LETTUCE 



sparingly and covering it lightly, say one-half inch 

 deep, although in good soil the seed will come up read- 

 ily even if placed an inch or so below the level of the 

 surface. The varieties catalogued by seedsmen as suit- 

 able for summer culture are almost endless, and most 

 of them are good enough. Among the stiindard sorts 

 we have the Hanson, Deacon, Sinip-'n. s.ili ni:in>l-'i\ 

 Stubborn Seeder, several Butter Li II , I 



of our hot, dry seasons, the Cos Lii 1 1> ■ i , 



lar in this countrv thun in Europr. I m> ir.;i<i~ ^n-nM 

 be tied up and l.lnnrhpd, for tli.- i-^i i.-uii.,. ike 

 plants of di'ill-^.uvn L.-iturcs v|i,,ul,l I,,, iliiuuud early. 

 For home u^r wr |.;i\r 1 li , -11 1 ni lir^t oil I v 11 f ew luches 

 apart, so tlmt th.y liavr jii^t ro'Jiii (.■uoiml'i to form little 

 heads. liMi-y otiiLi- plaiit may then !»■ taken out and 

 used for the home table. These little heads are delicious. 

 The remaining heads are left to attain full size and are 

 then used for the table or for market. If grown for 

 market only, the plants are thinned to stand not less 

 than 5 or 6 inches apart from the start. In due time 

 every other plant can be taken up for market, while the 

 ones remaining have a chance to grow to largest size 

 afterward. From early spring until along in August we 

 sow a few rows of these summer Lettuces every two 

 weeks or so, and thus try to provide a continuous sup- 

 ply of good heads. The demand may drop off for a few 

 days, or even weeks, but it is sure to revive. If we can 



LETTUCE 



905 



1267. Curline, 



Grand Rapids Lettuce. 



manage to have good Lettuce late in the fall it will sel- 

 dom go begging for customers. 



Sometimes we may wish to raise seed of a sort that 

 suits our purposes. All we have to do is to leave some 

 of the plants in the rows, until the larger part of the 

 seeds on a plant have matured. The plant is then cut 

 off near the ground and exposed on a sheet to sun and 

 air to dry. The seeds are then to be thrashed out and. 

 cleaned. T. Geeiner. 



Lettuce for the Village Garden and City Yard.— 

 Thp value of Fjottuce for the table depends largely upon 

 its liciiii.' fi-.sh. A very small area may be made to 

 proiiiuN- an .tl'Uiidaiit supply for an ordinary-si zed family. 

 Tin- plain IS (|uit(.- healthy and hardy, when youngenduV- 

 ing a 'lonsid'-ral'le frost without injury. It has few in- 

 sect enemies and the requisites for its successful culture 

 are few and easily understood. On this account it can 

 be grown with greater satisfaction and profit on a village 

 lot, or even m a city backyard, than can mostof our gar- 

 den vegetables. To produce it of the best quality under 

 these conditions, as early in the spring as the ground is 

 at all dry and the grass begins to start, a bit of ground 

 should be well dressed with fine manure, putting on from 

 one-half a bushel to one bushel to the square yard, and 

 then well spading up, working in the manure and mak- 

 ing the bed as fine and smooth as possible. Make a 

 mark about one inch deep, drop in the seed at the 



rate of from 25 to 50 seeds to the foot, and cover with 

 from one-fourth to one-half an inch of fine soil pressed 

 down with the hoe or hand. From two feet to two yards 

 of such row for each member of the family should fur- 

 nish an abundance for the time that the product of a 

 single planting is usable, and if more than one row is 

 I'lii'i'-'l ili'v >liouM 1j(. aliont two feet apart. In from 15 

 I !i'- \ ouiiu^ plani - should be thinned out leav- 

 ! ■ ' I ' III'- looi, ami ai ihe same time a secondrow, 

 i.,:;iio,i -iii'.ession, slioiil.l be planted. About 20 days 

 laui the liist row sliouKl Iju re-thinned, leaving plants 

 trom to 12 inches apart according to the size of the 

 variety, and a third row planted. A fourth planting may 

 be made, but Lettuce planted as late as the time of the 

 ripening of strawberries is not likely to do very well un- 

 less protected from the .sun and heat. A supply of fine 

 fall Lettuce may be secured if, in August or early Sep- 

 tember, we re-manure and spade the ground which was 

 occupied by the first croj;!, and make a trench some 6 or 

 8 inches deep and till tliis uiili waii-r. When this has 

 soaked awa\-. niill, and rip, :ii ihis from one to six 

 times, accnnl in- i.. iln- .Inn. --, oi the soil. Fill this 

 trench witli tint-, ni.nst. noi ... / s.iil.in which make a 

 mark and sow the seed as m tin- -piiim. ("over the row 

 with a foot-wide board, and aboni iln,,. ,la\^ lati-r put 

 some bricks under so as to liol.l ih. i...ai.i ahont two 

 inches above the soil. As soon a- ih.- plaui- an- well up 

 turn the bricks so as to hold the l)..ai-.l :il...iit lour inches 

 up, and take it off altogether about five o'clock in the 

 afternoon, leaving it off until eight or nine in the morn- 

 ing. On cloudy days give more exposure, as the plants 

 develop until the shade is entirely dispensed with. 

 Some of the finest Lettu.-e ihr- writ, r has ever seen was 

 grown in a city yard by tlii- im ih.i.l, w. W. Teacv. 



Lettuce Fcmcixii. - Tiii- \ . u. lal.l.. is one of the prin- 

 cipal money crops of tin- iiiaiki-t-^-aideuer in winter. It 

 is grown in hotbetls and hothouses. The old way is to 

 raise it in hotbeds, but since the experiments of grow- 

 ing in houses have been so successful it is grown mostly 

 in them. 



For the first early crop to be irr.'-n in l.rrp- or houses, 



the seed is sown in the seedh.. ;-■ '.< i ^ ■: nst 20, in 



the latitude of Boston. By tin- i i iitucewill 



be brought into market the lai I. I I : ■' larorthe 



first of November, after the li .- - . -j il.l the out- 

 door crop; and thus it often l.niiLis very good prices. 

 The sowung is made in a b.il in the house prepared for 

 the purpose with sterilized soil. s.. ihat there will be no 

 fear of a rusty root or hdI.I.w on tli.- plants. The soil 

 should be 10 inches ,1.. :.. . : m-. i.ii,.,l and I. .-at nii 

 very fine, with no maim:. .. I"..]- ,-\ .a \ ..nn.-e 



of seed, prepare a s]. a ;. . ; . . , raking. ..if i he L.-d 



as smooth as possible. >..v ■ s. . .| ■in.i then spi inkh- 



the bed with water. Then ,siU ou oue-iourih of an inch 

 of either sterilized or clean subsoil, preferably the lat- 

 ter. In about four days the plantlets will appear. Three 

 weeks from sowing, the plants will be ready for trans- 

 planting. This should be done at the proper time, that 

 is, bef.n-(- the plants bi-.-ome to., lari;.-. Pn-pare the soil 

 the same as f,.i- tin- -i-.-.l 1..-.I. 1 1' :; iii..li.~ ..f the steri- 

 lized soil, ,.r soni.. lu-w s..il iliai ii.. lattii.-.- has been 

 grown in. ean la- lia.l. it will l.i- siilli..i.iii. Transplant 

 the Lettuce 4 in.h.s apart in siitll.-iint .piantity to set 

 out the prepai'.'.l s|. ,,.■... in ilu-.-e ,.i- f..nr w.-eks these 

 plants will lie lar-.- .ai..ii-li I., airaiii transplant into the 

 bed or house iniend.il t..r ili.in. Sterilizin-is done in a 

 box 5x4 feet and '.i feel deep, with several punctured 

 steam pipes in the bottom. The soil should heated to 

 200°. 



In preparing the bed for the last transplanting, the 

 soil should be well wet before working and then let 

 stand until th.' « ai.r j.a- all .Irain. .1 oir. which will be 

 in about tw.-i,- in sialih- manure, 



worked fine V, . ii , ii hi. -h is secured 



by piling ami ..\ . i hanlii,- i ^ !.■.■ -., -a. . k f..r two or three 

 weeks before using. Apply this prepared manure about 

 3 inches deep and dig into the soil to a depth of 12 to 

 15 inches. Rake off and mark with the marker 8 inches 

 apart. If the soil is new no sterilization is needed, but 

 if old would prefer about 2 inches of the top sterilized. 

 This is done to prevent the mildew and disease that 

 often comes from old, worn-out soil. 



If the bed is properly prepared it will need no water- 



