1900 



GIvEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



929 



Mr. Root : — Please send us 2 lbs. Grand Rapids let- 

 tuce seed, put up in lib. packages. C. Z. Yoder. 

 Weilersville, O., Sept. 5. 



I remembered this same Mr. Yoder had 

 been ordering every season unusual quantities 

 of Grand Rapids lettuce seed. Weilersville is 

 a little bit of station about a mile and a half 

 from Smilhville, where, you will remember, I 

 visited the pickle-factory and wrote it up. 

 Now, the question in my mind was, "What 

 does this man Yoder do with Grand Rapids 

 lettuce seed by the pound? If he sows it ?11 

 he must be quite a lettuce-grower ; and I do 

 not think he can be in the seed business, be- 

 cause I should have heard of him ; " and I re- 

 solved to take a wheelride down to his place 

 whenever the weather was even fairly promis- 

 ing. Accordingly, one afternoon when the 

 sun came out, and the roads were fair, I start- 

 ed off expecting to reach the place before 

 dark. I had not calculated, however, for the 

 short days, and it was too dark to see to ride 

 cou]fortably when I reached a spot out in the 

 country, near where I was told Mr. Yoder 

 lived. Of course, I was watching for green- 

 houses and cold frames extensive enough to 

 take care of the plants that a pound of lettuce 

 seed would produce. Sure enough, on look- 

 ing over toward a farmhouse back in the lots 

 I was rewarded for my long ride. Four green- 

 houses, each 150 feet long and about 25 feet 

 wide, with the glass glistening in the moon- 

 light, met my view. Just back of the green- 

 houses was a large red barn overhanging the 

 stables, just such as we see belonging to thrifty 

 farmers. Near by was a very pleasant coun- 

 try dwelling. A young lady was just carrying 

 in a pail of milk, and in answer to my inquiry 

 for Mr. Yoder she said he had gone west on a 

 visit, and would not be back for several weeks. 



"Well, I am A. I. Root, of Medina. I do 

 not know whether you people know me or 

 not. I should be glad to see whoever it is, be- 

 longing to your family, that has charge of the 

 greenhouses." 



" Oh ! yes, Mr. Root, we knowjvf/^, and are 

 ■exceedingly glad to see you, although father 

 is away. My brother will be delighted to talk 

 with you about the greenhouses, and mother 

 will rejoice also to see you in our home." 



In a few minutes I was ushered in with 

 something like the following : 



"Mother, I know you will be very glad to 

 know that Mr. A. I. Root is actually here in our 

 own home." 



It did me lots of good to get such a welcome 

 from people I had never seen before. As it 

 was already after dark I felt a little backward 

 about intruding ; but the mother and daugh- 

 ter and three boys soon made me feel quite at 

 home. I wonder if all country homes set 

 such a bountiful table for their evening meal. 



The eldest son, who managed the green- 

 liouses, had just been having trouble with the 

 lettuce-rot. After supper we went out with a 

 lantern and looked over the plants. The 

 houses are built purposely for lettuce, and no 

 attempt is made toward ornament. The beds 

 are right on the ground, and the sashes along 

 at the eaves are so low down that one has to 

 stoop over to work among the plants. The 



seed is grown in flats, and transplanted in flats. 

 In fact, the whole thing is managed a good 

 deal like the lettuce-growing at the experi- 

 ment station at Wooster, which is only five 

 miles from Mr. Yoder'.^. The plants are wa- 

 tered by simply setting the flats in a water- 

 bench and then lifting them out again. From 

 the flats they go right into the large beds, 

 which I think must be about 12 feet across. 

 They work on these beds sitting or kneeling 

 on a wide stiff board. This board is ktpt 

 above the plants by two or more pieces of 4x4 

 scantling. To make it easier on the knees the 

 board is cushioned on the upper side. After 

 the plants are set, the ground is stirred and 

 weeds kept out with a hoe having a handle 

 some ten or twelve feet long. This will reach 

 clear over under the eaves, so you see there is 

 not much need of standing up where the glass 

 comes down low near the plants. There is 

 also an advantage in having a glass come near 

 the plants. 



Now about the lettuce-rot. This is a com- 

 mon difficulty, especially where lettuce is 

 grown season after season on the same ground ; 

 and it just now occurs to me that I got a hint 

 from Eugene Davis I forgot tc^ en tion during 

 my recent visit to his place. His lettuce seed 

 is all grown in pure sand, and the seedlings 

 are transplanted into a bed of pure sand and 

 nothing else. No manure or fertilizer of any 

 sort is used. After his transplanted plants 

 have got good strong roots, they are planted 

 out in b^eds made very rich with stable manure. 

 In this way they seldom rot, for rot usually 

 commences when the plants are small. The 

 first symptom is seen in the roots. They turn 

 black ; but so long as these roots are grown 

 with just water and sand, they are perfectly 

 healthy ; and a good strong thrifty plant will 

 seldom take the rot before it reaches maturity.* 



Well, at friend Yoder's we had an object- 

 lesson that pointed very clearly in the direc- 

 tion that the rot is the efltect of strong ma- 

 nures. They had just purchased a carload of 

 pigpen manure from Chicago. In order to get 

 a good big strong growth they put this manure 

 on to the end of the beds nearest the door, 

 pretty liberally ; and another thing, it was not 

 chopped into the ground deep enough and 

 with sufficient thoroughness. Our plan is to 

 mingle the manure and soil by shoveling it 

 through a coarse sieve. Well, where they put 

 this strong manure in, more than half the 

 plants were lost by the rot. Where they put 



* since the above conversation with Eugene Davis 

 we have sown a plot of seed in pure sand and one in 

 a mixture of sand with sifted jadoo fiber. That with 

 the jadoo fiber goes away ahead of the other ; and 

 my impression is, the plants will be as safe against 

 rot as in pure sand. The jadoo has been exposed to a 

 temperature so high as to kill all weed seeds and any 

 sort of fungus that might produce rot. Its fertility is 

 owing to chemical fertilizers that are boiled into it ; 

 therefore it would have none of the property that 

 .stable manure sometimes or always has that might 

 start rot. My impression is, we can well afford to use 

 a certain amount of jadoo, say half and half (in hulk), 

 or less, with sand, for starting seeds, and perhaps, 

 also, for the first transplanting. The only objection 

 to the jadoo would be its expense ; but when we take 

 into consideration how very light it is, and that a sin- 

 gle pound makes quite a large bulk, the price, 2 cts. 

 per lb., by the bag, may not be an objection for grow- 

 ing Grand Rapids lettuce under glass. 



