EdiblefProducts. 212 



any character of land will answer, but 

 for commercial plantings the soil should 

 be fine and mellow. 



The more quickly lettuce can be grown 

 uuder reasonable conditions the better; 

 for the deliciousness of this vegetable 

 lies in its crispness, sweetness, and 

 tenderness. To grow lettuce quickly the 

 soil should be moist and exceedingly well 

 supplied with vegetable matter. If this 

 dues not occur naturally in the soil, it 

 should be supplied by a good top dres- 

 sing of well-rotted stable manure 

 thoroughly worked in. The land should 

 be plowed from five to six inches deep 

 aud then harrowed until the surface is 

 smooth and mellow. All kinds of rubbish 

 in the form of clods, stones, grass, etc,, 

 which might cover up the young plants 

 during cultivation, should be removed. 



For family use only a few short rows 

 will be needed in the home garden. To 

 give space for cultivating with a horse, 

 the distance between the rows should be 

 from two to two and one-half feet ; the 

 plants should be from ten to twelve 

 inches apart iu the row. Where all of 

 the work is to be done by hand, the rows 

 should be laid off in checks from twelve 

 to fifteen inches each way, A plant 

 should be set in each of these checks. In 

 setting plants a dibber or the forefinger 

 should be used. The roots should be 

 pressed into the soil which should then 

 be brought well up around the stem of 

 the plant and made firm and solid. If 

 the ground is dry at setting time, give 

 a thorough watering, aud, as soon as the 

 water has soaked away, hoe some loose 

 tine earth up around each plant. In this 

 country, where the sun is so hot during 

 the middle of the day, it is well to shade 

 the plants with a little loose dry grass 

 for a few days until they have taken 

 root. 



Fertilization.— Along with the stable 

 manuie a liberal application of com- 

 mercial fertilizer should be given to 

 most soils. Apply the fertilizer broad- 

 cast over the whole surface where hand 

 cultivation is to be given. This should 

 be done several days before the plants 

 are to be set and the fertilizer should 

 be thoroughly harrowed iuto the soil. 

 When plants are set in rows two feet 

 or more apart the fertilizer should be 

 applied in the rows ten days or two 

 weeks before the planting time. A very 

 good way is to open the row with a 

 single shovel plow and then drill in the 

 fertilizer, which should be mixed with 

 the soil by going back and forth in the 

 row with the plow once or twice. The 

 furrow is then plowed full so as to have 

 the surface smooth and level for setting 

 the plants, 



Sulphate of ammonia 

 Sulphate of potash 

 Acid phosphate 



[March 1908. 



We have used with good results a 

 fertilizer mixed by weight as follows. 



2 parts. 

 ... 1 „ 

 ... 3 „ 



This mixture, applied at the rate of 

 eight hundred to fifteen hundred pounds 

 per acre according to the natural fertility 

 of the soil, ought to give good results. 



Cultivation and Irrigation.— As soon 

 as the plants have been set a day or two, 

 they should be cultivated aud hoed. 

 For hand cultivation the cultivator and 

 its attachments (illustrated in Fig. 1) will 

 be found very useful. For working such 

 small plants witn a horse, the cultivator 

 (seen in Fig. 2) is the best one to use. This 

 style of cultivator has from 12 to 16 teeth, 

 aud is so arranged that it can be used in 

 narrow rows and close to small plauts. 

 The teeth are very small aud narrow, 

 and so made as not to throw a furrow of 

 any size. There is nothing which helps 

 the growing of young plants so much as 

 to keep the surface of the ground care- 

 fully, frequently, and thoroughly stirred. 



Like any other garden crop, lettuce 

 should not be watered except when water 

 is needed, and then the ground should 

 be thoroughly soaked. This crop must 

 be kept growing if the product is to be 

 tender and crisp. Cultivate and hoe care- 

 fully after every rain or irrigation so as 

 to prevent the soil from bakiug and to 

 keep a coating of fine loose soil over the 

 surface of the field. The frequency of 

 irrigation will depend upon the character 

 of the soil, conditions of climate, fre- 

 quency of cultivation, etc. For a more 

 complete discussion of irrigation and 

 dust mulch, read Bulletin No. k on 

 Tomato Culture. 



Shade for Lettljce. — The frame of 

 the tobacco tent at the Estacion Agrono- 

 mica was so constructed as to leave a 

 slauting edge around the whole circum- 

 ference. When the frame was covered 

 with cheese cloth the strip of land under 

 this slanting edge was about eight feet 

 wide. The distance from the ground 

 to the cloth varied from three feet at 

 the outer edge to eight feet, the height 

 of the frame, at the inner edge. As this 

 height was not enough for tobacco plant* 

 iug, arrangements were made with the 

 Agricultural Section to use the strip for 

 an experiment with lettuce uuder shade. 

 When the tobacco frame is covered with 

 cloth no air enters except what passes 

 through the cloth. 



The ground was laid out into beds and 

 all were fetilized alike. Each bed con- 

 tained fifty plants, and in all fifteen 

 varieties of lettuce were planted. The 

 date was Dec. 5, 1904. At the same time 



