This is one of the oldest of the Cos lettuces, and considered the hardiest of the class. The head is of large size, pointed, not compact, and requires to be tied in order to obtain it in its greatest perfection; the leaves are of a copper-green color, stiff and firm, toothed and blistered; the seeds are white.
The Brown Cos blanches white and tender, and is exceedingly crisp and well flavored; but the dark-brownish color of the exterior leaves is deemed an objection, and it is often displaced by really inferior varieties. In weight and measurement, it differs little from the Green Paris Cos. Extensively cultivated and much esteemed in England.
Gray Paris Cos. Vil.
Head of the form of an inverted cone; green, with a grayish tone about the top; compact, and forming well without tying. The exterior leaves are numerous, deep-green, erect, firm, and prominently blistered. The full diameter of the plant is nearly twelve inches, and its weight about twenty ounces; the seeds are white.
The Gray Paris Cos is brittle, and of tender texture; but is considered inferior to the other Paris Cos sorts, and is but little cultivated.
Green Paris Cos. Vil.
Kensington Cos. Sutton's Superb Green Cos. Wellington. Ady's Fine Large.
Head inversely conical, compact; leaves deep-green, erect, firm, hooded or cowl-formed towards the ends, and serrated on the margin; the ribs and nerves are large and prominent. When fully grown, the entire diameter of the plant is fifteen or sixteen inches, and its weight twenty-four ounces; the seeds are white.
It is considered one of the best of the Cos lettuces; and, though not so hardy as the Brown Cos, is a good variety for forcing, and furnishes a tender, well-flavored head during summer. Whether for spring, summer, or autumn, it is an excellent sort. It attains a large size, is of a fine green color, and, "from the manner in which the outer leaves cove over the interior ones, blanches well without having to be tied together."
It has a tender, brittle leaf; is some days earlier than the White Paris; and is the principal variety employed by the market-gardeners of Paris for cultivating under glass.