LETTUCE 



275 



and later transplanted to the open or is sown in rows where the 

 crop is to mature. If frame or hotbed plants are used, they are 

 set at intervals of 10 or 12 inches in the row, and the rows as 

 far apart as the method of culture to be practiced requires. If 

 land is valuable and the greater part of the cultivation is to be 

 done by hand, the rows should not be more than 12 or 14 inches 

 apart ; but if, on the other hand, the cultivation is to be done 

 by horse power a greater distance must be allowed, from 18 to 



FIG. 104. Lettuce planted in beds protected by windbreaks 



24 inches usually being sufficient. If the most intensive plan is 

 to be followed, the land must be laid off in beds about 6 feet 

 wide and the plants set 10 inches apart each way, with 1 8 -inch 

 alleys between to facilitate the work of cultivation and harvesting 

 (see figure 104). 



Kind of soil. When grown by this intensive method land which 

 is rich and fertile, but sandy and well drained, is best. Such soils 

 are what truck growers term quick, or early, lands. They come into 

 condition early in the spring and admit of cultivation sooner than 

 heavier and more retentive soils. While autumn crops may perhaps 



