EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 163 



Grand Rapids are less strongly developed in this variety. With a little 

 ■care in ventilating and watering, it will produce plants superior to the 

 Grand Rapids, and a week earlier th^ Tennis Ball and similar varieties. 

 The leaves are less upright in habit than the Grand Rapids, and differ in 

 appearance by being rather more blistered and with edges more finely cut. 



For hotbed purposes we find the Chicago Forcing superior to all others. 

 It matured heads a week earlier than Grand Rapids, and they were 

 much thicker and heavier. 



The Arlington Tennis Ball (No. 3) is one of the best strains we have 

 gi'own, and unless one of the above sorts is to be grown, will be found 

 very desirable for forcing. 



During the fall we wrote to several seedsmen and requested them to 

 send us their two best forcing lettuces. In nearly every case White 

 Tennis Ball was sent as one. We have generally grown the Boston Curled 

 variety for forcing-house and hotbed purposes, but it is ten days later than 

 Grand Rapids, and in several respects it is inferior to that variety. 



Landreth's Forcing is a good variety, but all of the three first mentioned 

 sorts are better. Market Gardeners' Private Stock and Boston Market are 

 good strains of Tennis Ball, but the Arlington is better. Silver Ball from 

 Hallock, is also a strain of Tennis Ball. 



For hotbed varieties, in addition to the Chicago, Black-Seeded Simpson, 

 Curled Simpson, Hanson, Blonde Blockhead (practically indentical 

 with Hanson), and Sugar Loaf will do well. 



For the cold-frame and the open ground for spring use, the hotbed 

 kinds did well, as did Chartier (Early Prize seems identical), which is 

 an excellent variety with the wrinkled edges of its leaves tinged with 

 red. All Heart would be a splendid lettuce were it not for its tendency to 

 rot. 



Of the summer varieties, All the Year Round, Everlasting, No. 21, and 

 Salamander (all much alike), are excellent, as are Marblehead, Mammoth, 

 and Sunset, which also seem identical. 



The Cos varieties could not be distinguished. 



PEAS. 



The germinating power of the seed was determined in the seed tester, 

 and on the 14th of May the seeds were sown in double rows, each contain- 

 ing as a rule 100 peas. The date and per cent, of vegetation were noted 

 and will be found in the table. 



The vines were supported on a woven wire trellis supported on stakes 

 driven every ten feet. 



We have used this for two years and find it particularly valuable for 

 half dwarf sorts. 



As soon as the pods were marketable, 50 were taken from each variety, 

 weighed, shelled and the number and weight of the peas noted. As soon 

 as the other pods were ripe they were picked and were used in determin- 

 ing the total yield of green peas. The yield was computed on the basis 

 of 100 seeds planted. 



