The Bulletin. . 9 



Humus can also be supplied by means of street sweepings, swamp 

 muck or even peat or turf from wild lands. J>ut in any case it may 

 be set down as a proverb in lettuce culture that WHERE NO 

 HUMUS IS THERE IS NO LETTUCE. 



PREPARATION OF LETTUCE SOILS. 



Lettuce land, which during the summer should be under a heavy 

 crop of cowpeas, should be given a heavy dressing of manure or com- 

 post and plowed during the cool weather of early fall. Plowing should 

 be deep, not less than 6 inches, but should not bring up at a single 

 plowing too much raw soil. The early turning down of the cowpeas 

 and manure gives them a chance to decompose, so that they can be 

 thoroughly mixed with the soil. The surface should be kept loose 

 by harrowing, so as to retain moisture. An occasional working with 

 a disc or cut-a-w^ay harrow will help to break up the organic matter 

 and incorporate it with the soil. Before setting out the plants, the 

 soil should be plowed again and thoroughly worked down and leveled. 

 The final touches in cultivation are given with a garden rake. This 

 removes all coarse and undecayed materials and leaves the surface 

 very smooth for marking. 



Where well-rotted manure can be obtained, another method we 

 have found even better is to top-dress the land with the manure after 

 frost has killed the cowpea vines. The vines may then be cut up 

 and incorporated with the soil by repeated workings with a disc or 

 cut-a-way harrow. This leaves the vegetable matter nearer the sur- 

 face of the soil, where it is most needed. After the soil is raked and 

 compacted it is ready for setting. 



THE SEED-BED. 



For the first or early crop of lettuce, which is to go to market from 

 December 1st to Christmas, the seed is sown from August 15th to 

 September 1st and the plants set out from September 15th to October 

 10th. For the winter crop, which goes to market in March and April, 

 the seed is sown from October 1st to 15th and the plants set from 

 November 15th to December 15th. Since the weather is always 

 mild at seed-planting time, we have found it best to sow the seed in 

 the open. This gives firmer, hardier plants for transplanting than 

 those grown under covers or sash. The seed-bed is prepared in much 

 the same manner as the soil in the lettuce frames or in the field, 

 except that it requires less manure. The land for the bed is some- 

 what elevated or crowned up, so that all surface water drains off. 

 Its surface should be thoroughly pulverized, firmed and raked off. 

 The seed is best sown broadcast and raked lightly into the soil. It 

 takes about two to three pounds of seed to produce the plants for set- 

 ting an acre. Until the plants come up, it is a good plan to cover 



