Vol. VI r. No. 168. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



319 



LETTUCE CULTIVATION. 



The lettuce crop is one of those minor vegetable 

 products to which much more attention might be paid 

 by small cultivators in the West Indies than is at 

 present the case. Lettuce is a product which from its 

 refreshing and cooling nature is always acceptable in 

 the tropics — a fact which ensures it a ready sale, and 

 •considering the ease with which it can be cultivated, 

 there is no reason why everyone who has a small ])lot 

 of garden should not have a supply of the vegetable 

 a\1 the year round. 



A Biith'tin has lately been issued from the (.'entral Agri- 

 cultural Kxperimt'ut Station, Cuba, dealing with lettuce 

 cultivation. It is .stated that over forty varieties have been 

 under experiment at the station, and have given very 

 ■excellent results. Lettuce plants should, of course, be first 

 raised in a small seed-bed, and afterwards transplanted to 

 the plots where they are to develoj). The soil of the -seed- 

 bed should be very tine and mellow, and should be rich in 

 humus or vegetable manure. Lettuce seed is small and light, 

 and should be sdwu rather thickly, across the bed in rows 

 from 2 to 3 inches wide, but not deeper than from -| to I inch. 

 The soil should be pressed tirmly down over the seeds. 



At the Cuban Experiment Station the young lettuce 

 plants were tirst transplanted into rows -l inches wide, and 

 with the plants 2 inches apart in the rnw. Three weeks later 

 when the plants were large and strong, and possessed from 

 four to six well-formed leaves, they were again transplanted, 

 this time being set out in the field. It is advisable tliat the 

 young plants should be sh.aded from the .sun for a few days 

 .after they have been transplanted. Of course when the crop 

 is grown only on a small scale in garden plots, two trans- 

 plantations are not necessary. The cultivator must bear in 

 mind, however, the importance of allowing the young plants 

 plenty of roum to devflop. A distance of 12 to 1.5 inches 

 ■each way should be allowed Vjetvxeen the plants in the 

 permanent bed;.;. The soil in the permanent beds should 

 b)e cultivated to a depth of 5 (U- 6 inches, and the surface 

 should be smooth and mellow when the plants are set out. 

 All heavy clods, stones, grass, etc., .should be removed before- 

 hand. To obtain lettuce of the best (juality, the vegetable 

 must be grown ipiickl)', and for this to take place the soil 

 should be moist and exceedingly well supplied with vegetable 

 matter. The organic matter may Ijest be supplied bj- a dress- 

 ing of pen manure, well worked into the soil. In transplant- 

 ing, the soil should be pressed around the roots of the young 

 plants, and the ground, if dry, shf)uld be well watered as they 

 are .set out. 



The authors of the Cuban bulletin state that on most 

 soils the lettuce crop will pay for a fairly liberal dressing of 

 artificial manure, in addition to the pen manure mentioned 

 Above. They recommend a nnxture of two parts of sulj)hate 

 of ammonia, one jiart of sulphate of potash, and three parts 

 of superphosphate, this mixture to be applied at the rate of 

 about 1,200 tt). per acre. This should be raked or harrowed 

 into the soil about ten days before the plants are set out. The 

 soil between the rows of lettuce should be regularly hoed and 

 cultivated after the crop has started, since there is iiothing 

 which helps the growing of the young plants so much as 

 keeping the surface of the ground frequently and thoroughly 

 stirred. Hoeing is especially necessary after rain so as to 

 prevent the soil from baking, and to keep a coating of fine 

 loose soil over the surface. The advisability of providing 

 shade for the young lettuce plants was tested at the Cuban 

 Jlxperiment Station by the use of a large cheese cloth, but 



the results indicate that this practice is not one to be 

 recommended. 



It was mentioned above that over forty varieties were 

 tested in the Cuban experiments. Many of these have done 

 exceedingly well and the following varieties are especially 

 recommended : Hubbard Market, Ibg Boston, California 

 Cream Butter, Tennis Ball Black-seeded, Deacon, Iceberg, and 

 New "^'ork. 



THE DIGESTIBILITY OP PRICKLY PEAR 

 WHEN FED TO CATTLE. 



A pamphlet has lately been issued by the UnitetJ 

 States Department of Agriculture {Bulletin JOG of the 

 Bureau of Animal Industry) containing a detailed 

 report on a lengthy series of experiments conducted at, 

 th(! College of Agriculture, New Mexico, in order to 

 test the digestibilit}' of the cacti known as ' prickly 

 pear' (Opuntiu spp.) when fed, both alone and in 

 conjunction with other foods, to cattle. 



Previous Viulletins issued by the Depaitment have gi\en 

 analyses showing the chemical comi)osition of a large 

 number of cacti, including prickly pear, but since the value of 

 a material as a food is not determined solely by its composi- 

 tion, it is necessary also to know the percentage digestibility 

 of the nutrients found present by the chemist. 



The mode in which the digestion experiments are 

 conducted is simple. First the animal is fed on the feeding- 

 stuff for a few days until all other feeds have been removed 

 from the alimentary canal. The animal is then, under suit- 

 able conditions, fed with a weighed amount of the feeding 

 stuff, the composition of which is determined by analysis. 

 All the liquid and solid excreta is collected, weighed, and 

 analysed, and the amount of nutrients it is found to contain 

 is .subtracted from the amount of tlie corresponding nutrients 

 fed. In this way the percentage of each constituent digested 

 is ascertained. 



The following were among the conclusions arriveil 

 at as a result of the experiments : — 



The average digestibility of the nutritive constituents of 

 prickly pear (Ojundid spp.), fed alone, were : dry matter, 

 from 63'96 to G.5-86 per cent.; a.sh, 33'68 to 3.5-81 per cent.; 

 albuminoids, 40-87 to .57-47 per cent.; fat, 68-38 to G9-02 

 jier cent.; carbohydrates (starches, sugars, etc.), 78-95 to 

 81-78 per cent., and fibre, 41-32 to .53-99 per cent. 



Compared with oidinary green fodder foods, it may be 

 said that the above figures .show a .somewhat low digestibility 

 for the albuminoids of prickly pear, a very low digestibility 

 for the ash, but a very good digestibility for the carbohy- 

 drates. Taken altogether, the digestibility of the variou.s 

 cfuistituents is about the same as that of immature green 

 maize fodder. 



When prickly pear is fed with well-cured fodder, as hay 

 for instance, or oat.s, cotton-seed meal, etc., the dige.stibility 

 of both materials is increased. In these cases the pricklj' pear 

 has a greater food value than the above figures would seem 

 to indicate. 



Tlie albuminoid ratio, i.e., the ratio of albuminous, or 

 introgenous constituents to carbohydrates, is very low in 

 prickly pear. Hence, imich better results will always be 

 obtained when it is fed with some food rich in nitrogenou.s 

 constituents, as pea, or bean, or cotton-seed meal. 



It is suggested that a satisfactory ration for milch 

 cows would consist of 50 lb. of chopped prickly pear, 

 5 lb. of cotton-seed mi-al, and a small amount of rough 

 cured fodder, as hay or straw. 



