FORCING 



FORCING 



1257 



common use, especially in large establishments. It is 

 a great improvement over the old method of watering 

 with the hose. It is not only more efficient but requires 

 much less time and labor than the hose method. With 

 it, water can be applied in any quantity desired and 

 so gently that no baking of the soil wUl occur. 



Whatever the method of watering, the 

 soil should be thoroughly soaked as soon as 

 the plants are set. It should not be allowed 

 to dry out, as the plants will be damaged 

 by the resulting check in growth. When 

 the water is applied to the surface, the 

 watering should be done only on bright days 

 and early enough in the day so that the 

 lettuce leaves will dry off before night. 



Insects and diseases of lettuce. 



The one insect that is always ready to 

 make its appearance is the green aphis. 

 Fumigating regularly, at least once a week 

 with tobacco stems or extract of tobacco 

 will keep this insect under control. In case 

 it secures a foothold and one smudging does 

 not do the work, a second the following night 

 will put the aphis under control. Tobacco 

 dust scattered on the surface of the soil 

 before the plants are set will help to repel 

 the aphis. 



The cabbage worm is often troublesome, 

 especially on the fall crop. Poisoning when 

 the plants are small, and hand-picking when 

 the crop approaches maturity, are the most practical 

 remedies. Snails and slugs sometimes do damage, but 

 do not as a rule appear when clean methods of cul- 

 ture are practised. Other insects, such as the white fly 

 and black aphis, make their appearance on lettuce 

 occasionally but seldom become serious. 



Among the more common diseases affecting lettuce 

 is the drop or stem-rot. This rot acts very much like 

 the damping-off of the seedlings. It is a fungous trou- 

 ble and can be controlled to a large extent by thorough 

 ventilation. Sterilization of the soil with steam some- 

 times becomes necessary in extreme cases. There are 

 other less serious forms of rot affecting leaf lettuce, all 

 of which can be kept under control, as a rule, by proper 

 ventilation. Watering at night or during cloudy 

 weather and high temperatures with closed ventilators 

 are practices which will tend to induce attacks of rot. 



Another lettuce trouble of common occurrence is 

 "rosette." This is a disease which attacks the roots, 

 retarding and in some instances stopping the growth of 

 the plants. Sterilizing with formaldehyde, used at the 

 rate of two pounds to fifty gallons of water and apply- 

 ing one gallon of the mixture to each square foot of 

 space, has frequently given good results. Sterilizing 

 with steam, while more expensive, is more certain to 

 prove effective. When the lettuce is allowed to suffer 

 from the lack of sufficient moisture in the soil, it will 

 often have the appearance of lettuce rosette. The 

 grower should examine the soil carefully -when the 

 lettuce appears stunted in growth to be sure that the 

 trouble is not lack of water instead of a diseased con- 

 dition before going to the expense of sterilizing. 



Cutting and packing lettuce. 



There is a certain time in the development of leaf 

 lettuce when it is of just the right size and of the proper 

 degree of maturity to cut for market. This can be 

 determined by the feeling and appearance of the let- 

 tuce. When ready to cut, the lettuce plants will feel 

 firm when the hand is pressed gently on the top. If the 

 edges of the leaves show a few brownish spots, the cut- 

 tings should be done without delay. The ability to 

 judge just when the lettuce should be cut will be 

 acquired by practice. 



Some of the large growers who make a business of 



shipping lettuce, pack it in barrels. It is placed with the 

 top of the lettuce plants toward the outside of the 

 barrel and, when filled, the barrel is covered with bur- 

 lap. Fifty pounds are usually packed in an apple or 

 cracker barrel and from seventy-five to ninety pounds 

 in a sugar barrel. The lettuce is protected from frost 



1548. A modern house of lettuce. 



in cold weather by lining the barrel with paper. In 

 warm weather, holes are cut in the sides of the barrels to 

 admit air and thus prevent heating. 



Boxes of different sizes but usually holding about a 

 bushel are used by many growers. When the lettuce 

 is to be shipped, the boxes are covered with wooden 

 covers. When it is to be sold on a local market the 

 lettuce is covered with paper or left uncovered. At 

 Ashtabula, Ohio, all of the growers pack their lettuce 

 in small baskets with stationary handles. Three and 

 one-quarter pounds is packed in each basket and the 

 lettuce and basket are covered neatly with paper. 



The kind and size of the package and the amount of 

 lettuce put in is not of so much importance as the 

 quality of the lettuce and the care with which it is 

 prepared for market. Bright, clean, crisp lettuce will 

 sell much more readily than tough, dirty lettuce. All 

 dead or yellow leaves should be removed and all dirt 

 washed off. 



Marketing. 



At some of the large forcing centers the growers are 

 organized for the purpose of marketing their crops. 

 One man is selected to do the selling of the entire out- 

 put. The growers endeavor to put up a uniform grade 

 of produce, and inspection is provided to see that no 

 inferior stock goes in with that which is up to the 

 standard. This plan insures better feeling among the 

 growers and secures better returns for them than is 

 possible when each grower sells his own products in 

 competition with the other growers. 



A grower who has a local demand for all the lettuce 

 he can grow has a decided advantage over the man who 

 is obliged to ship his lettuce some distance. The per- 

 son having a market within easy driving distance can, 

 if he grows good stock and puts it up neatly, not only 

 cut out the cost of shipping, the commission and much 

 of the package cost that the man who must ship is 

 obliged to pay, but he can also get a higher price 

 for his lettuce, as he can put it on the market in better 

 condition than is possible with shipped lettuce. 



Forcing of cucumbers. 



Cucumbers are forced very commonly as a spring 

 and early summer crop in many regions. The New 



