms a good succession to them, and in addi¬ 
tion does not so quickly run to seed. There are several forms of 
this good old favourite, the oldest selections being perhaps the 
best in quality ; and Cooling's Leviathan is a fine selection of Bath 
Cos. None of the forms in this section heart so perfectly and 
naturally as do the Green and White Cos, and all ought therefore 
to be tied-up a week or more before they are required for use. If 
extra large Lettuces are required either Sutton’s Mammoth or 
Carter’s Giant may be grown, and no fault can be found with the 
quality of these. For real utility there are none to surpass the 
best selections or “ superb ” varieties of Paris White Cos, these 
when well grown being nearly all heart, the quality also giving 
the greatest satisfaction. The ordinary Paris White is not to be 
despised, while Paris Green is very crisp and sweet. 
Having discussed the merits of varieties at considerable length 
I must be more concise with the cultural details. Lettuces are 
of the easiest possible cultivation, and probably if they were not 
so fewer failures would occur. Where so many err is in sowing 
or planting too large a breadth of ground at one time and at long 
intervals, instead of spreading the seed or plants over the same 
area at two or three different times. A daily supply, and not 
great gluts at irregular intervals, is most to be desired. Sowings, 
therefore, may well be made every fortnight from the present 
time to the beginning of August, and then let the weather be 
what it may there will be no gap in the supply. If we could 
feel certain of saving the seedlings from slugs there would be 
less need of sowing so often, but in showery weather the plants 
are preserved with the greatest difficulty, and it is then that the 
long-standing varieties are most appreciated. 
Lettuces merit well worked fairly rich ground, and on no 
account should the plants be raised thickly in some out-of-the-way 
place or after the manner of Mustard and Cress. We invariably 
raise the plants where a considerable number of them will be left 
to heart. Thus in our case for the second early supplies—or to 
succeed those autumn raised, or which have been raised rather 
early under glass and finally put out on warm borders—two sow¬ 
ing are made on a wall border, the Cos varieties in drills 12 inches 
apart, and the Cabbage about 9 inches apart. The seed is sown 
thinly, the seedlings protected from slugs with the aid of soot and 
lime, and eventually thinned out to a distance of 9 inches and 
G inches apart respectively, this being ample room at any time 
unless extra fine hearts are required. The thinnings from the 
earliest sowings made on a sunny border are frequently dibbled 
out elsewhere, and these form a good succession to those un¬ 
disturbed. 
In hot dry weather especially Lettuces transplant badly, and 
there is therefore all the greater necessity to sow the seed where 
the plants are to heart. This we do on a larger scale as soon as 
the ridges between the early prepared Celery trenches are available. 
Those who adopt this now very common practice for the first time 
are usually much surprised at the superior quality of the Lettuce, 
especially seeing that no manure is given them. They have merely 
a little fresh soil from the trenches, and solid ground underneath to 
root in, and yet they succeed exceptionally well, no matter how hot 
and dry the weather may prove. In dry weather the loose soil on 
these ridges is apt to become hard, and not easily got into good 
condition for seed-sowing, but a watering applied a few hours in 
advance renders it an easy matter to break it down. Where possible 
this state of affairs should be anticipated. Advantage ought to be 
taken of showers penetrating the lumps to finely separate these 
with the aid of rakes, and the seed can then be sown at any time. 
Should the soil be found dry when the shallow drills are opened 
these should be moistened prior to sowing the seed, the dry soil 
when levelled over most effectually enclosing the moisture. Two 
lines near the centre of the ridge is ample, and if the earliest Lettuce 
are grown on the ridges between the earliest Celery, and so on 
through the whole of them, the former will be cleared off before 
the bulk of the soil is needed for moulding up the Celery. Lettuces 
may also be most successfully grown between newly formed Straw¬ 
berry rows, and in any good open position. The thinning-out, and 
what transplanting is necessary, ought to be done early.—W. 
Iggulden. 
GARDEN NOTES IN 1888 . 
AURICULAS. 
When one grows only a few of these plants, and does not go in 
for raising seedlings, there can be, it might be said, little for him 
to write about ; but, on the other hand, seasons differ from one 
another, the flowers present, it may be, some new aspect, and may 
