The common Lumbard Lettice that is loose, and another kinde thereof that doth somewhat cabbage, haue both white seedes.
The Venice Lettice is an excellent Cabbage Lettice, and is best to bee sowen after Midsummer for lateward Lettice; they be sometimes as great as the crowne of a mans hatt: the seede hereof is white, and groweth to be of a meane height.
Our common Cabbage Lettice is well known, and beareth blacke seede.
The curld Lettice which is open, and differeth but little from Endiue, beareth black seede.
Another sort of curld Lettice doth cabbage, and is called Flanders Cropers, or Cropers of Bruges; this groweth lowest, and hath the smallest head, but very hard and round, and white while it groweth: the seed is blacke.
A kinde of Romane Lettice is of a darke green colour, growing as low as the Venice Lettice, and is an excellent kinde, bearing blacke seede.
And lastly our winter Lettice is wonderfull hardy to endure our cold: It is but single, and must be sowen at Michaelmas, but will be very good, before any of the other good sorts sowen in the Spring, will be ready to be vsed, and beareth white seed.
To instruct a nouice (for I teach not a Gardiner of knowledge) how to gather his seede that it may be good, is in this manner: Let him marke out those plants that hee meaneth shall run vp for seede, which must be the most likely; & after they haue begun to shoote forth stalkes, strip away the lowest leaues, for two or three hands breadth aboue the ground, that thereby in taking away the lowest leaues, the stalke doe not rot, nor the seed be hindered in the ripening.
There are two manner of wayes to whiten Lettice to make them eate the more tender: the one is by raysing vp earth like moale hils, round about the plants while they are growing, which will make them grow white: the other is by tying vp all the loose leaues round together while it groweth, that so the close tying may make it grow white, and thereby be the more tender.