April  19,  1900 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
337 
Cnltnre  of  Lettuces. 
Although  the  Lettuce  is  by  no  means  a  difficult  plant  to  grow,  the 
production  of  large  solid  heads  of  crisp  leaves  is  not  so  general  in 
gardens  as  it  should  be.  This  is  to  be  accounted  for  in  many  ways 
the  main  cause  being  sowing  the  seeds  too  thickly,  and  the  subsequent 
crowding  of  the  plants  before  they  are  pricked  out  in  nursery  beds 
and  finally  transplanted  in  the  positions  in  which  they  are  to  develop. 
It  is  an  evil  that  no  judicious  after  treatment  will  altogether  remove, 
although  good  culture  will  do  much  towards  securing  fairly  satisfactory 
results  from  plants  so  neglected. 
Lettuces — other  points  being  properly  attended  to — will  succeed 
in  any  fairly  good  soil.  Early  and  late  planting  should  be  made  in  a 
warm  and  somewhat  dry  situation,  this  being  preferable  to  a  cool  moist 
one.  But  these  conditions  are  highly  favourable  to  the  production  of 
Lettuces  of  the  best  quality  during  the  summer  and  early  autumn 
months.  Liberal  dressings  of  well  decayed  manure  should  be  dug  into 
the  ground  a  good  spit  deep  some  time  before  setting  the  plants  in  it, 
although  very  satisfactory  crops  are  yearly  obtained  by  planting  the 
ground  the  same  day  as  dug.  However,  should  the  manure  dug  into 
the  ground  be  of  a  rank  description,  it  is  certainly  prudent  to  defer 
planting  for  a  few  days  until  the  rankness  has  escaped. 
If  transplanting  is  not  carried  out  in  due  time  the  plants  become 
crowded  in  the  seed  and  nursery  beds,  and  poor  results  are  obtained 
in  consequence.  Therefore,  if  the  object  be  to  produce  examples  of 
good  cultivation  in  the  shape  of  close  heads  of  tender  Lettuces,  the 
young  plants  when  a  couple  of  inches  high,  and  before  they  touch 
each  other,  should  be  pricked  out  on  a  border  having  a  south  or  west 
aspect  in  rows  about  4  inches  apart  and  at  the  same  distance  in  the 
rows,  making  the  soil  moderately  firm  about  the  roots,  and  if  no  rain 
falls  at  the  time  supply  water  through  a  rose  watering  pot  to  settle 
the  soil  about  the  roots.  If  the  ground  be  ready  by  the  time  the 
young  plants  are  fit  for  pricking  out  they  may  be  placed  in  rows 
12  inches  asunder,  and  at  the  same  distance  between  the  plants  in  the 
rows,  giving  water  to  settle  the  soil  about  the  roots,  as  already  advised. 
Before  planting  the  ground  should  be  trodden  and  surface-dressed  with 
soot,  raking  it  level,  as  the  Lettuces  will  do  better  by  being  planted 
in  a  fairly  firm  ground,  and  the  dusting  of  soot  will  save  them  from  the 
attacks  of  the  grub,  which  in  some  soils  is  very  destructive,  eating 
through  the  stems  of  the  plants  underneath  the  surface  of  the  soil. 
However,  very  good  Lettuces  may  and  are  very  often  grown  on 
Celery  ridges  during  the  interval  of  making  the  trenches  and  earthing 
the  Celery  plants  in  the  summer.  But  if  plants  thus  grown  are  not 
well  supplied  with  water  at  the  roots  during  a  spell  of  dry  weather 
thin  loose  heads  of  tough  leaves  will  be  the  result.  Where  there  is 
abundance  of  ground  the  largest,  most  solid,  and  crisp  heads  of  Lettuce 
are  secured  by  sowing  the  seeds  very  thinly  in  drills  about  1  inch  deep 
and  12  inches  apart,  the  ground  having  been  previously  dug,  trodden, 
and  raked  level,  afterwards  closing  the  soil  in  drills  with  the  feet, 
treading  and  raking  it  level  in  the  same  direction  as  the  drills.  In  due 
time  the  plants  should  be  thinned,  first  to  6  inches  apart,  and  later 
to  12  inches  in  the  rows.  Thus  grown,  and  being  afterwards  attended 
to  in  the  way  of  giving  water  at  the  roots  when  necessary,  the  plants 
never  experience  the  slightest  check. 
In  transplanting  Lettuces,  which  had  been  previously  pricked  out 
as  indicated  above,  they  should  be  lifted  and  planted  with  a  garden 
trowel  with  good  balls  of  soil  adhering  to  their  roots,  letting  them  into 
the  ground  the  same  depth  as  they  were  before,  and  making  the  soil 
firm  about  the  roots.  In  making  early  plantings  of  Lettuces  level  the 
soil  well  up  about  the  stems  of  the  plants  so  as  to  prevent  the  lodgment 
of  water.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  in  making  plantations  during  the 
summer  a  slight  depression  should  be  left  round  the  collars  of  the 
individual  plants  for  the  reception  of  water.  Successional  plantings, 
like  the  sowings,  should  be  made  every  three  or  four  weeks  in  the 
middle  of  August.  The  plants  raised  from  seeds  sown  during  the  latter 
month  should  in  due  time  be  dibbled  out,  those  in  slightly  heated  pits 
at  6  inches  every  way  from  plant  to  plant,  drawing  every  other  plant 
for  early  use  before  they  touch,  allowing  3  inches  between  the  plants 
in  cool  pits  and  in  warm  and  somewhat  dry  borders  out  of  doors. 
The  plants  in  cool  pits  and  out  of  doors  must  be  protected  from 
frost  by  shutters  and  fern  and  similar  material.  Slugs  being  very 
troublesome  to  Lettuce  plants  so  grown  they  should  sought  and 
destroyed,  subsequently  occasionally  laying  a  mixture  of  fresh  soot  and 
lime  between  the  plants  and  the  wall,  fence,  or  edging  as  a  means  of 
keeping  them  off. 
Plants  raised  from  seeds  sown  in  June  and  July  will  be  ready  for 
cutting  in  the  late  autumn  and  early  winter  months.  The  July  raised 
plants  will  be  ready  for  lifting  with  good  balls  of  earth,  transplanting  3  or 
4  inches  asunder  in  a  cool  fi'ame,  placed  on  a  south  border,  before  they  are 
injured  by  frost,  say  the  end  of  October.  The  plants  may  be  placed 
the  same  depth  in  the  ground  as  they  were  before,  giving  water  to 
settle  the  soil  about  the  roots.  This  should  be  poured  round  the 
stems  and  roots,  so  as  not  to  wet  the  leaves.  These  plants  must  have 
abundance  of  air  in  the  absence  of  frost  and  heavy  rains,  and  always 
bear  in  mind  that  the  great  enemy  to  be  guarded  against  in  the 
preservation  of  Lettuces  during  the  winter  is  damp. 
The  only  attention  required  in  the  several  plantations  made  during 
the  spring  and  summer  months  from  the  interval  of  ^planting  to  cfntting 
is  to  keep  the  plants  well  supplied  with  water  at  the  roots  during  dry 
weather  until  they  have  taken  well  to  the  soil,  and  to  keep  them  free 
from  weeds  by  passing  the  Dutch  hoe  between  the  rows  a  few  times, 
an  operation  that  will  at  the  same  time  promote  growth  in  the  plants. 
In  blanching  the  heads  the  object  of  the  cultivator  should  be  to  get 
as  great  a  portion  of  the  leaves  of  the  individual  heads  of  Lettuce 
as  white  and  tender  as  possible,  therefore  recourse  should  be  had  to 
tying  up  the  leaves,  but  not  too  tightly,  with  bands  of  matting  when 
the  heads  are  nearly  full  grown.  One  band  of  matting  tied  within  a 
couple  of  inches  of  the  top  of  the  heads, is  quite  sufficient  for  each 
Lettuce. — S. 
Royal  Horticultural  Society. 
Scientific  Committee,  April  10th. 
Present  :  Dr.  M.  T.  Masters  (in  the  chair)  ;  Dr.ltMiiller,  jRev.'',W. 
Wilks,  Mr.  E.  Im  Thurn,  Mr.  Hudson,  and  Rev.  G.  Henslow,  hon.  sec. 
Vine  Leaves  diseased. — With  reference  to  the  samples  brought  to  a 
previous  meeting  from  Gunnersbury,  Dr.  Masters  observed,  from  further 
examination,  that  they  were  certainly  not  attacked  by  red  spider,  bub 
possibly  by  mites.  There  was  still  some  doubt  as  to  the’presence  of 
the  young  condition  of  Gloeosporium. 
Oranges  striped.  —  With  reference  to  the  Orange  brought'  to  a 
previous  meeting,  Dr.  Bonavia  writes  further  in  regard  to  the  criticism 
on  his  theory  that  the  stripe  did  not  correspond  to  a  single  carpel,  but 
covered  halves  of  two  : — “If  this  be  so,  I  think  that  fact  would  seem 
rather  to  strengthen  my  theory,  for  the  law  of  phyllotaxis  [alternation 
of  whorls]  would  appear  to  require  such  a  disposition.  My  view  is 
that  the  peel  and  the  pulp  with  carpels  are  two  indej)endent  whorls,  the 
former  coalescing  to  form  a  protective  covering,  while  the  latter  has  its 
carpels  separable.”  The  difficulty  in  accepting  this  theory  arises  from  the 
fact  that  there  is  no  mark  of  separation,  the  spongy  tissue  being 
continuous  from  the  ovary  cells  to  the  circumference,  the  latter  being 
charged  with  oil  glands.  Secondly,  if  the  superficial  layer  were 
“  foliar  ”  one  would  look  for  fibro-vascular  cords  running  through  it, 
whereas  there  are  none.  All  that  are  present  permeate  the  soft  tissue. 
Lastly,  if  it  were  foliar  it  must  represent  a  whorl  of  stamens ;  but 
where  such  a  whorl  takes  on  a  pistillate  character,  they  form  short  horn¬ 
like  processes  around  the  base  only,  and  not  a  uniform  covering. 
Mandarine  Oranges  striped. — Mr.  Hudson  brought  some  fruit  which 
always  has  slightly  raised  ridges,  on  a  line  with  the  backs  of  some  of 
the  carpels,  and  green.  They  proved  to  be  quite  superficial,  only 
retaining  the  chlorophyll  grains,  which  had  disappeared  elsewhere. 
Acorn  with  three  emiryos. — Mr.  Saville  of  Maplestead,  Essex,  on 
growing  an  acorn  in  water,  found  that  it  sent  up  three  stems.  They 
proved  to  arise  from  three  distinct  embryos  within  the  common  husk. 
Such  polyembryonic  conditions  occasionally,  but  not  very  frequently, 
occur. 
Douglas  Fir  diseased. — Dr.  Smith  reports  on  the  specimen  sent  to 
him  that  it  is  attacked  by  Phoma  pithya,  but  will  add  fuller  details 
hereafter. 
Potatoes  diseased  with  scab,  ^c. — Dr.  Smith  also  reports  on  samples 
received  from  Mr.  Escombe,  Penshurst,  Tunbridge,  in  August,  1899. 
Prolonged  cultivation  of  the  fungi  showed  several  species,  that  it  was 
difficult  to  detect,  which  was  the  primary  cause  of  the  disease.  “  The 
skin  of  the  Potatoes  bore  two  distinct  forms  of  disease.  (1)  scab,  the 
cause  of  which  is  not  yet  known  ;  (2)  dark  brown  bodies  adhering  to 
the  skin,  called  Ehizoctonia  solani,  being  a  mycelium  of  some  unknown 
fungus.  Other  fungi  present  appeared  to  be  Potato  dry  rot  (Pusarium 
solani)  and  the  Potato  mildew  (Phytopthora  infestans).”  Dr.  Smith 
proposes  to  continue  the  culture,  and  to  add  a  further  report  hereafter. 
Mr.  Hudson  observed  that  scab  frequently  appears  on  Potatoes  when 
pig  manure  has  been  added  to  the  ground.  Such  would  appear  favour* 
able  to  the  fungus  which  causes  it. 
- ► - — — — 
Horticultural  SHows. 
Manchester,  April  10th  and  11th, 
Few  people  can  realise  the  great  progress  which  is  being  made  by 
the  Manchester  and  North  of  England  Orchid  Society.  It  was  a  happy 
idea  to  hold  the  meeting  in  connection  with  the  Royal  IManchester 
Botanical  Society.  In  none  of  the  classes  was  money  awarded,  but 
gold  and  silver  medals  of  the  Botanical  Society  and  silver  medals  of 
the  Orchid  Society  were  granted  to  noteworthy  flowers. 
Messrs.  Dicksons,  Ltd.,  Chester,  staged  a  fine  assortment  of  mis¬ 
cellaneous  foliage  and  flowering  plants,  receiving  an  award  of  merit. 
Mr.  A.  J.  Keeling  exhibited  a  choice  collection,  being  honoured  with  a 
vote  of  thanks  and  certificates  for  Cypripedium  selligerum  majus 
Drewett’s  variety  and  Laslia  Jongheana  Keelingim.  Messrs.  F,  Sander 
