New York AaricutturaAL Exprrtment Srarion. 463 
each other and from the sides of the house by walks. With this 
arrangement there were no pipes beneath or above any of the 
benches and the circulation of air and the exposure of all portions 
of the benches to the light were more nearly uniform than they 
were with the former arrangement. Plate XLIII shows the in- 
terior arrangement for Crops II and III, and Plate XLIV shows 
the north bench as arranged for Crop IV. 
The benches were divided into plats large enough to hold from 
20 to 32 plants each, the plants being set 8 inches by 8 inches or 
eight inches by 9 inches apart. In each test three plats were com- 
monly assigned to each soil mixture. These were separated as 
widely as possible so that the different soils might be alike subject 
to any inequalities arising from varying conditions of light, heat 
and moisture in the different portions of the house. 
GENERAL TREATMENT. 
All plats under experiment were treated alike in all respects. 
The day temperature during the winter was commonly kept at 
from 55° to 60° F. and the night temperature from 45° to 50° F. 
None but head lettuce was used. Salamander was selected for 
Crop I, the seed being purchased from a seed firm; for all sub- 
sequent tests Rawson’s New Hothouse was used, the seeds being 
purchased from the introducer of that variety. An account will 
bé*given hereafter of the various precautions which were taken to 
securing seedlings uniform in size and vigor. For some crops the 
seedlings were transplanted, but for others the seed was planted 
where the plant was to stand till it reached marketable condition. 
In every instance the seed was planted in the same soil and 
usually in the same plat in which the plant was to be matured. 
Repeated measurements of the plants were taken at different 
periods of growth so that the rate of growth on the different soils 
might be compared. When the plants reached prime marketable 
condition each one was weighed and with the later crop each plant 
was also rated according to its form, solidity, texture and general 
