s 
BULLETIN" 1412, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
gained by this practice, for when the heads are cut too soon the yield 
is reduced and the quality is inferior. Stock of this description has 
a depressing effect on the market, at times very noticeable. The 
consumer curtails his purchases until he can be assured of better 
lettuce, and the lowered demand is immediately reflected in the re- 
turns to the shipper. Doubtless even the midseason market level at 
times is lowered and its recovery retarded because the trade is slow 
to regain confidence after several unprofitable experiences with early 
shipments of immature lettuce. 
Cutting usually is done as early in the morning or late in the 
evening as field and labor conditions permit. During cool weather 
lettuce may remain uncut in the field for several days after reaching 
maturity without detrimental results, but during warm weather the 
crop should be harvested as soon as it reaches the proper stage of 
maturity. Heads that have been frosted in the field are very sus- 
ceptible to decay if cut and handled while in that condition. 
The heads are harvested by cutting just above the ground with 
an ordinary butcher knife or by giving them a slight twist and pull 
which breaks the brittle main root just beneath the surface of the 
Fig. 5. — Grand Rapids leaf lettuce 
ground. Usually two or more rows of heads are placed together 
upon being severed from the stem, after which they are either packed 
in the field or gathered up in field boxes, or in the regular shipping 
containers, loaded on trucks or wagons, and hauled to the packing 
shed. 
In some instances the cutters place the cut and trimmed heads with 
the stems up on the ground between the rows, the packers following 
and filling the crates or hampers direct from the ground. Under 
this method considerable delay often occurs between the cutting and 
the packing, and if the day is warm and sunny a material amount of 
Avilting results. Then, too, the heads may become dirty and un- 
attractive from contact with the soil. 
In some eastern sections the harvesting crew often works in groups 
consisting of two cutters and one packer each. Seven rows are cut- 
by the crew each time across the field, the packer following the 
center row with a small light stand or table on which the crate is 
rested until filled. The cutters harvest the heads which are suffi- 
ciently mature, trim them, and pass them back to the packer. After 
the crate is filled it is deposited on the ground and another is placed 
