. Western agriculture. be obtained. These crops areoften benefited by a special application of quickly availablefertilizer, such as well-rotted manure, harrowed in justbefore the plants are set. Lettuce, celery, and celeriac areusually handled as hotbed or seed bed crops and trans-planted to the garden, while the remainder of this group areusually planted where they are to grow. For the smallhome garden it is frequently more satisfactory to purchasethese plants from commercial gardeners, than to try to pro-duce them at home. Lettuce, endive, chicory, cress, andparsley may be planted in rows ab
. Western agriculture. be obtained. These crops areoften benefited by a special application of quickly availablefertilizer, such as well-rotted manure, harrowed in justbefore the plants are set. Lettuce, celery, and celeriac areusually handled as hotbed or seed bed crops and trans-planted to the garden, while the remainder of this group areusually planted where they are to grow. For the smallhome garden it is frequently more satisfactory to purchasethese plants from commercial gardeners, than to try to pro-duce them at home. Lettuce, endive, chicory, cress, andparsley may be planted in rows about 18 inches apart with 24fi WESTERN AGRICULTURE the plants 10 to 12 inches apart in the row. Celery, however,should be given 3 to 5 feet between the rows, dependingupon the methods used in blanching. The plants may stand6 inches apart in the row. The Potherb Crops include the plants used as greens. Bothsalad crops and greens should be eaten more universally bythe American people than they are. They aid digestion and. Figure 9o.—Raising lettuce for commercial purposes. tone up the system, and because of the minerals they con-tain, especially iron, they are among the most healthful ofvegetables. We should, therefore, use them much morefrequently than we do. Greens may be divided into two groups: first, the springgreens that require a cool season for their best development;second, those that can endure the warm season. The com-mon spring greens are spinach and mustard; the summergreens are Swiss chard, New Zealand spinach, kale, collards,and dandelion. Since the potherb crops are grown for their leaves, theyshould make a quick continuous growth in order that thesemay be crisp and tender. This means that the soil must bein excellent condition, well-watered, and with an abundance THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 247 of available plant food, especially nitrogen. All these cropsmay be sown in early spring. The cool-season greens will beready for use before the hot weather and the warm-seasonc
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectagriculture, bookyear
