86 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 



the advantage of processes well known and established by long 

 usage. Experiments should be circumspectly undertaken, for licorice 

 is one of the worst weeds in the world, and extremely difficult of 

 eradication probably. 



Growing Lentils. 



Give information regarding the planting and raising of lentils. Can 

 they be grown in the Sacraemnto valley in the vicinity of Colusa, and 

 at a profit? 



Lentils are as easily grown in California as common peas, and 

 will do well as a field crop if started during the rainy season, as they 

 are hardy enough to survive our ordinary valley frosts. With respect 

 to lentils, it may be said that excellent as these legumes are for many 

 purposes, they do not seem to be well known to American consum- 

 ers, and therefore the amount to be grown is limited, until you know 

 who will buy larger quantities of them at a good price. 



Canada Peas for Seed. 



/ zvant to raise Canada peas for the seed. In what month of the 

 year is the best time to plant them; also how many pounds to the acre 

 to be solved broadcast on rolling land in Napa? 



Broadcast from 80 to 100 pounds of seed per acre as soon as 

 you can get the ground into good condition. What you get will 

 depend much upon how late spring rains hold this year. We should 

 only try a small area this year to see what happens, for you probably 

 should have started earlier in the season. On uplands it will always 

 be a question whether your soil will hold moisture enough to mature 

 a good seed crop. 



Growing Niles Peas. 



How shall I plant and handle a crop of Niles peas? 



Niles peas are hardy and will make a good crop on any good 

 soil, if planted early in the season so as to make the main part of 

 their growth before the heat of the summer comes on. Under gar- 

 den conditions they can, of course, be grown all summer. 



Transplanting Lettuce. 



/ have lettuce plants that have been transplanted to head. Occasion- 

 ally I find a head that has withered away and upon examining it find it 

 rotted away at the stem. Can you suggest a remedy for it? 



Your lettuce plants are destroyed by the "damping off" fungus. 

 It would be preventable by reducing the amount of moisture until 

 the transplanted plant had opportunity to re-establish itself in the 

 soil and thus come into condition to take water. The chance of it 

 could also be reduced by using a certain amount of sand in connec- 

 tion with the soil, unless it is already very sandy, and by a shallow 

 covering of sand on the surface around the plants after they are re- 

 set, in order to prevent too great accumulation of moisture. 



