LET 
LET 
gress of the main crop by their intro¬ 
duction, as the Lettuces are certain to 
be out of the wav before thev can cause 
> v 
any mischief. 
The first sown will vegetate and 
grow till they are large enough to re¬ 
move in any heat not exceeding 65°, but 
if placed in a higher temperature it will 
be advisable to sow in pans, so as to 
have them removed soon after thev are 
up. The hardening of them to bear 
exposure to the open air must be con¬ 
ducted in a gradual manner, that no 
check may occur in their progress, as 
they should be strong, sturdy little 
things, fit for transplanting early in 
March. At that time they may be re¬ 
moved either to a frame and planted a 
foot from each other, or placed at once 
in the open ground. If the latter course 
be adopted, they should be protected for 
a few weeks with hand lights, or planted 
close to the foot of a south wall. The 
main crop should be sown early in 
March on a warm border; and, as they 
attain a stature large enough to handle, 
may be transplanted to the quarters of 
the kitchen garden, or run out between 
the rows of cabbages, peas, or other 
wide crops. Through the summer it is 
only necessary to continue sowing a 
little seed and often, to have always a 
stock of young plants to go out, and 
others in a fit state for use, taking care 
to give them always a piece of light 
rich ground to grow on, and the more 
shaded it is for such as arrive at perfec¬ 
tion in July and August the less pro¬ 
bability will exist of their running to 
seed. It is on this account the necessity 
arises for frequent sowings, as in hot 
weather it may happen that the whole 
of a plantation will fail in this manner. 
The provision of a good supply in 
winter is often a matter of anxious 
thought to the gardener with limited 
means. The best mode of managing 
them for this purpose is to sow in Sep¬ 
tember, and prick the plants into a cold 
pit or frame that has been previously 
filled with cucumbers or melons, the 
old soil of such beds affording excellent 
food to the Lettuce; and if they are! 
grown fast in the autumn but little ' 
trouble will arise in their after manage¬ 
ment, as they will only require to be 
guarded from excessive frosts and kept 
as dry as possible. Where accommo¬ 
dation of this kind can be afforded the 
finer kinds of Cos lettuce may be had 
throughout the year, though it will be 
still "advisable to plant the cabbaging 
kinds in the open border, as they will 
afford some heads very early in spring, 
at a time when the protected kinds are 
getting scarce, and before the spring- 
sown plants are ready for use. Those 
which have to stand unprotected through 
the winter should be planted in Sep¬ 
tember in the warmest part of the 
garden, and if on elevated ridges they 
will have an increased chance of with¬ 
standing the weather. Eorcing is 
sometimes resorted to when the supply 
of large plants is getting short, but great 
care is necessary in the application of 
heat, for a very trifling excess will spoil 
the whole; and, indeed, it is only in cases 
of emergency that such a course can be 
recommended. There are but two or 
three sorts that will bear the treatment 
and yield a return at all commensurate 
with the trouble. The best of these is 
the White Dutch Cabbage or Victoria 
Lettuce and the Tennis-ball; the first 
will bear 60° or 65°, but it is inferior in 
flavour and wanting in crispness; though, 
where a large demand is likely to arise, 
it would be well to plant a pit full of 
either of these, and in December, when 
others are becoming scarce, the appli¬ 
cation of a lining of stable manure and 
leaves will start them into an active 
state, and a fair return may be expected. 
The varieties of the Lettuce are sepa¬ 
rated into two classes, the Cos, distin¬ 
guishable by their erect growth and 
generally superior flavour; and the 
cabbage, or such as have the leaves 
incurved, forming a close head like that 
of the Savoy or drum-head cabbage. 
There are many sub-varieties of either 
class, and from among them we select 
the following: 
Bath Cos. A bright green, erect, close- 
liearted variety, hardy, but liable to 
run in summer. Syn. Brighton Cos. 
