te for Spinach; but their downy or hairy character renders them
less valuable for salad purposes than those of some of the varieties of
the Common Corn Salad.

* * * * *

CRESS, OR PEPPERGRASS.

Lepidium sativum.

The Common Cress of the garden is a hardy annual, and a native of
Persia. When in flower, the stem of the plant is smooth and branching,
and about fifteen inches high. The leaves are variously divided, and are
plain or curled, according to the variety; the flowers are white, very
small, and produced in groups, or bunches; seeds small, oblong, rounded,
of a reddish-brown color, and of a peculiar, pungent odor,--about
fourteen thousand are contained in an ounce, and they retain their
germinative properties five years.

_Soil and Cultivation._--Cress will flourish in any fair garden soil,
and is always best when grown early or late in the season. The seed
vegetates quickly, and the plants grow rapidly. As they are milder and
more tender while young, the seed should be sown in succession, at
intervals of about a fortnight; making the first sowing early in April.
Rake the surface of the ground fine and smooth, and sow the seed rather
thickly, in shallow drills six or eight inches apart. Half an ounce of
seed will be sufficient for thirty feet of drill.

_To raise Seed._--Leave a dozen strong plants of the first sowing uncut.
They will ripen their seed in August, and yield a quantity sufficient
for the supply of a garden of ordinary size.

_Use._--The leaves, while young, have a warm, pungent taste; and are
eaten as a salad, either separately, or mixed with lettuce or other
salad plants. The leaves should be cut or plucked before the plant has
run to flower, as they then become acrid and unpalatable. The curled
varieties are also used for garnishing.

BROAD-LEAVED CRESS.

A coarse variety, with broad, spatulate leaves. It is sometimes grown
for feeding poultry, and is also used for soups; but it is less
desirable as a salad than most of the other sorts.

COMMON OR PLAIN-LEAVED CRESS.

This is the variety most generally cultivated. It has plain leaves, and
consequently is not so desirable a sort for garnishing. As a salad kind,
it is tender and delicate, and considered equal, if not superior, to the
Curled varieties.

CURLED CRESS.

Garnishing Cress.

Leaves larger than those of the common plain variety, of a fine green
color, and frilled and curled on the borde