uce need be cultivated--the
_ice-head lettuce_, and the _brown_. The ice-head has a very thick and
tender leaf, continuing to be excellent up to midsummer, from one
sowing; and if not allowed to stand nearer together than six inches, it
will produce fine heads. The brown lettuce is very large and very good.
There are other, earlier kinds, and many others that form large heads.
But we can get the above kinds early, by sowing in a hotbed and
transplanting; or by sowing so as to have plants get of considerable
size in the fall, and protect by covering in winter. These will be
suitable for the table early in the spring. Lettuce does better for
transplanting; it forms larger heads than in the original bed, and is a
little later. Make the soil very rich with stable-manure. Lettuce is
more affected by the quality of the soil than most other vegetables.
This is a pleasant and healthy article of food, in spring and early
summer.

LICORICE.

This is a hardy plant from Southern Europe. The root in substance, or
the extracted dried juice, is much used. Needs a deep, rich soil. It is
propagated by cuttings of roots set out in deeply-trenched land, in rows
three feet apart, and one foot in the row. Small vegetables may be grown
among the plants the first year; afterward keep clear of weeds, and
manure every autumn. At the end of the third year, after the leaves are
dead, take up the roots and dry them thoroughly. This does well at the
South. A few roots are sufficient for a family, and the demand will not
be sufficient to require its culture very extensively as an article of
commerce. The low price of labor in Southern Europe enables them to
supply the demand cheaper than can be afforded in this country.

LIME.

This is a valuable application to the soil. For wheat it is very
important, except on soil containing a large proportion of calcareous
matter. Usually air-slaked, and applied as a top-dressing, or plowed or
harrowed in, its effects are important. On moist, sour land, producing
wild grass, it corrects the acidity, introduces other grass, and
prepares the soil for cultivation. On hard, stiff lands, it has a
tendency to make them friable, and keep them in a mellow condition, thus
saving more than its cost, in the labor of cultivation. Very valuable
in a compost heap. So much may be applied as to burn the soil and prove
injurious. It will not do as a substitute for everything else. See
further on "Manures."

LIME.