VEGETABLES 295 



The Story. 



Write the story of your lettuce and how it grew. What 

 was the market price of lettuce at the time you gath- 

 ered the first heads ? At this price, how much would 

 you receive for a crop from a quarter of an acre of 

 lettuce in rows fifteen inches apart, estimating the 

 plants as being set ten inches apart ? 



Okra or Gumbo 

 Growing Out-doors. 



1. Plant three or four seeds in hills a foot or eighteen 



inches apart, covering one-half or three-quarters of 

 an inch deep. 



2. When the plants come up, pull out any weeds that may 



appear, and thin to one or two plants to a hill. 



3. Later treatment consists only of keeping the ground 



well tilled and free from weeds. 



4. Pull the pods before they get too large: they are used 



chiefly for thickening soups. 



Onions from Seed 

 Starting In-doors. 



1. Sow the seed in seed-boxes, in drills one-half inch deep 



and one inch apart. Cover with one-half inch of 

 fine soil and water carefully. 



2. When the seedlings come up, give as much air and sun- 



shine as possible and avoid too warm a place. Water 

 carefully. 



3. When the little plants are two or three inches high, cut 



off the tops about one inch above the soil surface. 

 This is to make them grow more stocky. 



