The Lettuce being so common a vegetable, your readers may think any thing superfluous that may be said respecting-such an every day article, but as we are constantly filling the periodicals with all other departments of gardening affairs to the almost exclusion of kitchen requisites, you will perhaps excuse a little "jog trot" in this way once in a while; and as a cooling, tender, crisp lettuce is so grateful an accompaniment on the table amongst other things, let us see what can be said respecting its culture and the immediate connections.

The indigenous country of this edible now in its modern form is not positively known, and its earliest history is wrapped in obscurity. Like many other things-of a similar character, we enjoy the luxury without being cognizant of the origin, but thanks to our now more enlightening policy, we can proclaim to the world our progress, and instead of being trammeled by the mystery and exclusiveness of the dark ages, our onward action or new discoveries can be handed down to posterity. It is generally acknowledged that Egypt, the Island of Cos, and the Levant have furnished many of the varieties. All the cultivated kinds are considered to have emanated from Lactuca sativa, but the probability is that several species of that genus have each furnished their quota to make up the general aggregate, and, that the particular species named is only a conglomerated distinction. This is more likely when we examine the extensive geographical range of the family in a state of nature, and it is most likely that each country where it was anciently cultivated, has had its distinct type.

This is partly proved by the difference of hardiness that exists between the different classes, and other peculiarities, even at the present; day; and the time has not long gone by when the distinction was much greater, on account of the lesser number of sorts that then existed.

The genus Lactuca, from the Latin word lac, from the milky juice with which it abounds, belongs to the very numerous natural order Compositae, and was arranged by Linnaeus in his nineteenth class, Syngenesia, and first order AEqualis; there are aboriginal representations in various parts of the Eastern and Western hemispheres.

In a normal condition some of the speeies are poisonous, but as we have the varieties in cultivation, they are cooling and comfortable to the stomach if taken in moderation, notwithstanding which, if eaten to excess, they will produce drowsiness and a lethargic feeling. The dried juice furnishes a mild form of opium, which may be given to advantage in disease, when that made from the poppy could not be administered.

The Lettuce is divided into two classes, viz: Cabbage and Cos; the outside leaves of the former spread out fiat on the ground, and the inner ones incurve upwards so as to form a solid head, the inside of which, from the compactness and exclusion of light, become tender and free from bitterness; while the latter is more upright, and requires the leaves to be tied together near the top some two weeks before use. In temperate and cool latitudes some sorts of Cos do well, are of very superior flavor, and grow large, but with us they are not hardy enough to bear the winter, and sprout up for seed too soon in summer, which makes it necessary to adopt the cabbage varieties. The following descriptive list contains some of the best kinds in cultivation.