FORCING OF LETTUCE 207 



Before sowing Lettuce, give tiie soil a good watering. Tlie seed should 

 be covered, according to the old reliable method — putting on soil twice tiie 

 thickness of the seed. The smaller the seed, the less soil will be necessary. 

 I believe that mucii good seed has been ruined by placing it too deep 

 in the soil. 



Transplant the seedlings when they are large enough to handle and before 

 they become in any way drawn. Place them three or four inches apart, and 

 in sufficient quantity to satisfy the demand. They may be transplanted into 

 flats, or a bed prepared for the purpose if a large quantity is required, in about 

 three or four weeks, according to the season. In early Fall they will make quicker 

 headway than in Midwinter. This work should be done in any case when they 

 have grown into nice, thrifty young plants, and before they crowd into each 

 other. This transplanting will induce a plentiful supply of roots. When 

 they are transplanted into their permanent bed for maturity, they may 

 be lifted with considerable soil adhering to the roots, and as a result they 

 will grow away without a check. It is not necessary to have the seedling 

 bed of quite as rich a compost as the permanent bed. If the soil is made 

 over-rich for seed beds, the roots at that stage are not in condition to with- 

 stand such treatment. 



From the time the first batch of Lettuce matures, whether produced in the 

 frame or the vegetable house, there should be a continuous supply Irom the first 

 of No\-ember until March, or later if necessary. This may be easily accom- 

 plished, with sufficient space at command, by sowing seed about every ten 

 days. These subsequent plantings are treated exactly like the first. I would 

 recommend the following as a good method for attaining- this greatly desired 

 result — a steady supply. Every grower has probably some plan as to the space 

 he will devote to his Lettuce, or to any other kind of vegetable. I think it 

 well to ha\e some definite idea — w^hat I might call a kind of schedule — as to the 

 apportioning of space. 



Granted that we have decided on our Lettuce plot, we will divide it into 

 four parts, or in other words, make four plantings, each about ten days apart. 

 When the space is filled, the lot first planted will be about gathered, and there 

 will be plants to follow along in rotation, which will give a steady supply all 

 through the Winter. The amount that can be produced under glass is remark- 

 able, when crops are made to follow each other through the forcing season. 

 Whether the vegetable house is twenty-five feet long or two hundred feet, with 

 system we can have our four crops or sixteen plantings altogether, or more if 

 we have nice plants ready to replace the crop just gathered. 



It will not be necessary to add manure for each crop, if a good coat was 

 added in the Fall just before setting the first crop. In preparing the beds for 

 permanent planting a couple of inches of manure may be dug in thoroughly. 

 Decayed manure from the horse stable is good for this purpose, digging the beds 

 at least a foot deep. This coat should be sufficient to carry the crops through 

 the season, but a light sprinkling of wood ashes for each crop planted would 

 not be amiss, if scattered on before preparing the bed for replanting. The ashes 

 will then be well incorporated with the soil. 



