LETTUCE The wild prickly lettuce grows as a tall, ragged looking weed along our roadsides, and springs up in fields whenever they lie fallow, or are not care fully cultivated. We call it the "compass plant," because its narrow, opposite leaves hold true to the points of the compass. The blades avoid the full force of the sun by turning edgewise to its rays. Break off a spray of the narrow-necked, daisy-like flowers, and the family name, Com posite, is plain. The Latin name of the lettuce, Lactuca, refers to the milky juice. It has medic inal properties that soothe and sometimes induce sleep. A lettuce salad and a combination of lettuce and celery are good for tired nerves.
The wild lettuce looks over the garden fence, or the frame of the hotbed, at rows of green heads of cabbage lettuce, solid yet tender, the crumpled outer leaves covering the blanched heart — a sight the gardeners gloats over — the most popular salad plant in the world! Thousands of years separate the wild parent plant from its domesticated offspring. But the relationship is established without a doubt. Cen turies before Christ the Persian kings were served with salads made of the leaves of wild lettuces. The parent species grows in Europe and has come as an immigrant to America, but the original home was Central Asia. Let the garden lettuce stand a few days after it reaches prime condition for the table and it bolts to seed. The flowers and dande lion-like head of seeds are like those of the wild species. The leaves have been broadened and the stem shortened through the centuries of cultivation.
Most of us remember the lettuce bed in the garden, crowded with plants from seeds sown broadcast. We picked the leaves, one by one. The individual plants were not considered. The later method is to transplant the seedlings, and let each one form a head.
Three lines of development have been followed in the improvement of the wild lettuce, with the understanding that succulence of the leaves, and delicacy of flavor are striven for first of all. The
first aims at a rosette of crowded, flaring leaves; the second, at a close, self-blanching head; the third at a long, moderately close head of fleshy leaves, with particularly tender midribs.
As to cultivation, three classes of lettuces have been developed: (r) Quick-growing spring varie ties; (2) large, heat-resisting summer varieties; (3) hardy winter varieties.
The Boston head lettuce, with its crumpled, plain-marginned leaves, tender and rich in flavor, from the green outside to the white centre, is the favorite in this country. It is grown the year round in the open, in hotbeds, in cold frames, for home use and for city markets.
The English people, at home and in Canada, are devoted to the Cos lettuces, with the long head of spoon-shaped leaves, tender and rich in flavor, with midribs thick and white, almost like those of Swiss chard. These leaves are eaten like celery, dipped in salt, as well as in salads. Ameri cans are learning to grow these excellent varieties.
The cool, damp climate of England is admir ably adapted to lettuce culture. Many of the hundred cultivated varieties have originated in English experimental grounds. Loose, rich soil and good culture keep the plants growing rapidly, which is the main aim in the production of any leaf crop.
Since growth takes place in daylight, and the plants rest by night, experiments to test the effects of artificial light have been made. Lettuce is one of the crops most benefited. Plants that received the light from electric arc lamps half the night are ready for market a week or two weeks sooner than the normal crop. Gardeners that make a specialty of forcing lettuce find that it pays to use the light in their houses; the quicker the heads mature, the higher their quality.