ANNUAL REPORT. 1940 87 



sli.^htly but, of course, reduced the number ot spears, and would proiv 

 ably bring the grower less returns. The important point in this connec- 

 tion is that cutting the spear with 12 inches of green did not exhaust the 

 plant, as many growers expected. The yield relationships remained about 

 the same throughout the experiment. 



The results of this experiment would suggest the following recommenda- 

 tions: 



1. Plant crowns 4 to 6 inches deep — shallower on heavier soil. 



2. Cut spears with 7 to 8 inches of green for highest returns from the 

 asparagus bed. 



Vegetable Breeding for Improvement of Quality. ( Robert E. Young, 

 Waltham.) 



Lettuce, Nezv York Type. (In cooperation with United States Department 

 of Agriculture.) The breeding work to develop a better adapted lettuce 

 has progressed satisfactorily during the year. The new dark green selec- 

 tions found last year proved to be very desirable. They have dark green 

 color, head well, are very crisp, and have a low percentage of tip burn. 

 The one character that is not satisfactory at present is that most of the 

 heads are not round but slightly flattened. Round-headed selections were 

 made this year in an attempt to remedy this condition. 



These selections are still segregating and will not be ready for release 

 for a few more seasons. However, during the last trials, the best selec- 

 tions produced approximately three times as many marketable heads as 

 did the best commercial strain. One further advantage is that most of 

 the crop can be cut at one time. 



The necessity of having a large number of selections from the better 

 strains was further emphasized this year. Of the ten selections that were 

 grown from last year's best strain two were of no value, two were only 

 fair, and six showed varying degrees of heading. 



Aster yellows, the disease that afifected much of last year's crop gen- 

 erally in this section and destroyed 85 percent of the selected plants, was 

 very mild this year. Not over 5 percent of the selections were afifected. 

 The reason for the variation in tlie severity of this disease has not been 

 determined but it probably depends on the number of leafhoppers that 

 live over winter. 



Greenhouse Lettuce. The second generation of a cross between Bel-AIay, 

 our regular greenhouse lettuce, and a dark green English lettuce was pro- 

 duced this year. The segregation of characters of this cross was very 

 favorable to selecting the desired type. Twenty plants were saved and 

 seed produced. It will require several generations to produce a uniform 

 strain. 



The supply of stock seed of Bel-May was replenished in the greenhouse 

 under controlled conditions, with the expectation of eliminating the 3 or 

 4 percent of plants that are dwarf and mosaic-like although the exact 

 nature of this trouble has not been determined. 



Celery. Seed of the Summer Pascal celery was readily available and most 

 of the local celery growers tried it. Thtts celery has been generally 

 accepted and is considered a big step forward in the production of a qual- 

 ity crop. Improvement in some of the characters is still needed, and 

 toward this end seed from 20 individuals was grown and carefully noted. 

 Three of this lot were considered superior and further selections were 



