made to supply a crying want.  A brief reference to a few of these salad plants will better illustrate the importance of their culture.  Here, as with the different vegetables, I applied to headquarters for information, namely, to Mr. F. Turnen, of the Department of Agriculture, Sydney, who once more came to my assistance and courteously indicated the localities in which they are likely to do well.  And it only seems fitting and appropriate here to remark that Australia’s road to prosperity lies through her agriculture; the hydro-cephalic growth visible in every colony is unnatural and needs rectification.

Lettuce.——­Of this there are two varieties, the ordinary cabbage lettuce and the cos, so named from the Island of Cos in the Aegean Sea, which is also known as the upright, or smooth-leaved lettuce.  Although this latter is to be obtained, yet in nine cases out of ten only the cabbage lettuce is procurable.  But, as a matter of fact, the upright or smooth-leaved cos lettuce is of a more delicate flavour, and when grown properly by having the leaves loosely tied together at the top about ten days before cutting, it is more crisp and juicy, and better adapted for saladings.  In the old country, too, the cos variety, with its long leaves, is common enough, and is there preferred to the cabbage lettuce.  It is to be regretted, therefore, that we see so little of it.

Endive.—­Now, here is a noble salad plant of which even the very name is hardly known by the greater number of our people.  There are practically two classes of endive, the broad-leaved or Batavian variety, and the curly-leaved endive.  Both sorts, however, must be well blanched if perfection is required.  It is true that the curly-leaved endive is at times to be obtained here, but it is extensively cultivated in England, as it is very crisp and tender, while it also possesses a piquancy which is greatly appreciated.  Nevertheless, the plain or Batavian kind (the ESCAROLE of the French) has also its admirers, particularly for salad purposes.  Now, it is to be carefully noted that the accompaniments, or “fourniture,” of these two varieties of endive are vastly different.  With the Batavian it usually is formed of chervil, tarragon, and that delicate alliaceous salad herb, chives.  On the other hand, a chapon is used with the curly endive; it consists of a crust of bread over which a clove of garlic has been rubbed.  This is thrown into the bowl and tossed about during the process of mixing the salad, and gives to it a delightful effect.  In addition to its use as a salad, the curly-leaved endive makes a particularly good garnish for grills, such as chops, steaks, &c.; and, by the way, Sir Henry Thompson, the eminent surgeon, remarks that the sauce par excellence for grills is mushroom ketchup.  But before leaving the endive it is as well to refer to a blood relation, namely, the wild endive or chicory.  When its large, fleshy roots are dried in a kiln, roasted and