354 GATHERING, STORING AND PACKING 



SALADS. 



Under this heading Lettuces form the most im- 

 portant item and are profitable to the large grower if 

 early supplies are well grown. Immense quantities 

 are imported from France in the early year in small 

 cane baskets and are sold at a good profit. The small 

 Cabbage Lettuces come in more quickly than the Cos. 

 The former are usually packed flat, the heart upwards, 

 the Cos, home grown in the summer, being laid on one 

 side and sent in crates and baskets. To be of any value 

 the Lettuce must be grown quickly and not allowed to 

 remain about after it is cut. The Cos varieties are more 

 readily packed and less likely to get broken than the 

 Cabbage section. The plants can be kept a short time 

 after cutting if laid on a cool floor and damped over. 

 For home supplies they may be lifted in autumn and 

 given frame protection, they are sold by the tally in 

 summer and in smaller quantities early in the year. 



Mustard and Cress finds a ready sale, especially in 

 spring and winter. It is in season all the year and is 

 sold in small punnets which are packed in boxes or 

 hampers. In cutting take care to keep the tops upright 

 and free from grit or soil. The best material is that 

 grown quickly ; it should be started in the dark and 

 cut when young. 



RADISHES 



Should be growing as early as possible in spring as 

 in hot weather they soon get tough. They suffer if 



