"The South Carolina outbreak of lettuce-rot occurred in , the second largest lettuce-growing district on the eastern coast of the United States, with a reputation of growing the finest quality of on the entire eastern coast. The South Carolina disease may be either a stem or a leaf infection ... In an early stage the plants are a lighter green color than the healthy ones; later the head may show rot through the center or only on the top. A general wilting of the head may occur with or without visible spots or rot. In some cases rotting is rapid; in others the heart remains sound, while the outer encircling leaves are in a bad state of decay. The diseased plants are not firm in the soil, the stem is brittle, and can be easily broken off at the surface or a little below the surface of the soil. In an early stage of disease the stem when cut across shows a blue-green color; in a later stage it is brown."