Cress, Garden
(Lepidium sativum). Very popular salading plants, generally grown (and eaten) with Mustard, both requiring very similar treatment. For small salading the common Cress is largely used, and the seed is cheaper than the other kinds. Boxes, from about 1ft. square, and 3in. deep, are most useful for growing it in winter. They should be filled to within 1/2in. of the top with friable soil, and the seed sown rather thickly, without covering them with soil. The boxes should be covered with panes of glass, and placed, after watering, in a warm house; in from ten to fourteen days, the salad will be fit for use. A succession may be kept up by frequent sowings. Cress can be grown out of doors in summer, either in boxes or sown in a cool place. It should be kept free from soil on the top, or it is difficult to have it without being gritty.
Sorts. Plain or common, the sort used when only the seed leaves are formed; Curled, this is a hardy sort, and, if allowed to grow, the leaves may be used for garnishing as well as salad; Golden or Australian, a dwarf yellowish form, grown the same way as the preceding, but not fit for use so early as common Cress.