In the Garden
A rather troubled correspondent asks how he can grow winter lettuces—thinking, perhaps, that now is the time to begin. " I've heard of lettuce standing through into the spring, but have never met anyone who did it or knew a man who did it either." His troubles are quite simply solved. If he has a frame he can sow lettuce under the glass in late October, prick out the seedlings towards the end of the year and cut tolerably good lettuces in March. If he hasn't a frame he can sow outdoors in early October, prick out the seedlings into a sheltered bed when large enough and perhaps cut lettuces in late April. My tip, however, is not to prick out outdoor seedlings until late winter or early spring. If sown fairly thick and left to stand in rows I find that they will survive thirty degrees of frost without trouble. The copper-tinted winter varieties arg generally recommended, but I prefer a variety like All the Year Round, which will be found in most catalogues. The point is not to hurry sowing: certainly not to sow now. Coddling and slugs, rather than frost and snow,
are the most likely causes of failure. H. E. BATES.
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