LETTUCE 277 



seedlings are lifted in clumps with earth adhering to the roots, 

 placed in receptacles which will allow of moistening the earth and 

 roots, and protected from the sun, the plants will not be severely 

 checked and will recover quickly, provided the work of transplant- 

 ing is done toward evening or upon a cloudy day. The mechanics 

 and technique of transplanting were discussed in an earlier chap- 

 ter (see pages 38 to 43). 



Watering. If the soil in the field is dry and the use of moisture 

 seems desirable, do not apply the water after the plants have been 

 set unless it can be done in the form of irrigation either by flooding 

 or by an overhead sprinkler system. If only a limited amount of 

 water is available, it is better to apply it, at the point where the 

 plant is to be set, twenty minutes or half an hour before trans- 

 planting. Under ordinary circumstances watering will not be 

 necessary. Early in the season the soil is moist and the air is cool 

 and carries a large percentage of moisture, which are congenial con- 

 ditions for the young plants. Watering after the plants are set, by 

 saturating a small area about the roots of the plant, has a tendency 

 to cause the soil to bake ; while if the water is applied before the 

 plants are set, so that the soil has an opportunity to absorb it, the 

 disturbance of the soil in setting the plant does not prove injurious. 

 The skillful planter will leave a little loose, dry earth over the 

 moist area after the plants are set, to act as a blanket to prevent 

 rapid drying and baking of the surface. 



LETTUCE AS A FIELD CROP AT THE SOUTH 



Under favorable soil and climatic conditions in Florida lettuce is 

 grown in the open as a garden crop during the winter for ship- 

 ment to Northern markets, where it finds as its only competitor the 

 forcing-house products from New England and the neighborhood 

 of the large Atlantic coast cities. Outside of Florida, strange to say, 

 it is in the vicinity of Norfolk, Virginia, that lettuce is most exten- 

 sively grown as a field crop without protection. North of Norfolk 

 conditions are too uncertain for such a crop. South of Norfolk, 

 about Wilmington, Charleston, and Savannah, the plan is to grow 

 two crops, one to mature about Christmas time and the other in 

 April, but here lettuce is a frame crop rather than an outdoor crop. 



