February, 1919 
WISCONSIN HORTICULTURE 
75 
Petsai — A Supplement of Head 
Lettuce. 
Petsai is a supplement of let- 
tuce recommended by the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, not a substi- 
tute for it. 
Petsai can be grown throughout 
the whole country and at about 
half the expense of lettuce. 
(A) Heart of Lettuce. 
It keeps better than lettuce, and 
pound for pound, probably con- 
tains as much of the valuable sub- 
stance for which we eat lettuce. 
In transit it “holds up” better 
than lettuce. 
Petsai is one of the staple in- 
gredients of chop suey, a dish 
that thousands of Americans have 
eaten and liked. 
Technically petsai is not a cab- 
bage and the unfortunate use of 
the name Chinese cabbage should 
not create prejudice against it. 
As a garnish it is preferable to 
lettuce ; it retains its crispness in 
flavor as well as in appearance. 
Petsai is grown from seed, just 
as lettuce is grown. It attains the 
height of 12 to 14 inches and when 
ready to serve it resembles the 
heart of lettuce. 
Apply to your seedman for seed. 
The poet who said, “What’s in 
a name?” evidently had no idea 
that, insofar as the important 
matter of food is concerned, pre- 
judice could be aroused to such a 
point as to cause a mental aver- 
sion to, if not a positive condem- 
nation of, a really delectable ar- 
ticle of diet. Take the case of the 
Chinese cabbage, for example. 
Instinctively the gourmet shud- 
ders at the attempt to associate 
that name with a delicacy. Call 
it petsai — the Chinese name for it 
— and most probably his prejudice 
will change to desire; he will try 
it, like it. 
Petsai was introduced by the 
United States Department of Ag- 
riculture from China. It is now 
grown in considerable quantities 
in Illinois, New Jersey, California, 
and other sections. 
The testimony of unprejudiced 
people who have eaten petsai is 
all in its favor, and many who 
have eaten chop suey and liked it, 
not knowing of what it is com- 
posed, unwittingly have held a 
brief for petsai, one of the staple 
ingredients of that well-known 
and much-enjoyed Chinese-Ameri- 
can dish. 
(B) Petsai. 
To Americans lettuce has be- 
come the great leaf vegetable for 
salads. Throughout the year it 
is grown in some part or other of 
the country and shipped from 
great distances to our tables. It 
is grown under square miles of 
glass near the great cities and at 
a considerable expense for coal. 
It is estimated that 40,200 tons of 
lettuce is grown under glass 
every year and that the value of 
this product is $9,648,000. 
Petsai can be grown through- 
out the whole United States. It 
possesses not only all the good 
food qualities of lettuce but also 
it has the advantage of being more 
economically grown — about one- 
half the cost of lettuce — by reason 
of its heavier yield. This feature 
alone should recommend it. 
The illustrations show the two 
vegetables, in a state of equal 
freshness, ready to serve as salad. 
It will be observed by comparison 
that A, heart of lettuce, does not 
stand up as crisply nor as firmly 
as B, the Petsai; nor does the foi’- 
mer have the inviting and appe- 
tizing appearance clearly notice- 
able in the latter. 
Nurserymen Meet. 
The second annual convention 
of the Wisconsin Nurserymen’s 
Association was held in Madison 
Jan. 9th. No program of papers 
or discussions was prepared in ad- 
vance and the members merely 
discussed the different phases of 
the business of greatest interest 
to them. 
Officers for the ensuing year 
were elected as follows : Presi- 
dent, T. J. Ferguson, of the 
Hawks Nursery Co.; Secretary- 
Treasurer, L. J. Tucker, of the Mc- 
Kay Nursery Co. 
About a dozen firms are mem- 
bers, membership being confined 
to firms which employ agents. 
Straw or wild hay may still be 
spread over the strawberry bed to 
advantage, especially if it is not 
covered with snow. 
