Glass Cloches over Young Lettuces in a Vegetable Bed

Cloche is French for bell. In the 1800s the market gardeners around Paris grew early salads under rows of glass bell jars set on beds of warm horse manure. That kept the city in fresh lettuce through the cold months. A row of them covers young red and green lettuces in this glass cloche jigsaw puzzle, beaded with condensation beside a mossy brick path. A slate label waits for someone to chalk in the variety.