140 VEGETABLE GROWING PROJECTS 



3. What are the most favorable conditions for the keeping of 



celery? W-VG : 321-325. B : 104-108. 



4. What are the details of the trench system ? W-VG : 322. 



5. What other methods may be employed in storing celery f 



6. Describe a good celery pit. 



7. What difficulties may be encountered in storing the cropf 



Project VII. Growing Lettuce 



Lettuce belongs to the chicory family, which ranks as one of 

 the highest of all the plant families. The thistle family is closely 

 related to it. Wild or prickly lettuce, from which cultivated lettuce 

 is supposed to have originated, is a native of Europe, but occurs 

 in many places in this country as a troublesome weed. The wild 

 form and the common lettuce will readily cross. There are other 

 species of wild lettuce which are natives of America. Salsify, 

 chicory, and endive are close relatives. Lettuce is said to have 

 been under cultivation for more than 2000 years. 



The lettuce plant is an annual, a rather rapid grower, sending 

 up a seed stalk in some form at the end of about the second month. 

 The leaves are alternately arranged on the stems but vary greatly 

 in shape and margins. The flowers are yellowish, the fruits vary 

 in color, being white, black, yellow, or brown. The fruits are tipped 

 with soft white or brownish bristles which enable them to float 

 in the wind like a dandelion fruit. The numerous varieties of 

 lettuce catalogued by seedsmen may be grouped into four botanical 

 types : (1) asparagus lettiwe, with distinctly narrow basal leaves ; 

 (2) cutting or loose-leaved lettuce, with broad basal leaves, deeply 

 cut on the edges; (3) head lettuce, with broad leaves, smooth or 

 nearly so on edges, and forming a compact roundish or flattish 



