EXTENSION COURSE IN VEGETABLE FOODS. 73 



Too many gardens are planted all at once. It is far better to leave 

 open spaces and plant additional rows of lettuce, radishes, beans, and 

 corn each week until after the middle of summer. Another impor- 

 tant point is to prevent the maturing of any seeds if it is desired that 

 plants continue to produce. Therefore cucumbers, summer squash, 

 etc., must be kept closely cut, even when not needed for the home table. 



WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 



There is need everywhere of enforcing definite standards of meas- 

 ure and weight, especially in cities where the average portion sold is 

 small ; the arithmetic of the vegetable market is confusing, and more 

 uniform methods of measuring market produce should be adopted. 

 For example, sometimes onions are sold by the quart, sometimes by 

 the pound, or by the bunch. Four or six or more may constitute a 

 bunch of beets or young turnips, etc., with little regard to the size 

 of the individual roots. 



As a recent publication of the Bureau of Standards, which deals 

 with standards for the home, points out, the law in some States re- 

 quires that dry commodities be sold by weight and in such States 

 purchasers may demand that orders be weighed before delivery 

 and the specified weight delivered. 



In other States the statutes define the bushel as consisting of a 

 stated weight, but do not require that dry commodities be sold by 

 weight, although it appears to be the intent of the law that the 

 weight specified must be delivered for a bushel whether commodities 

 are weighed or measured. 



Certain other States have established a standard weight per bushel 

 for the standard common vegetables. Thus a bushel of potatoes would 

 weigh 60 pounds; white beans, 60 pounds; carrots and parsnips, 

 50 pounds; turnips, 55 pounds; onions, 57 pounds, or about 2 pounds 

 to the quart. In some States this is limited to cases where the sale 

 is actually made by weight. 



In some of the States special contracts may be made which specify 

 some other method of sale than that required by statute. 



In States where the legal weight of a bushel of any commodity 

 has not been established and the laws do not provide that dry com- 

 modities be sold by weight, any checking by the housekeeper must 

 be done by dry measure. (Ref. No. 16.) 



TRADE CUSTOMS AND MARKET CONDITIONS. 



Certain trade customs tend to foster ignorance of the best season 

 for each vegetable and the best way to use it. A premium has been 

 placed on bulk rather than quality, size rather than flavor. Why 

 should not summer squashes and cucumbers be sold by weight as 



