MARKETING LETTUCE 11 
decay, or other causes, are trimmed closely after arrival and find 
sales in many of the larger cities through the medium of street 
vendors. This lettuce often presents an attractive appearance, since 
the heads consist principally of the tender, succulent hearts. 
SMALL SIZES PACKED SEPARATELY 
The size of the head is not a reliable indicator of its quality. 
Under some conditions the heads will be firm and free from defects 
but will not develop to good size. The smaller sizes generally are 
discounted on the markets, and at times are practically unsalable, 
even though they may be of good quality. Market conditions alone 
can determine the wisdom of shipping small sizes. 
With increasing values, demand for the smaller sizes becomes 
stronger and sizes which ordinarily are not wanted may at times be 
sold advantageously. Western lettuce, for example, usually is not 
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Fig. 6. — Proper trimming adds to the attractiveness of head lettuce 
packed in sizes smaller than 5 dozen per crate, yet occasionally even 6 
dozen packs may be sold with profit. An important point to keep 
in mind in connection with the sizing of the lettuce is that the trade 
prefers reasonable uniformity in the size of the heads in each 
package. 
LETTUCE CONTAINERS 
Lettuce is marketed in about 30 styles and sizes of crates and boxes 
and in addition some sections of the country use round stave baskets, 
splint baskets, barrels, and hampers. Some middle western gar- 
deners market leaf lettuce in lug boxes and in secondhand vegetable, 
sugar, and flour barrels. Some use a 22-quart square-cornered splint 
basket, holding 10 pounds of leaf lettuce; others employ a 14-quart 
splint basket, which holds 3 pounds of lettuce (fig. 7). Other market 
gardeners use a %-bushel and a standard bushel round stave basket 
