LETTUCE. 59 
For Stock Seeds and Seeds for Private Use.— 
Select. the finest specimens which show faithful correct- 
ness as to type. These are transplanted, the plants tied 
to stakes for support, and only seeds which ripen first 
on the plant are saved. A good plan, when the opera- 
tion is on a small scale, is to pull up plants as seeds 
are ripening, place them against a fence with a cloth 
under them, and allow them to remain in that position 
until seeds are thoroughly matured. 
Threshing.—Seed must be thoroughly dry before 
threshing, which may be done in a threshing machine, 
or with a roller on acloth on a floor. Seed is then 
run through a fan mill. <A small quantity may be 
threshed in a bag, and the cleaning done with a hand 
sieve. 
Market.—Seed is sold extensively by the trade; in 
some parts of the South lettuce is grown largely as 
an early market open-field crop. At one time, nearly 
all the seed that was used here was imported from 
Europe. But within the last thirty years it has been 
produced extensively in California, and now that State 
practically supplies the entire country with lettuce seed 
and even ships to Europe. The annual production in 
this country is at present upwards of 200,000 pounds. 
To the west of the Rocky Mountains, almost any section 
is peculiarly adapted to lettuce; but for that matter, 
seed of excellent quality can also be grown in all the 
States east of the Rockies, where the soil is loose and 
not over rich. If too rich, it is liable to cause rot at the 
root at period of blossoming. 
In California, a seed-yield in a favorable season is 
about 500 pounds per acre, at prices to the grower of 
fifteen to twenty cents per pound. 
