152 BOARD OF AGRICULTI'RE. [Pub. Doc. 



of some irrigation system like the Skinner system. Do not water 

 lightly or at midday, as the lettuce is liable to burn in either case. 



Lettuce will head very rapidly under favorable conditions and a 

 crop come off in a week to ten days. For succession crops I have 

 followed this system. Plant as early in the s])ring as ]>ossible. Make 

 llie next sowing May 1, and Ihi'ii sow every ton days until June 20. 

 From June 20 to August 4 I like to sow once a week. Never expect 

 to make a profit or get a crop from lettuce seed sown later than 

 August 4. Varieties for oiaen-air culture are listed under many 

 names. A good strain of Black Seed Tennis Ball is the best all round 

 letluce I have ever raised. Other varieties have been tried, but I 

 have found this to be the best. 



Lettuce to grow well under glass should be of a variety especially 

 adajited to glass. 



The profits from lettuce vai'y immensely from year to year, and 

 from one season to another in the same year. 



Spinach. 



This crop is used to fill space between rows of corn, beans and 

 tomatoes, and is often planted in a field by itself. The ground must 

 be vei-y rich to produce early spring spinach. The manure should be 

 well rotted, and manure from piggeries seems particularly adapted 

 to gi-owing s^jinach. Cow manure is also first class for fall spinach. 

 A small amount of manure may be assisted by using 200 to 300 

 pounds of nitrate of soda or sulfate of ammonia per acre. The 

 nitrogen fertilizers will give the spinach a deep green color. They 

 are most satisfactory when used in conjunction with manure. 



Spinach should be sown thickly in the row, and the rows should be 

 about 6 or 7 inches apart for the earliest spring sowing, using 25 to 

 40 pounds of seed per acre. Later sowings should be with less seed 

 in the row. 



S])inaoh is wanted in the market up to the middle of July, and 

 then the demand drops off. About September the demand begins 

 again and increases up to November. Succession plantings can be 

 made from the earliest opportunity in the spring until June 15, and 

 from July 20 and every week thereafter until September 12 for fall 

 and winter use. 



There is a leaf miner which is liable to spoil spinach, but when in 

 the e2:s: stage it is easily seen, and the crop may be sold while yet 

 unharmed. If the leaf miner spoils the crop plow it under and try 

 again. Do not be satisfied in growing spinach until you have se- 

 cured a crop of 2,000 or more bushels per acre. 



To get the best fall spinach the seed should be sown rather thinly, 

 and if the plants stand too thickly they should be thinned to stand 

 2 inches apart. Great large-leafed spinach can thus be obtained, 

 which will bring double the money received for ordinary spinach. 



