NOVEMBEIl 20, I'.HIO. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



99 



Establishment of M. M. Miesse, Lancaster, Ohio. 



Vegetable Forcing. 



VEGETABLE MARKETS. 



Chicago, Nov, 28. — Cucumbers, 6oc to 

 $1 doz. ; leaf lettuce, 40c to 45c case; 

 spinach, 60c to 75c box. 



Boston, Nov. 27. — Mushrooms, 50c to 

 75c lb. ; tomatoes, 15c to 20c lb. ; cu- 

 cumbers, $2.50 to $8.50 box; lettuce, 

 60c to 75c doz. 



New York, Nov. 26. — Cucumbers are 

 selling slowly at former weak prices. 

 Lettuce also moves less freely. Mush- 

 rooms are plentiful and weak. Kadishes 

 drag unless fancy. Tomatoes are steady. 

 Cucumbers, No. ], 50c to 60c doz.; No. 

 2, $1.75 to $2.25 box; Boston lettuce, 

 $1.25 to $3.50 per strap; mushrooms, 

 brown, 35c to 75c lb.; white, 50c to 60c 

 lb.; hothouse radishes, $1.50 to $2 per 

 100 bunches ; hothouse tomatoes, 10c to 

 25c lb. 



LETTUCE. 



The damp -rot has lately appeared in 

 our lettuce. Any advice you can give re- 

 garding the treatment of the disease, 

 also treatment of the soil to prevent the 

 spreading of the disease, will be appre- 

 ciated. G. E. C. 



The only thing you can do to check 

 the disease is to lower your temperature 

 a little and keep the atmosphere of your 

 house as dry as possible, but if damp- 

 rot has much of a hold I am doubtful if 

 you can ever bring your plants back to 

 a fairly healthy condition. This disease 

 is one of the most vexing problems that 

 confronts the lettuce grower, and is 

 brought on by some unsuitable condition 

 for which it is often hard to account. 

 Several causes may contribute toward 

 the development of the disease. Con- 

 stant vigilance is the price of good let- 

 tuce, so the grower's energies should be 

 directed toward the prevention of the 

 trouble by keeping the conditions as suit- 

 able for the crop as possible. 



Lettuce does not take kindly to artifi- 

 cial conditions, such as must prevail to a 

 greater or less extent under greenhouse 

 treatment. It will stand so much, but no 

 more. In all my experience I have never 

 found a case of damp-rot on lettuce 

 grown in coldframes, with average care. 

 This goes to show that the conditions 

 prevailing in the coldframe are quite 

 congenial to its welfare, and ill growing 

 it in the greenhouse it is a safe guide to 

 copy the coldframe conditions as nearly 

 as possible; here there is usually abun- 



dance of natural moisture, but this does 

 not seem to do them any harm in the ab- 

 sence of artificial heat. In the green- 

 house the artificial heat dries up tlie 

 natural moisture, but causes an unnat- 

 ural condensation. In this condensation, 

 it is my opinion, lies the root of the 

 trouble. From this, then, we can read- 

 ily conclude that the less artificial heat 

 we use the less condensation we are likely 

 to have, besides preserving more of the 

 natural moisture. 



I have found from experience that let- 

 tuce cannot be forced. It must come 

 along by easy stages, and it pays to wait 

 a little longer for a good crop and make 

 ample allowance for the time it will take, 

 rather than start a little late and try to 



homestead and greenhouses, with a 

 glimpse of the farm lands surrounding. 

 The houses are seven 15x200, the even 

 short-span construction, with one house 

 47x200 and a lean-to with the long slope 

 to the south. The principal crop is let- 

 tuce and at present it is looking fine. 

 Cutting was begun the last of October 

 and for Thanksgiving there were several 

 tons ready. The beds are constantly oc- 

 cupied by 70,000 plants. 



As in almost all lettuce establishments, 

 solid beds are used, the lettuce planted 

 eight inches apart each way, and there 

 always are 70,000 young plants coming 

 along to take the place of those which 

 are marketed. When Mr. Miesse cuts out 

 a bed the s()il is at once worked up and 



Lettuce Houses of M. M. Miesse, Lancaster, Ohio. 



rush them in for a certain date. For 

 just as sure as the grower begins to try 

 and push things, damp-rot or some other 

 such disease will put in its appearance 

 and not only check the growth of the 

 plants, but cause endless trouble. 



W. S. Croydox. 



AN OHIO GROWER. 



The accompanying illustrations are 

 from photographs taken at White Post 

 Farm, Lancaster, 0., the establishment 

 of M. M. Miesse, who is known far and 

 wide for his success in the growing of 

 lettuce, melons and tomatoes. One of 

 the pictures sliows a general view of the 



reset with good, strong transplanted 

 plants. His aim is to get three crops. 



In March he plants his last crop of 

 lettuce, following it with tomato plants 

 twenty-four inches apart one way and 

 thirty-two inches the other, the space be- 

 tween being filled with lettuce, which is 

 matured by the time the tomatoes require 

 training. Good, strong transplanted to- 

 mato plants are used, trained to one 

 stem. He cuts his first ripe tomatoes 

 early in June and usually has the market 

 to himself for about six weeks. He sells 

 to the local growers at 15 cents a quart, 

 wholesale, and never has found it neces- 

 sarp to ask a customer how many he 



