1S7S. ] 
HOW TO USE LETTUCES. 
130 
Adiantum tetraphyllum gracile 
been included under tbis name, and whoever 
will collect tlie A. tetraphyllum of gardens from 
various sources will probably find be lias several 
different plants before bim. In other words, 
the A. tetraphyllum of gardens embraces more 
than one form or species—probably several, 
now so intermixed as not to be easily separable, 
or referred to their original sources. 
The plant represented in the accompanying 
figure is another of these forms, distinct from 
any in cultivation, and therefore distinguished 
as a variety by the name gracile. It was intro¬ 
duced by Mr. Bull, from the United States of 
Colombia, and is of moderate stature, remark¬ 
able for the beautiful reddish tint assumed by 
its fronds, when they are first put forth. The 
stipes is slender, black ; the fronds bipinnate, 
elegantly arching in growth, and dividing into 
from four to six pinnae, which are linear, 
parallel-sided, six to eight inches long, and 
terminate in a long lobe, which diminishes to 
the point. The pinnules are nearly equal¬ 
sided above and below, the end next the rachis 
cut off parallel therewith, and the other end 
cut off obliquely. The upper and less fully 
fertile pinnules are serrated towards the tip, 
the sori being interrupted, while the pinnules 
in the sterile fronds are subfalcate. The red 
colour of the young fronds gives the plant a 
very pleasing character.—T. Moore. 
HOW TO USE LETTUCES. 
S NY one who has a fancy for horticul¬ 
ture, and possesses a kitchen garden, 
however small, is sure to grow Lettuces. 
They give an exotic look to the garden, as if 
they were higher in the scale than such crops 
as Cabbages and Potatos; and they certainly 
have properties that neither Cabbages nor 
Potatos can pretend to, since you can eat 
Lettuces raw as salad on the spot where they 
are grown, and on the instant; while most 
