Lettuces. 223 



in March should be in a sheltered position, and means to afford 

 it protection, if necessary, should be ready to hand. These 

 sowings should be made in drills Gin. apart, and the seedlings 

 thinned out to lin. apart as soon as possible after they are 

 up. This will ensure hard, sturdy plants with plenty .of roots, 

 which, if transplanted to their final quarters with due care, will 

 go rapidly ahead and bring credit and profit to the grower. 

 Still better results are obtained, or at least there is more free- 

 dom from bolting in hot dry weather, if the later batches of 

 seed are sown where the plants are to remain. The plants 

 should be thinned out well and early, and the best of the 

 thinnings could be used for intercropping in places where 

 sowing would be unsuitable. 



Unless for a special trade, it is advisable that these main- 

 crop and late sowings should consist almost entirely of Cos. 

 There is always some demand for Cabbage Lettuce for salading, 

 but in the summer it is limited and may be easily over-supplied, 

 whilst the popular demand ceases almost entirely after the 

 middle of May. 



Set out the Cos Lettuce 1ft. apart, and during 'growth hoe 

 frequently, both to destroy weeds and to prevent undue evapo- 

 ration of soil moisture. During warm weather, where possible, 

 liberal soakings of water should be given, especially on light 

 soil. Some varieties of Cos are self-folding, and so bleach the 

 heart without any assistance, but as a general rule it is best to 

 tie all with raffia, half-way up; they then handle and carry 

 better and meet with more approval in the market. 



When slugs are very troublesome in the seed-beds, pour 

 boiling water over the soil a day or two before sowing, then 

 dust over with soot. 



Manures : The most satisfactory fertilizer for Lettuce is a 

 liberal dressing of good farmyard manure. When the avail- 

 able quantity of this is small and the ground rather poor, 3 to 

 5 cwts. kainit arid 5 to 10 cwts. basic slag to the acre, according 

 to the nature of the soil, applied in the autumn, or 1 to 2 cwts. 

 sulphate of potash and 4 to 6 cwts. superphosphates applied in 

 the spring, with 1 to 2 cwts. nitrate of soda sprinkled over the 

 roots just previous to hearting, will do much towards ensuring 

 a good crop. 



