HOUSE AND GARDEN 
February, 
1914 
*37 
fore being set in their permanent positions 
The summer outdoor crops are usually 
sowed very thinly in rows and then thinned 
out to three or four inches apart as soon 
as the plants obtain several true leaves. 
Then, by thinning again as soon as some of 
the plants are large enough to use, they 
will be left at about the proper distance 
to mature. Lettuce seed sown in very hot 
weather should be sheltered if possible for 
a while until it is well up. Irrigation 
where it can be given will be of the greatest 
advantage in growing lettuce through the 
summer months. 
The crops to be grown in the frames for 
late fall and winter use should be trans¬ 
planted twice, so that good, strong, stocky 
plants are obtained to set in the permanent 
bed, and the latter should be made thor¬ 
oughly fine and rich, but with fresh soil— 
that is, soil in which lettuce has not been 
grown for a year or so previously. A very 
close watch must be kept for the green 
aphis, which is the most troublesome pest 
in growing lettuce under glass. It is com¬ 
bated by sprinkling tobacco stems or dust 
freely upon the soil between the plants, as 
a preventative, and by fumigating or spray¬ 
ing with a nicotine preparation as soon as 
the first signs of this insidious enemy are 
seen. 
Care in watering and ventilation is also 
very necessary to avoid the stem rot, or 
“black rot,” which usually spoils the whole 
bed if allowed to get a start. The head 
varieties are much more subject to it than 
the loose-leaved sorts, like Grand Rapids, 
which is the most reliable variety I have 
used for midwinter growing. The bed 
should be thoroughly wet down before the 
plants are set out. I11 case of bright, sun¬ 
shiny weather they should be shaded for 
two or three days during the middle of the 
day after being set. About eight inches 
apart each way is right, though the Grand 
Rapids may be set a little closer, as the 
plants force each other in an upright posi¬ 
tion in growing, and blanch each other into 
a very tender and brittle condition. 
Waterings, which will be needed very 
infrecpiently during the winter, should be 
given only on the mornings of bright, 
sunny days, with care to get as little of it 
as possible on the foliage. The safest rule 
for ventilation during the spring—and fall 
and winter, too, for that matter—is to give 
all the air possible, while keeping the tem¬ 
perature sufficiently high. During the cold 
weather it is best to ventilate during the 
forenoon, so that the sash can be closed as 
soon as the temperature begins to drop in 
the afternoon. 
Besides lettuce, there are a number of 
other plants used for salad, the most im¬ 
portant of which are celery, endive and 
escarole, and corn-salad, whitloff (chick- 
ory) and pepper grass. Celery is the only 
one of these which can be said to be a uni¬ 
versal favorite. Whitloff probably will be, 
after it becomes better known, and, as it 
offers the means of having fresh salad 
during the winter months, for those who 
have not the means or the inclination to 
The Magic Flight of Thought 
AGES ago, Thor, the champion of 
the Scandinavian gods, invaded 
Jotunheim, the land of the giants, and 
was challenged to feats of skill by 
Loki, the king. 
Thor matched Thialfi, the swiftest 
of mortals, against Hugi in a footrace. 
Thrice they swept over the course, 
but each time Thialfi was hopelessly 
defeated by Loki’s runner. 
Loki confessed to Thor afterward 
that he had deceived the god by 
enchantments, saying, “Hugi was my 
thought, and what speed can ever 
equal his?” 
But the flight of thought is no longer 
a magic power of mythical beings, for 
the Bell Telephone has made it a 
common daily experience. 
Over the tele phene, the spoken 
thought is transmitted instantly, direct¬ 
ly where we send it, outdistancing 
every other means for the carrying of 
messages. 
In the Bell System, the telephone 
lines reach throughout the country, 
and the thoughts of the people are 
carried with lightning speed in all 
directions, one mile, a hundred, or 
two thousand miles away. 
And because the Bell System jo 
adequately serves the practical needs 
of the people, the magic of thought’s 
swift flight occurs 25,000,000 times 
every twenty-four hours. 
American Telephone and Telegraph Company 
And Associated Companies 
One Policy One System Universal Service 
SILVER LAKE A cSS: 
(Name ’stamped indelibly on every 
S**''=#*" foot ) 
The man who builds a house without 
asking about the sash-cord to 
be used is laying up trouble 
for himself. Insist that the 
specifications mention SILVER 
LAKE A. Its smooth surface 
offers nothing on which the 
pulley can catch. Guaranteed 
for twenty years. 
Write for Free Booklet. 
LVER LAKE COMPANY 
S7 Chauncy St., Boston, Mass. 
Makers of SILVER LAKE solid braided 
clothes lines. 
In writing to advertisers please mention House & G..rden. 
