90 



Cole Crops 



35. Fe-tsal as grown In China, 

 headed form (X l/l")- 



the long- 



bages, and it has none of the characteristic strong odors of 

 them, nor is it so heavy for the digestion. It is a sweet 

 delightful vegetable when properly growin, and as we learn 



how to raise and uti- 

 lize it we may expect 

 it to come into gen- 

 eral use. Well-grown 

 and neatly blanched 

 pe-tsai is superior to 

 lettuce as a salad. 

 Undoubtedly we shall 

 need to give special attention to seed-selection for Amer- 

 ican conditions; 



With us pe-tsai seems to be known mostly as a mass of 

 loose foliage (Fig. 34), often developing a core of white 

 tender leaves, not unlike cos lettuce in appearance. The 

 growers of Shantung produce solid heavy heads (Figs. 

 35, 36, 37), sometimes weighing 5 to 7 pounds. The seed 

 is usually sown by them in August, often following millet. 

 Land is well prepared, and bean-cake or other fertilizer is 

 applied in the row. Seed is sown in rows; as the plants 

 attain considerable leaf- 

 age, they are thinned, 

 the young plants being 

 used as a potherb. If 

 weather is dry, the 

 plants are watered. The 

 remaining plants are 

 left to form heads. If the rains of autumn are too 

 heavy, the water is drained away. Too much wet makes 

 a soft and yellow plant. By the approach of winter the 



Longitudinal section of Fig. 



