74 LAC1 
Monf. Villars has another fpecies, which he names L. 
Chaixi, hecauf'c it was difcovered by M. Chaix. Accord¬ 
ing to him it is different from this. Parkinfon’s Cicho- 
reum Conffantinopolitanum has i’ome affinity to it. The 
leaves of Cafpar Bauhin’s L. folio oblongo-acuto feem alio 
to approach it a little ; but it is diftindt from both. 
Propagation and Culture. The common lettuce is fown 
for cutting very young, to mix with other final] fallad- 
herbs ; and is only different from the cabbage-lettuce in 
being a degeneracy therefrom, or rather the fecond is an 
improvement by frequent cultivation from the firll; for, 
if the feeds are faved from fuch plants of the latter as did 
not cabbage clofely, the plants produced from that feed 
will degenerate to the firff fort, which is by the gardeners 
called iapped-lettuce, to diftinguifh it from the other, 
which they call cabbage-lettuce. The feeds of the firff, 
which are commonly faved from any of the plants, with¬ 
out having regard to their gbodnefs, are generally fold at 
a very cheap rate, efpecialiy in dry feafons, when thefe 
plants always produce the greateft quantity of feeds 5 
though fometimes this feed tv fold in the feed-fnops, and 
by perfons who make a trade of felling feeds, for the cab¬ 
bage-lettuce, which is often the occalion of people’s being 
difappointed in their crop ; fo that this fort Ihould never 
be cultivated hut to be cut up very young, for which pur- 
pofe this is the only good fort, and may be fown any 
time of the year, obferving only in hot weather to fow it 
in ffiady borders, and in the fpring and autumn upon 
warm borders; but in winter it fhould be fown under 
glaffes, otherwife it is fubjebt to be deffroyed by fevere froffs. 
The cabbage-lettuce may alfo be fown at different times 
of the year, in order to have a continuation of it through 
the whole feafon. The firff crop is generally fown in Fe¬ 
bruary, upon a warm fpotof ground; and, w'hen the plants 
are come up, they Ihould be thinned-out to the diftance 
of ten inches each way, which may be done by hoeing 
them out, as is praflifed for turnips, carrots, onions, &c. 
provided you have no occafion for the fuperfluous plants; 
otherwife they may be drawn up, and tranfplanted into 
another fpot of good ground at the fame diftance, which, 
if done before the plants are too large, they will fucceed 
very well, though they will not be fo large as thofe which 
are left upon the fpot where they were fown, but they 
will come fomewhat later, which will be of fervice where 
people do not continue lowing every fortnight or three 
weeks in the fummer. You muff alfo obferve, in fowing 
the fucceeding crops, as the feafon advances, to choofe a 
fhady moift lituation, hut not under the drip of trees, other- 
wife in the heat of fummer they will run up to feed be¬ 
fore they cabbage. In the beginning of Auguft you 
Ihould fow the laft crop, which is to ftand over the win¬ 
ter; the feeds Ihould be fown thin upon a good light foil, 
in a warm fituation; and, when the plants are come up, 
they mult be hoed-out, fo as they may ftand lingly; and 
cut down all the weeds to clear them. In the beginning 
of October they Ihould be tranfplanted into warm bor¬ 
ders, where, if the winter is not very fevere, they will 
ftand very well; but, in order to be fure of a crop, it will 
be advifeable to plant a few upon a bed pretty clofe to¬ 
gether, where they may be arched over with hoops, and 
in fevere froffs they Ihould be covered with mats and ltraw, 
or peafe-haulm, to fecure them from being deffroyed ; 
and in the fpring of the year they may be tranfplanted 
out into a warm rich foil, at the diftance before-mention¬ 
ed; but ftill thofe which grow under the wall, if they ef- 
cape the winter, and are fullered to remain, will cab¬ 
bage fooner than thofe which are removed again ; but you 
muff obferve not to place them too dole to the w'all, 
which would occafion them growing up tall, and prevent 
their being large or hard. In order to lave good feeds of 
this kind, you Ihould look over your lettuces when they 
are in perfection, and fuch of them as are very hard, and 
grow low, Ihould have fticks thruft into the ground, by 
the fides of as many of them as you intend for feed, to 
mark them from the reft; and you Ihould carefully pull 
U C A. 
up all the reft from amongft them as foon as they begirt 
to run up, if any happen to be left, left, when they are 
run up to flower, they Ihould, by the intermixing their 
farina with the good ones, degenerate the feeds. The 
feeds fhould always be faved either from thofe which flood 
through the winter, or thofe which were fown early in 
the fpring 5 for the late ones very feldom perfect their 
feeds. 
The Cilicia, imperial, royal, black, white, and upright. 
Cos-lettuces, may be fown at the following times: The 
firff: feafon for fowing thefe feeds is at the latter end of 
February, or the beginning of March, upon a moderate 
hot-bed, or on a warm light foil in a fheltered fituation ; 
and, when the plants are come up, and are fit to trans¬ 
plant, thofe which are fown on the hot-bed fhould be 
planted on another warm bed about four inches afunder 
row from row, and two inches diftanceAn the rows, ob¬ 
ferving to fiiade them from the fun till they have taken 
new root; after which they fhould have a larger fhare of air 
admitted to them daily, to prevent their drawing up weak; 
but, if the feafon prove favourable, they fhould be tranf¬ 
planted the beginning of April to the place where they 
are to remain, allowing them iixteen inches room every 
way, for thefe large forts mult not be planted too near 
each other. Thofe which were fown in the full ground 
will be later before they come up; fo fhould be either 
hoed out, or tranfplanted into another fpot of ground, es¬ 
pecially if the foil be good ; after they have taken new 
root, you mult carefully keep them clear from weeds, 
which is the only culture they will require, except the 
black Cos-lettuce, which fhould be tied up when they are 
full grown, in the manner as was directed (vol. iv. p.594.) 
for blanching of endive, to whiten their inner leaves, and 
render them crifp, otherwife they are feldom good for 
much, rarely cabbaging without this affiftance. When 
your lettuces are in perfection, you fhould look over them, 
and mark as many of the belt of them as you intend for 
feed, in the fame manner as was before directed for the 
common cabbage-lettuce, being very careful not to fuffer 
any ordinary ones to feed amongft them, as was before 
obferved, which would prove more injurious to thefe forts 
than to the common, as being more inclinable to degene¬ 
rate with us, if they are not carefully faved. You may 
alfo continue thefe forts through the whole feafon of let¬ 
tuce, by fowing them in April, May, and June, obferv¬ 
ing, as was before directed, to fow the Jate crops in a 
fhady fituation, otherwife they will run up to feed before 
they grow to any fize; but in the mid’dle of September 
you may fow of thefe forts to abide the winter; which 
plants fhould be tranfplanted either under glaffes, or into 
a bed, which fhould be arched over with hoops, in order 
to be covered in the winter, otherwife in hard winters 
they are often deffroyed ; but you muff conftantly let 
thefe plants have as much free air as poflible when the 
weather is mild, only covering them in hard rains orfrofty 
w'eather; for, if they are kept too clofely covered in win¬ 
ter, they will be fubjeft to a mouldinefs, which foon rots 
them. In the fpring thefe plants fhould be planted out 
into a rich light foil, allowing them at leaft fixteen inches 
diftance each way; for, if they are planted too clofe, they 
are very fubjeCl to grow tall, but feldom cabbage well;, 
and from this crop, if they fucceed well, it will be proper 
to fave your feeds ; though you fhould alfo fave from that 
crop fown on the hot-bed in the fpring, becaufe fome¬ 
times it happens, that the firff: may fail by a wet feafon 5 
w'hen the plants are full in flower, and the fecond crop- 
may fucceed, by having a more favourable feafon after¬ 
wards ; and, if they fhould both fucceed, there will be no 
harm in that, fince the feeds will grow very well when- 
two years old, and, if well faved, at three ; but this will 
not always happen. 
The molt valuable of all the forts of lettuce in Eng¬ 
land, are the Egyptian green Cos, the Verfailles or white 
Cos, and the Cilicia; though feme people are very fond 
