.Tone 1#, 1887. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
481 
when well coloured in a small state meeting with a good sale in “ the 
market,” the names of varieties not being a matter of great importance 
there. A collection such as this, however, affords an opportunity of 
noting half a dozen of the more distinct and effective varieties. There 
are superbus (Kerr), narrow leaved, colour sulphur yellow, bright and 
elegant; Neumanni (Kerr), broad leaved, highly coloured, indeed 
almost a “crimson self”; Flambeau (Kerr), narrow leaved, crimson, 
very rich ; Sunshine (Williams), medium as to leaf growth, and a com¬ 
bination of crimson, red and yellow in colour; Mortefontainensis 
(Chantrier), trilobed and very rich in colour; Emperor Alexander 
(Chantrier), broad leaved, after the character of Evansianus, and a fine 
addition. Those are all distinct and good varieties, and if a dwarf one 
of great transparency is desired it is found in Veitch’s Hawkeri. This 
is a very .short list from a collection numbering a few thousands of 
plants. 
Good progress is being made with Nepenthes—Mastcrsiana, Northieana 
and sanguinca being in admirable condition, Rajah and sincta being 
also included, but smaller; and a stock is being worked up of Ficus 
clastica variegata, which is expected will become a favourite in the 
market and for general decorative purposes ; its variegation appears to 
be constant and decided. It is wonderful to see what can l>e accom¬ 
plished by the combined force of good judgment, skill, and diligence 
in business, and Mr. F. Bause’s work certainly merits recognition.— 
A Traveller. 
LETTUCES FROM DECEMBER TO MAY. 
1 SHOULD be very glad if you could tell me in the Journal the best 
way to grow Cos Lettuces to cut from December to May. If a heated 
pit is necessary would you kindly tell me what kind of structure would 
be most suitable, and which variety of Cos to grow ? A little expense 
would not be objected to.—A. B. C. 
[A gardener of great experience in growing and forcing vegetables 
favours us with the following notes on the subject in question :— 
It is a matter of no small difficulty to have lettuces, arid especially 
Cos, fit to cut from December to May. The difficulty is climatic, but 
may be overcome by skill and appliances. Heated structures are essen¬ 
tial. Those we have used were ordinary pits 6 feet 6 inches wide, 
with a row of 4-inch pipes along the front and at the back, the top four 
courses of the brickwork being 4^ inches built in cement, which forms 
a ledge inside on which the hot-water pipes are placed, and the height 
of the ledge is the level of the soil, so that the plants or soil is about 
18 inches from the glass. A depth of 18 inches below the ledge is suffi¬ 
cient for drainage and soil. About 9 inches depth of rubble is placed 
in for drainage, secured with a thin layer of turves grass side down¬ 
wards, or the rougher parts of the compost, which consists of good 
garden soil or loam three parts, leaf soil one part, well decayed manure one 
part, and one part in equal proportions of old mortar rubbish and charcoal, 
the whole well incorporated, adding a bushel of soot to every thirty of 
compost. The whole is prepared and ready for sowing by the third week 
in July. About the 20th of that month the seed is sown in drills 
15 inches apart— i.e., the Cos varieties; but we take a row of a 
small Cabbage variety between the rows for early cutting. The plants 
are thinned in the first instance to 3 inches, and finally to 9 inches in 
the rows, but the Cabbage sorts to 6 inches. They are duly attended to 
with water, keeping them free from weeds, and stirring the soil about 
the plants, dusting with quicklime if slugs or worms are troublesome. 
The lights are not used, but they are held in readiness from early 
October for employment in case heavy and prolonged rains, frost or 
snow prevailing, the lights being tilted back and front in mild but wet 
weather, so as to insure a circulation of air, and when frost prevails 
they are closed during its prevalence. Whenever the weather is fair 
and mild the lights are withdrawn, and the sun is not allowed to act on 
the pits so as to raise the temperature without air being given ; in fact, 
the lights are withdrawn or ah given whenever the external temperature 
is 50°. By November, if all has gone well, the plants will be strong, 
the Cabbage fit to cut, having hearts not unlike a tennis ball, and are 
esteemed whole, halved or quartered ; the Cos will be fit to tie— i.e., the 
largest plants, this requiring to be attended to in order to secure the 
needful blanching. 
“ During the winter the heat is turned on to insure a night tempera¬ 
ture of 45° to 50°, and the latter by day, always with a little ventilation 
except during very severe frost, the chief thing to guard against being 
a stagnant atmosphere, losing no opportunity of exposing the plants 
fully to atmospheric influences. The next evil is too moist a condition 
of the soil. Moisture is essential to healthy growth, but when water or 
liquid manure is given it should be in the morning when there is a pro¬ 
spect of a fine day, and as a safeguard against damp rising, mulching 
between the rows with charcoal, or straw cut into rough cliaff is useful. 
The further conditions are an open but sheltered situation, a drip-proof 
roof or lights, ami a firm soil, it being well trodden before sowng, so as to 
insure sturdy plants; but the surface must be loose, or made so by 
light stirring. In order to obtain a supply several pits will be necessary 
to follow each other, frost only being excluded until the plants arc 
wanted to make the needful growth for blanching, or about a fortnight 
before required for use. For early spring use sow about the 10th of 
August and grow in cold pits, employing protection in severe weather. 
The finest Lettuces we have had in winter were grown in Melon pits 
emptied in October and filled with leaves in November, trodden hard 
and covered with 6 inches of good loam, in which plants were placed 
with balls of roots from the July sowing. They were kept active at the 
roots and in steady progressive growth with very little aid from fire 
heat ; indeed, it was only given to exclude frost, or in dull weather to 
insure a circulation of air. The Cabbage variety grown was Commodore 
Nutt, of the Tom Thumb or Tennis Ball section; but Early Paris 
Market was excellent, and it is likely Veitch’s Golden Queen will super¬ 
sede all others of this section, it being a little except heart, the thing 
wanted in a Lettuce. Of the Cos varieties, Bath or Brown Sngarloaf 
and Hick’s Hardy White Cos. Both are superb.”] 
ILLTCIUM FLORID ANUM. 
The “ Florida Aniseed Tree,” as this Ilicium is popularly known in 
the Southern States of North America, is an evergreen shrub rarely ex¬ 
ceeding the height of 0 feet, and as seen in this country usually much 
smaller. The leaves are lanceolate in form, smooth, and shining green, 
becoming a deep red colour as they fade. The flowers have a strong 
aromatic odour, resembling aniseed, and are composed of a great 
number of radiating, slightly recurving, dark reddish crimson flowers 
Fig 81.—lllicinm floridamun. 
borne singly near the points of the shoots. In the south of England it 
succeeds well out of doors, but elsewhere it is generally grown in pots or 
planted out in cool conservatories. It requires a compost of peat and 
light loam, with abundant supplies of water, as it is a moisture-loving 
plant and is found in swampy districts in a wild state. 
MELON SUPPORTS. 
How many and varied are the contrivances for supporting the fruit 
on house-grown Melons, nearly every cultivator having his own pet 
style, which it is no easy matter to alter. In reality, half the labour 
and ingenuity expended in this direction is totally uncalled for, ami 
