96 LETTUCE. 



Soils. Probably no forced vegetable Is so much in- 

 fluenced by soil as the lettuce, and no doubt more fail- 

 ures are to be ascribed to uncongenial soil than to any 

 other single cause. Fortunately this matter has been 

 made the subject of a most admirable study by Gallo- 

 way,* who finds that the famous heading lettuce of the 

 Boston gardeners can be grown to perfection only in soils 

 which contain much sand and very little clay and silt. 

 These soils allow the water to settle deeply into them, and 

 yet hold it without percolation ; the surface is dry, pre- 

 venting the occurrence of rot; the roots forage far and 

 wide, and the plant food is quickly available. The full 

 characters of the soil used by the Boston growers are set 

 forth as follows by Galloway: "Loose at all times, re- 

 gardless of treatment, it being possible to push the arm 

 into it to a depth of 20 inches or more. Never 'puddles' 

 when worked, no matter how wet. Clods or lumps never 

 form. A 4-inch dressing of fresh manure, when spaded 

 in to a depth of 15 to 20 inches, will be completely dis- 

 integrated in six or eight weeks. Sufficient water may be 

 added the first of September, when the first crop is 

 started, to carry through two crops and a part of a third 

 without additional applications, except very light ones 

 merely to keep the leaves moist and to induce a move- 

 ment of the moisture at the bottom of the bed toward 

 the top, where it will come in contact with most of the 

 roots. The surface to a depth of an inch dries out 

 quickly, and this has an important bearing on the preven- 

 tion of wet rot of the lower leaves. The active working 

 roots of the plants are found in abundance throughout the 

 entire depth of soil, even if this exceeds 30 inches." 



Galloway was able to prepare soil which "gave practi- 

 cally the same results " as that which he imported from 

 Boston. This soil was made as follows: "Mixture of 



*B. T. Galloway, " The Growth of Lettuce as Affected by the Physi- 

 cal Properties of the Soil," Agric. Science, viii. 302 (1894). 



