LETTUCE DISEASES 
pounds per acre should be made in about 
ten days. 
Plants are ready for setting in about 
six weeks from the time the seeds are 
sown. If the weather is warm the seed 
may be sown in the open, but in case cold 
weather prevails the hotbeds or cold 
frames should be used. The seed bed 
should be made as carefully as possible, 
the soil being thoroughly broken up and 
finely pulverized with a good supply of 
well-rotted manure worked into it. One 
ounce of seed is enough for 2,000 plants 
and five pounds for one acre. The seed 
should be sown quite shallow in drills 
eight inches apart in the cold frames, 
firming the soil above them with a board. 
When planting the seed in the open the 
drills should be 18 inches apart. The 
seed does not germinate readily in warm 
weather, therefore it is better to shade 
the seed bed in the middle of the day to 
prevent it from drying. 
When the plants are ready for trans- 
planting weed out and destroy all dis- 
eased and feeble plants, as weak plants 
will not head. In transplanting avoid 
setting the plants too deeply, for if the 
base of the leaves is set in the soil the 
plants are liable to rot off or will not 
head. The plant should be set so that 
the bottom leaves will come at a level 
with the surface of the soil. As soon as 
the frames are set the beds should be 
well watered and shaded. “When the 
plants have recovered from the trans- 
planting the shade should be removed. 
The plants should be kept clean and fre- 
quently cultivated, also well watered. The 
early plants will not need protection, but 
after November sash should be placed 
over them at night. It is the practice of 
many growers to use cloth instead of 
sash. The cloth is cheaper from the 
standpoint of the initial cost but will 
cost more in the long run. The latter 
will last two years while the sash will 
last twenty or more if well cared for 
during the summer. A better quality of 
lettuce can be produced under glass and 
the moisture conditions can be more 
easily controlled. 
There are two types of lettuce, namely, 
1241 
those that head and those which do not. 
The latter is preferred for the North Cen- 
tral and Western markets, while the head- 
ing varieties are preferred for Hastern 
markets. Both kinds are valuable for 
local markets and home use. The best 
varieties in each class are given below. 
Heading—Big Boston, Hanson, Giant 
White. 
Not Heading—Grand Rapids, 
Simpson. 
Lettuce is packed in seven-eighths- 
bushel hampers for shipment. 
W. P. WILLramMs 
LETTUCE DISEASES 
Bacterial Disease of Lettuce 
The characteristic symptoms of this 
disease are so well marked that it need 
not be confused with any other lettuce 
disease. The edge of the leaves first 
turn brown, and later become dried and 
blackened. Also the leaves become first 
brown spotted, the spots afterwards turn- 
ing black. Brown or black spots may be 
found along the midrib. 
When the lettuce begins to head, the 
disease gets into the head and causes 
what is known as black rot. 
The conditions which seem to favor the 
spread of the disease are warmth and 
wet weather. 
The infection does not always take 
place in the field, but may be transmitted 
from the seed bed. 
Suggestions as to Treatment 
This disease can be spread through the 
field. Diseased plants should be taken 
off the field and burned. Do not pull up 
the diseased plants and put them in the 
alleyways. 
As moisture and warm weather supply 
the conditions under which the disease 
thrives best, the beds should be kept 
thoroughly drained. Do not let the cov- 
ers down at night unless you are sure 
there will be frost, and raise them early 
in the morning as soon as the atmos- 
phere is warm enough. Be sure and 
plant the seed bed where there were no 
diseases the previous year. Do not set 
out any plants from an infected seed bed. 
O. F. BURGHER, 
Florida Experiment Station. 
Curl 
