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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Tomato Culture: A Practical Treatise on the
+Tomato, by William Warner Tracy
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Tomato Culture: A Practical Treatise on the Tomato
+
+Author: William Warner Tracy
+
+Release Date: February 6, 2009 [EBook #28011]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TOMATO CULTURE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Tom Roch, Louise Pattison and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images produced by Core Historical
+Literature in Agriculture (CHLA), Cornell University)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                 TOMATO CULTURE
+
+
+  A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE TOMATO, ITS HISTORY,
+  CHARACTERISTICS, PLANTING, FERTILIZATION,
+  CULTIVATION IN FIELD, GARDEN, AND GREENHOUSE,
+  HARVESTING, PACKING, STORING, MARKETING, INSECT
+  ENEMIES AND DISEASES, WITH METHODS OF CONTROL AND
+  REMEDIES, ETC., ETC.
+
+
+                     By
+
+                WILL W. TRACY
+
+            _Bureau of Plant Industry,
+     United States Department of Agriculture_
+
+
+               _ILLUSTRATED_
+
+
+                  NEW YORK
+
+             ORANGE JUDD COMPANY
+
+                    1907
+
+
+                     To
+
+              Dr. F. M. Hexamer
+
+    IN HONOR OF HIS LIFELONG EFFORTS FOR THE
+      BETTERMENT OF AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL
+                   PRACTICE
+
+
+             Copyright, 1907, by
+             ORANGE JUDD COMPANY
+            _All rights reserved_
+
+[Illustration: WHERE NEW VARIETIES OF TOMATOES ARE DEVELOPED AND TESTED
+(By courtesy _American Agriculturist_. Photo by Prof. W. G. Johnson)]
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+This little book has been written in fulfilment of a promise made many
+years ago. Again and again I have undertaken the work, only to lay it
+aside because I felt the need of greater experience and wider knowledge.
+I do not now feel that this deficiency has been by any means fully
+supplied, but in some directions it has been removed through the
+kindness of Dr. F. H. Chittenden of the Bureau of Entomology, who wrote
+the chapter on insect enemies, and of W. A. Orton of the Bureau of Plant
+Industry, United States Department of Agriculture, who wrote the chapter
+on diseases of tomatoes.
+
+I have made free use of, without special credit, and am largely indebted
+to, the writings of Doctor Sturtevant and Professor Goff, Professor
+Munson of Maine, Professor Halsted of New Jersey, Professor Corbett of
+Washington, Professor Rolfs of Florida, Professor Bailey of New York,
+Professor Green of Ohio, and many others. I have also found a vast
+amount of valuable information in the agricultural press of this country
+in general. I am also indebted to L. B. Coulter and Prof. W. G. Johnson
+for many photographs. My thanks are also due B. F. Williamson, who made
+the excellent drawings for this book under Professor Johnson's
+direction.
+
+Tomatoes are among the most generally used and popular vegetables. They
+are grown not only in gardens, but in large areas in every state from
+Maine to California and Washington to Florida, and under very different
+conditions of climate, soil and cultural facilities, as well as of
+requirements as to character of fruit. The methods which will give the
+best results under one set of conditions are entirely unsuited to
+others.
+
+I have tried to give the nature and requirements of the plant and the
+effect of conditions as seen in my own experience, a knowledge of which
+may enable the reader to follow the methods most suited to his own
+conditions and requirements, rather than to recommend the exact methods
+which have given me the best results.
+
+WILL W. TRACY.
+
+_Washington, April, 1907._
+
+
+
+
+  CONTENTS
+
+                                                    PAGE
+
+  PREFACE                                             v
+
+  CHAPTER I
+
+    BOTANY OF THE TOMATO                              1
+
+  CHAPTER II
+
+    HISTORY                                          14
+
+  CHAPTER III
+
+    GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PLANT             20
+
+  CHAPTER IV
+
+    ESSENTIALS FOR DEVELOPMENT                       28
+
+  CHAPTER V
+
+    SELECTION OF SOIL FOR MAXIMUM CROP               33
+
+  CHAPTER VI
+
+    EXPOSURE AND LOCATION                            38
+
+  CHAPTER VII
+
+    FERTILIZERS                                      43
+
+  CHAPTER VIII
+
+    PREPARATION OF THE SOIL                          46
+
+  CHAPTER IX
+
+    HOTBEDS AND COLD-FRAMES                          51
+
+  CHAPTER X
+
+    STARTING PLANTS                                  59
+
+  CHAPTER XI
+
+    PROPER DISTANCE FOR PLANTING                     68
+
+  CHAPTER XII
+
+    CULTIVATION                                      76
+
+  CHAPTER XIII
+
+    STAKING, TRAINING AND PRUNING                    79
+
+  CHAPTER XIV
+
+    RIPENING, GATHERING, HANDLING AND MARKETING      90
+    THE FRUIT
+
+  CHAPTER XV
+
+    ADAPTATION OF VARIETIES                          97
+
+  CHAPTER XVI
+
+    SEED BREEDING AND GROWING                       112
+
+  CHAPTER XVII
+
+    PRODUCTION FOR CANNING                          117
+
+  CHAPTER XVIII
+
+    COST OF PRODUCTION                              121
+
+  CHAPTER XIX
+
+    INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE TOMATO                 123
+
+  CHAPTER XX
+
+    TOMATO DISEASES                                 131
+
+  INDEX                                             148
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+  FIGURE                                            PAGE
+
+   1. Where new varieties of tomatoes are developed
+         and tested                             _Frontispiece_
+
+   2. Tomato flowers                                  2
+
+   3. Two-celled tomato                               3
+
+   4. Three-celled tomato                             3
+
+   5. Currant tomato and characteristic clusters      5
+
+   6. Red cherry tomato                               6
+
+   7. Pear-shaped tomato                              8
+
+   8. Yellow plum tomato                              9
+
+   9. One of the first illustrations of the tomato   11
+
+  10. An early illustration of the tomato            12
+
+  11. Typical bunch of modern tomatoes               27
+
+  12. Tomatoes trained to stakes in the South        35
+
+  13. Three-sash hotbed                              52
+
+  14. Cross-section of hotbed                        53
+
+  15. Cold-frames on hill-side                       54
+
+  16. Transplanting tomatoes under cloth-covered
+         frames                                      56
+
+  17. Spotting-board for use in cold-frames          61
+
+  18. Spotting-board for use on flat                 62
+
+  19. Tomatoes sown and allowed to grow in hotbeds   69
+
+  20. Planting tomatoes on a Delaware farm           75
+
+  21. Training tomatoes in Florida to single stake   81
+
+  22. Tomato plant trained to single stake           82
+
+  23. Method of training to three stems in
+         forcing-house and out of doors              83
+
+  24. Training on line in greenhouse                 84
+
+  25. Ready to transplant in greenhouse              85
+
+  26. Training young tomatoes in greenhouse at New
+         York experiment station                     86
+
+  27. Tomatoes in greenhouse at the Ohio
+         experiment station                          87
+
+  28. Forcing tomatoes in greenhouse at New Hampshire
+         experiment station                          88
+
+  29. Florida tomatoes properly wrapped for long
+         shipment                                    93
+
+  30. Greenhouse tomatoes packed for market          95
+
+  31. Buckeye State, showing long nodes and distance
+         between fruit clusters                      98
+
+  32. Stone, and characteristic foliage              99
+
+  33. Atlantic Prize, and its normal foliage        101
+
+  34. Dwarf Champion                                103
+
+  35. A cutworm and parent moth                     124
+
+  36. Flea-beetle                                   125
+
+  37. Margined blister beetle                       125
+
+  38. Tomato worm                                   126
+
+  39. Tomato stalk-borer                            127
+
+  40. Characteristic work of the tomato fruit worm  128
+
+  41. Adult moth, or parent of tomato fruit worm    129
+
+  42. Proper way to make Bordeaux                   137
+
+  43. Point-rot disease of the tomato               140
+
+
+
+
+TOMATO CULTURE
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+Botany of the Tomato
+
+
+=The common tomato= of our gardens belongs to the natural order
+_Solanaceae_ and the genus _Lycopersicum_. The name from _lykos_, a
+wolf, and _persica_, a peach, is given it because of the supposed
+aphrodisiacal qualities, and the beauty of the fruit. The genus
+comprises a few species of South American annual or short-lived
+perennial, herbaceous, rank-smelling plants in which the many branches
+are spreading, procumbent, or feebly ascendent and commonly 2 to 6 feet
+in length, though under some conditions, particularly in the South and
+in California, they grow much longer. They are covered with resinous
+viscid secretions and are round, soft, brittle and hairy, when young,
+but become furrowed, angular, hard and almost woody with enlarged
+joints, when old. The leaves are irregularly alternate, 5 to 15 inches
+long, petioled, odd pinnate, with seven to nine short-stemmed leaflets,
+often with much smaller and stemless ones between them. The larger
+leaflets are sometimes entire, but more generally notched, cut, or even
+divided, particularly at the base.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 2--TOMATO FLOWERS ENLARGED ABOUT 2-1/2 TIMES.
+SECTION OF FLOWER SHOWN AT RIGHT (Drawn from a photograph by courtesy of
+Prof. L. C. Corbett)]
+
+=The flowers= are pendant and borne in more or less branched clusters,
+located on the stem on the opposite side and usually a little below the
+leaves; the first cluster on the sixth to twelfth internode from the
+ground, with one on each second to sixth succeeding one. The flowers
+(Fig. 2) are small, consisting of a yellow, deeply five-cleft,
+wheel-shaped corolla, with a very short tube and broadly lanceolate,
+recurving petals. The calyx consists of five long linear or lanceolate
+sepals, which are shorter than the petals at first, but are persistent,
+and increase in size as the fruits mature. The stamens, five in number,
+are borne on the throat of the corolla, and consist of long, large
+anthers, borne on short filaments, loosely joined into a tube and
+opening by a longitudinal slit on the inside, and this is the chief
+botanical distinction between this genus and _Solanum_ to which the
+potato, pepper, night shade and tobacco belong. The anthers in the
+latter genus open at the tip only. The two genera, however, are closely
+related and plants belonging to them are readily united by grafting. The
+Physalis, Husk tomato or Ground cherry is quite distinct, botanically.
+The pistils of the true tomato are short at first, but the style
+elongates so as to push the capitate stigma through the tube formed by
+the anthers, this usually occurring before the anthers open for the
+discharge of the pollen. The fruit is a two to many-celled berry with
+central fleshy placenta and many small kidney-shaped seeds which are
+densely covered with short, stiff hairs, as seen in Figs. 3 and 4.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 3--TWO-CELLED TOMATO]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 4--THREE-CELLED TOMATO]
+
+It is comparatively easy to define the genus with which the tomato
+should be classed botanically, but it is by no means so easy to classify
+our cultivated varieties into botanical species. We have in cultivation
+varieties which are known to have originated in gardens and from the
+same parentage, but which differ from each other so much in habit of
+growth, character of leaf and fruit and other respects, that if they had
+been found growing wild they would unhesitatingly be pronounced
+different species, and botanists are not agreed as to how our many and
+very different garden varieties should be classified botanically. Some
+contend that all of our cultivated sorts are varieties of but two
+distinct species, while others think they have originated from several.
+
+=Classification.=--The author suggests the following classification,
+differing somewhat from that sometimes given, as he believes that the
+large, deep-sutured fruit of our cultivated varieties and the distinct
+pear-shaped sorts come from original species rather than from variations
+of _Lycopersicum cerasiforme_:
+
+=Currant tomato, Grape tomato, German or Raisin tomato= (_Lycopersicum
+pimpinellifolium_, _L. racemiforme_) (Fig. 5).--Universally regarded as
+a distinct species. Plant strong, growing with many long, slender, weak
+branches which are not so hairy, viscid, or ill-smelling, and never
+become so hard or woody as those of the other species. The numerous
+leaves are very bright green in color, leaflets small, nearly entire,
+with many small stemless ones between the others. Fruit produced
+continuously and in great quantity on long racemes like those of the
+currant, though they are often branched. They continue to elongate and
+blossom until the fruit at the upper end is fully ripened. Fruit small,
+less than 1/2 inch in diameter, spherical, smooth and of a particularly
+bright, beautiful red color which contrasts well with the bright green
+leaves, and this abundance of beautifully colored and gracefully poised
+fruit makes the plant worthy of more general cultivation as an ornament,
+though the fruit is of little value for culinary use. This species, when
+pure, has not varied under cultivation, but it readily crosses with
+other species and with our garden varieties, and many of these owe their
+bright red color to the influence of crosses with the above species.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 5--CURRANT TOMATO AND CHARACTERISTIC CLUSTERS]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 6--RED CHERRY TOMATO]
+
+=Cherry tomato= (_L. cerasiforme_) (Fig. 6).--Plant vigorous, with stout
+branches which are distinctly trailing in habit. Leaves flat or but
+slightly curled. Fruit very abundant, borne in short, branched
+clusters, globular, perfectly smooth, with no apparent sutures. From 1/2
+to 3/4 inch in diameter and either red or yellow in color, two-celled
+with numerous comparatively small, kidney-shaped seeds. Many of our
+garden varieties show evidence of crosses with this species, and by many
+it is regarded as the original wild form of all of our cultivated sorts.
+These, when they escape from cultivation and become wild plants, as they
+often do, from New Jersey southward, produce fruit which, in many
+respects, resembles that of this species in size and form; but they are
+generally more flattened, globe-shaped, with more or less distinct
+sutures on the upper side, and I have never seen any fruit of these wild
+plants which could not be readily distinguished from that of the true
+Cherry tomato.
+
+Prof. P. H. Rolfs, Director of the Florida experiment station, reports
+that among the millions of volunteer, or wild, tomatoes he has seen
+growing in the abandoned tomato fields in Florida, he has never seen a
+plant with fruit which could not be easily distinguished from that of
+the true Cherry tomato. Again, one can, by selection and cultivation,
+easily develop from these wild forms plants producing fruit as large and
+often practically identical with that of our cultivated varieties, while
+I have given a true stock of Cherry tomato most careful cultivation on
+the best of soil for 20 consecutive generations without any increase in
+size or change in character of the fruit.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 7--PEAR-SHAPED TOMATO]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 8--YELLOW PLUM TOMATO, SHOWING MOST USUAL FORM OF
+CLUSTER]
+
+=Pear (not Plum) tomato= (_L. pyriforme_) (Fig. 7).--Plant exceptionally
+vigorous, with comparatively few long, stout stems inclined to ascend.
+Leaves numerous, broad, flat, with a distinct bluish-green color
+noticeable, even in the cotyledons. Fruit abundant, borne in short
+branched or straight clusters of five to ten fruits. It is perfectly
+smooth, without sutures, and of the shape of a long, slender-necked
+pear, not over an inch in transverse by 1-1/2 inches in longitudinal
+diameter. When the stock is pure the fruit retains this form very
+persistently. The production of egg-shaped or other forms is a sure
+indication of impure stock. They are bright red, dark yellow, or light
+yellowish white in color, two-celled, with very distinct central
+placenta and comparatively few and large seeds. The fruit is inclined to
+ripen unevenly, the neck remaining green when the rest of the fruit is
+quite ripe. It is less juicy than that of most of our garden sorts but
+of a mild and pleasant flavor. This is considered, by many, to be
+simply a garden variety, but I am inclined to the belief that it is a
+distinct species and that the contrary view comes from the study of the
+impure and crossed stocks resulting from crosses between the true Pear
+tomato and garden sorts which are frequently sold by seedsmen as
+pear-shaped. Many garden sorts--like the Plum (Fig. 8), the Egg, the
+Golden Nugget, Vick's Criterion, etc.--are known to have originated from
+crosses of the Pear and I think that most, if not all, the garden sorts
+in which the longitudinal diameter of the fruit is greater than its
+transverse diameter owe this form to crosses with _L. pyriforme_.
+
+=Cultivated varieties= (_L. esculentum_).--This is commonly used as the
+botanical name of our cultivated varieties, rather than as the name of a
+distinct species. In western South America, however, there is found
+growing a wild plant of Lycopersicum which differs from the other
+recognized species in being more compact in growth, with fewer branches
+and larger leaves, and carrying an immense burden of fruit borne in
+large clusters. The fruit is larger than that of the other species but
+much smaller than that of our cultivated sorts; is very irregular in
+shape, always with distinct sutures, and often deeply corrugated and
+bright red in color. The walls are thin; the flesh is soft, with a
+distinct sharp, acid flavor much less agreeable than that of our
+cultivated forms of garden tomatoes.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 9--ONE OF THE FIRST ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE TOMATO
+_Poma amoris_, (_Pomum aureum_), (_Lycopersicum_), 1581]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 10--AN EARLY ILLUSTRATION OF THE TOMATO (From
+Morrison's "Historia Universalis," 1680)]
+
+This has commonly been regarded by botanists as a degenerate form of our
+garden tomatoes, rather than as an original species, but I find that,
+like _L. cerasiforme_ and _L. pyriforme_, it is quite fixed under
+cultivation, except as crossed with other species or with our garden
+varieties, and I believe it to be the original species from which our
+cultured sorts have been developed, by crossing and selection. Such
+crosses probably were made either naturally or by natives before the
+tomato was discovered by Europeans. The earliest prints we have of the
+tomato (Figs. 9 and 10) are far more like the fruit of this plant than
+that of _L. cerasiforme_, and the prints of many of the earliest garden
+varieties and of some sorts which are still cultivated in southern
+Europe, for use in soups, are like it not only in size and form, but in
+flavor. These facts make it seem far more probable that our cultivated
+sorts have come, by crossing, between this and other species rather than
+by simple development from _L. cerasiforme_.
+
+Prof. E. S. Goff, of Wisconsin, who has made a most careful study of the
+tomato, expressed the same opinion, writing that it seemed to him that
+our cultivated sorts must have come from the crossing of a small, round,
+smooth, sutureless type, with a larger, deep-sutured, corrugated fruit,
+like that of the Mammoth Chihuahua, but smaller. However this may be, I
+think that it is wise to throw all of our cultivated garden sorts,
+except the Pear, the Cherry, and the Grape--which I regard as distinct
+species--together under the name of _L. esculentum_, even when we know
+they have originated by direct crosses with the other species; and it is
+well to classify the upright growing sorts under the varietal names, _L.
+validum_, and the larger, heavier sorts, as _L. grandifolium_, as has
+been done by Bailey. (Cyclopedia of Horticulture.)
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+History
+
+
+The garden vegetable known in this country as tomato and generally as
+tomate in continental Europe, is also known as Wolf-peach and Love Apple
+in England and America, and Liebesapfel in Germany, Pomme d'Amour in
+France, Pomo d'oro in Italy, Pomidor in Poland.
+
+=Origin of name.=--The name tomato is of South American origin, and is
+derived from the Aztec word _xitomate_, or _zitotomate_, which is given
+the fruit of both the Common tomato and that of the Husk or Strawberry
+tomato or Physalis. Both vegetables were highly prized and extensively
+cultivated by the natives long before the discovery of the country by
+Europeans, and there is little doubt that many of the plants first seen
+and described by Europeans as wild species were really garden varieties
+originated with the native Americans by the variation or crossing of the
+original wild species.
+
+=Different types now common=, according to Sturtevant, have become known
+to, and been described by Europeans in about the following order:
+
+     1. Large yellow, described by Matthiolus in 1554 and called
+        Golden apple.
+
+     2. Large red, described by Matthiolus in 1554 and called Love
+        apple.
+
+     3. Purple red, described by D'el Obel in 1570.
+
+     4. White-fleshed, described by Dodoens in 1586.
+
+     5. Red cherry, described by Bauhin in 1620.
+
+     6. Yellow cherry, described by Bauhin in 1620.
+
+     7. Ochre yellow, described by Bauhin in 1651.
+
+     8. Striped, blotched or visi-colored, described by Bauhin in
+        1651.
+
+     9. Pale red, described by Tournefort in 1700.
+
+    10. Large smooth, or ribless red, described by Tournefort in
+        1700.
+
+    11. Bronzed-leaved, described by Blacknell in 1750.
+
+    12. Deep orange, described by Bryant in 1783.
+
+    13. Pear-shaped, described by Dunal in 1805.
+
+    14. Tree tomato, described by Vilmorin in 1855.
+
+    15. Broad-leaved, introduced about 1860.
+
+The special description of No. 10 by Tournefort in 1700 would indicate
+that large smooth sorts, like Livingston's Stone, were in existence
+fully 200 years ago, instead of being modern improvements, as is
+sometimes claimed; and a careful study of old descriptions and cuts and
+comparing them with the best examples of modern varieties led Doctor
+Sturtevant in 1889 to express the opinion that they had fruit as large
+and smooth as those we now grow, before the tomato came into general use
+in America, and possibly before the fruit was generally known to
+Europeans. Even the production of fine fruit under glass is not so
+modern as many suppose. In transactions of the London Horticultural
+Society for 1820, John Wilmot is reported to have cultivated under glass
+in 1818 some 600 plants and gathered from his entire plantings under
+glass and in borders some 130 bushels of ripe fruit. It is stated that
+the growth that year exceeded the demand, and that the fruit obtained
+was of extraordinary size, some exceeding 12 inches in circumference and
+weighing 12 ounces each. Thomas Meehan states in _Gardeners' Monthly_
+for February, 1880, that on January 8, of that year, he saw growing in
+the greenhouses on Senator Cannon's place near Harrisburg, Pa., at
+least 1 bushel of ripe fruits, none of which were less than 10 inches in
+circumference,--a showing which compares with the best to be seen
+to-day.
+
+Throughout southern Europe the value of the fruit for use in soups and
+as a salad seems to have been at once recognized, and it came into quite
+general use, especially in Spain and Italy, during the 17th century; but
+in northern Europe and England, though the plant was grown in botanical
+gardens and in a few private places as a curiosity and for the beauty of
+its fruit, this was seldom eaten, being commonly regarded as unhealthy
+and even poisonous, and on this account, and probably because of its
+supposed aphrodisiacal qualities, it did not come into general use in
+those northern countries until early in the 19th century.
+
+=First mention= in America, I find of its being grown for culinary use,
+was in Virginia in 1781. In 1788 a Frenchman in Philadelphia made most
+earnest efforts to get people to use the fruit, but with little success,
+and similar efforts by an Italian in Salem, Mass., in 1802, were no more
+successful. The first record I can find of the fruit being regularly
+quoted in the market was in New Orleans in 1812, and the earliest
+records I have been able to find of the seed being offered by seedsmen,
+as that of an edible vegetable, was by Gardener and Hipburn in 1818, and
+by Landreth in 1820. Buist's "Kitchen Gardener" says: "In 1828-9 it (the
+tomato) was almost detested and commonly considered poisonous. Ten years
+later every variety of pill and panacea was 'extract of tomatoes,' and
+now (1847) almost as much ground is devoted to its culture as to the
+cabbage." In 1834 Professor Dunglison, of the University of Virginia,
+said: "The tomato may be looked upon as one of the most wholesome and
+valuable esculents of the garden."
+
+Yet, though the fruit has always received similar commendation from
+medical men, there has been constant recurring superstition that it is
+unhealthy. Only a few years ago there was in general circulation a
+statement that an eminent physician had discovered that eating tomatoes
+tended to develop cancer. This has been definitely traced to the playful
+question, asked as a joke by Dr. Dio Lewis, "Didn't you know that eating
+bright red tomatoes caused cancer?" In more recent years an equally
+unfounded claim has been made that tomato seeds were responsible for
+many cases of appendicitis and that it was consequently dangerous to eat
+the fruit.
+
+I give some quotations for tomatoes in Quincy Hall Market, Boston, with
+some for other vegetables, for comparison. The records show that during
+the week ending July 22, 1835, tomatoes were quoted at 50 cents per
+dozen, cabbage at 50 cents per dozen. For the week ending September 22,
+1835, tomatoes were quoted at 25 cents per peck, lima beans, 12-1/2
+cents per quart shelled, with comment that tomatoes are in much demand
+and a far greater quantity has been sold than in previous years. During
+the week ending July 22, 1837, tomatoes were quoted at 25 and 50 cents
+per peck, and the note that they are of good size and were well ripened
+and came from gardens in the vicinity would indicate that they had at
+that time early maturing varieties and knew how to grow them. From about
+1835 till the present time the cultivation and use of tomatoes have
+constantly increased both in this country and in Europe, so that now
+they are one of the most largely grown of our garden vegetables.
+
+A suggestion as to the extent they are now grown in America is the fact
+that a single seed grower saved in 1903 over 20,000 pounds of tomato
+seed--an amount sufficient to furnish plants for from 80,000 to 320,000
+acres, according to the care used in raising them, the larger quantity
+not requiring more care than the best growers commonly use. A careful
+estimate made by the _American Grocer_ shows that in 1903 the packing of
+tomatoes by canners in the United States amounted to 246,775,426
+three-pound cans. In addition to the canned tomato, between 200,000 and
+250,000 barrels of catsup stock is put up annually, requiring the
+product of at least 20,000 acres.
+
+It is probable that the area required to produce the fruit that is used
+fresh at least equals that devoted to the production for preserving,
+which give us from 400,000 to 500,000 acres devoted to this crop each
+year in America alone. The fruit is perhaps in more general use in
+America than elsewhere, but its cultivation and use have increased
+rapidly in other countries, particularly with the English speaking
+races. Large quantities are grown in Australia, and immense and
+constantly increasing quantities are grown under glass in England and
+adjacent islands, while _The Gardeners' Chronicle_ states that in 1903
+between 600,000 and 800,000 pounds of fresh fruit were imported into
+England from other countries.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+General Characteristics of the Plant
+
+
+=In the native home= of the tomato, in South America, the conditions of
+the soil, both as regards composition and mechanical condition, of the
+moisture both in soil and air, and those of temperature and sunlight,
+are throughout the growing season not only very favorable for rapid
+growth, but are uniformly and constantly so. Under such conditions there
+has been developed a plant which, while vigorous, tenacious of life,
+capable of rapid growth and enormously productive, is not at all hardy
+in the sense of ability to endure untoward conditions either in the
+character of soil, of water supply, or of temperature. A check in the
+development because of any unfavorable condition is never fully
+recovered from, but will inevitably affect the total quantity and
+quality of the fruit produced, even if subsequent favorable conditions
+result in the rapid and vigorous growth of the plant.
+
+I know of an instance where two adjoining fields belonging to A and B
+were set with tomatoes, using plants started in the same hotbed from the
+same lot of seed. The soil was of equal natural fertility and each field
+received about the same quantity of manure, though that given A's was
+all well decomposed and worked into the soil, while that given B's was
+fresh and raw and simply plowed in. A's field was put into the best
+possible tilth before setting the plants, and the management of the
+plants and their cultivation were such as to secure unchecked growth
+from the time they were pricked out into cold-frames and set in the
+field until the crop was matured. As long as the plants would permit,
+the soil was cultivated every few days and kept in a state of perfect
+tilth.
+
+B's field when the plants were set out was a mass of clods, as it had
+been plowed, when wet, some time before and never harrowed but once.
+The plants had been crowded forward as rapidly as possible in the
+cold-frame, and when set in the field were much higher than A's, but so
+soft that they were badly checked in transplanting and a great many of
+them died and had to be reset. The field received but one or two
+cultivations during the entire season. The growth of the plants in B's
+field was irregular and uneven instead of steady and uniform as in A's,
+and though some of the fruits were quite as large, they were not as
+uniform as A's while the yield per acre was not more than half as much
+nor the fruit of as good general quality. B had difficulty in disposing
+of his crop and often had to sell below the market, while A had no
+trouble in disposing of his at the highest prices for the day. B's crop
+was a financial loss, while A's returned a most satisfactory profit.
+
+The key to the most successful culture of the tomato is the securing,
+from the start to finish, of an unchecked uniform growth, though it need
+not necessarily be a rapid one. The failure to do this is, in my
+opinion, the principal reason for the comparatively small yield usually
+obtained, which is very much less than it would be with better cultural
+management. The tomato under conditions which I have repeatedly found it
+practicable to secure, not only in small plantings but in large fields,
+has proved capable of producing from 1,000 to 1,200 or even more bushels
+to the acre, and the possible yield per plant is enormous.
+
+As early as 1818 the Royal Horticultural Society of London reports the
+obtaining of over 40 pounds of fruit of marketable character from a
+single vine. An acre of such plants would give a yield of over 1,800
+bushels of fruit, and many similar yields, and even greater ones, have
+been recorded for single plants. The yield commonly obtained, even in
+favorable locations, and by men who have grown tomatoes all their lives,
+is more often less than 200 bushels to the acre than more. The way to
+secure a better yield is to study carefully the nature and requirements
+of the plants and the adaptation of our cultural practice to them.
+
+=Life habit of the plant.=--The tomato could be described as a
+short-lived perennial, but its span of life is somewhat variable. Under
+favorable conditions it will develop from starting seed to first ripe
+fruit in from 85 to 120 days of full sunshine with a constant day
+temperature of from 75 to 90° F., and with one from 15 to 20° F. lower
+at night. The plants will ordinarily continue in full fruit for about 50
+to 60 days, after which they generally become so exhausted by excessive
+production of fruit and the effects of diseases to which they are
+usually subject that their root action and sap circulation become weaker
+and weaker until they die from starvation. From Philadelphia southward
+gardeners expect that spring set plants will thus exhaust themselves and
+die by late summer, and they sow seed in late spring or early summer for
+plants on which they depend for late summer and fall crops.
+
+Under some conditions, particularly in the Gulf states and in
+California, tomato plants will not only grow to a much greater size than
+normal, but will continue to thrive and bear fruit for a longer time.
+Such a plant grown in Pasadena, Cal., was said to have been in constant
+bearing for over 10 months. Again, sometimes plants that have produced a
+full crop of fruits will start new sets of roots and leaves and produce
+a second and even a third crop, each, however, being produced on new
+branches and as a result of a fresh set of roots, those which produced
+the preceding crop having died and disappeared. The period of
+development, 85 to 120 days of full sunshine at a temperature above 75°
+F., has been given. The full sunshine and high temperature are essential
+to such rapid development, and in so far as there is a lack of sunshine
+from clouds or shade, or the day temperature falls below 75° F. the
+period will be lengthened, so that in the greater part of the United
+States the elapsed time between starting seed to ripened fruit is
+usually as much as from 120 to 150 days and often even longer.
+
+=Characteristics of the root.=--The roots of the tomato plant, while
+abundant in number, are short and can only gather food and water from a
+limited area. A plant of garden bean, for instance, is not more than
+half the size of one of the tomato, but its roots extend through the
+soil to a greater distance, gather plant food from a greater bulk of
+soil, seem better able to search out and gather the particular food
+element which the plant needs than do those of the tomato. This
+characteristic of the latter plant makes the composition of the soil as
+to the proportion of easily available food elements of great importance.
+Tomato roots are also exceedingly tender and incapable of penetrating a
+hard and compact soil, so that the condition of the soil as to tilth is
+of greater importance with regard to tomatoes than with most garden
+vegetables.
+
+Another characteristic of the tomato roots is that the period of their
+active life is short. When young they are capable of transmitting water
+and nutritive material very rapidly, but they soon become clogged and
+inefficient to such an extent as to result in the starvation and death
+of the plant. If the branches of such an exhausted plant be bent over
+and covered with earth they will frequently start new roots and produce
+a fresh crop of fruit, or if plants which have made a crop in the
+greenhouse be transplanted to the garden and cut back, a new set of
+roots will often develop and the plant will produce a second crop of
+fruit which, in amount, often equals or exceeds the first one. But such
+growths come only from new roots springing from the stem--never from an
+extension of the old root system.
+
+=Characteristics of the stem and leaves.=--The growth of the stem, and
+leaves of the young tomato plant is very rapid and, the cellular
+structure coarse, loose and open. A young branch is easily broken and
+when this is done it shows scarcely any fibrous structure--simply a mass
+of coarse cellular matter which while capable, when young, of
+transmitting nutritive matter rapidly, soon becomes dogged and inert.
+This structure not only makes the active life of the leaves short, like
+that of the roots, but necessitates a fresh growth in order to continue
+the fruitfulness of the plant and renders the leaves very susceptible to
+injury from bacterial and fungous diseases. The rapid growth also
+necessitates an abundance of sunlight.
+
+=Characteristics of the blossom.=--The inflorescence of the tomato is
+usually abundant and it is rare that a plant does not produce sufficient
+blooms for a full crop. The flowers are perfect as far as parts are
+concerned (Fig. 2) and in bright, sunny weather there is an abundance of
+pollen, but sunlight and warmth are essential to its maturing into a
+condition in which it can easily reach the stigma. The structure and
+development of the flower are such that while occasionally, particularly
+in healthy plants out of doors, the stigma becomes receptive and takes
+the pollen as it is pushed out through the stamen tube by the elongating
+style, it is more often pushed beyond them before the pollen matures, so
+that the pollen has to reach the stigma through some other means.
+Usually this is accomplished by the wind, either directly or through the
+motion of the plants.
+
+Under glass it is generally necessary to assist the fertilization either
+directly by application or by motion of the plant, this latter only
+being effective in the middle of a bright sunny day. In the open ground
+in cold, damp weather the flowers often fail of fertilization, in which
+case they drop, and this is often the first indication of a failing of
+the crop on large, strong vines. I have known of many cases where the
+yield of fruit from large and seemingly very healthy vines was very
+light because continual rains prevented the pollenization of the
+flowers. Such failures, however, do not always come from a want of
+pollen but may result from an over or irregular supply of water either
+at the root or in the air, imperfectly balanced food supply, a sapping
+of the vitality of the plants when young, or from other causes. Insects
+rarely visit tomato flowers and are seldom the means of their
+fertilization.
+
+=Characteristics of the fruit.=--The fruit of the original species from
+which our cultivated tomatoes have developed was doubtless a
+comparatively small two to many-celled berry, with comparatively dry
+central placenta and thin walls. In some species the cells were
+indicated by distinct sutures, forming a rough or corrugated fruit. It
+has improved under cultivation by increase in size, the material
+thickening of the cell walls, the development of greater juiciness and
+richer flavor and a decrease in the size and dryness of the placenta, as
+well as the breaking up of the cells by fleshy partitions resulting in
+the disappearance of the deep sutures and an improvement in the
+smoothness and beauty of the fruit. (Fig. 11.)
+
+The quality of the fruit is largely dependent upon varietal differences,
+to be spoken of later, but it is also influenced by conditions of
+growth--such as the proportion of the nutritive elements found in the
+soil, the proper supply of moisture, the degree and uniformity of
+temperature and, most of all, the amount of sunlight. Sudden changes of
+temperature and moisture often result in cracks and fissures in the skin
+and flesh, which not only injure the appearance but affect the flavor of
+the fruit.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 11--TYPICAL BUNCH OF MODERN TOMATOES Contrast with
+Figs. 9 and 10]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+Essentials for Development
+
+
+=Sunlight.=--Abundant and unobstructed sunlight is the most essential
+condition for the healthy growth of the tomato. It is a native of the
+sunny South and will not thrive except in full and abundant sunlight. I
+have never been able to grow good tomatoes in the shade even where it is
+only partial. The entire plant needs the sunlight. The blossoms often
+fail to set and the fruit is lacking in flavor because of shade, from
+excessive leaf growth, or other obstruction.
+
+The great difficulty in winter forcing tomatoes under glass in the North
+comes from the want of sunlight during the short days of the winter
+months. Were it not for the short winter days of the higher latitudes
+limiting the hours of sunshine, tomatoes could be grown under glass in
+the northern states to compete in price, when the better quality of
+vine-ripened fruits is considered, with those from the Gulf states.
+Growers are learning that tomatoes can be profitably grown under glass
+during the longer spring days, and consumers are beginning to appreciate
+the superior quality of fruit ripened on the vine over that picked green
+and ripened in transit. At no time is this need of abundance of light of
+greater importance than when the plants are young and, if they fail to
+receive it, no subsequent favorable conditions will enable them to
+recover fully from its ill effects. It is not so much the want of room
+for the roots as of light for the leaves that makes the plants which
+have been crowded in the seed-beds so weak and unprofitable.
+
+I once divided 100 young tomato plants, about 2 inches high, into four
+lots of 25 each, numbering them 1, 2, 3 and 4. The plants of lots No. 1
+and 2 were set equal distance apart in box A, and those of lots No. 3
+and 4 in the same way in box B; both boxes being about 16 inches wide,
+40 inches long and 4 inches deep. The two boxes were set together across
+the side bench of a greenhouse with the outer edge against a board wall
+some 2-1/2 feet high, so that the plants at the end of the box near the
+wall received much less light than those at the other end. They remained
+there about five weeks and then were taken out and the plants set in the
+open ground. During the five weeks box A, containing lots No. 1 and 2,
+was changed, end for end, every day so that those two lots of plants
+received nearly an equal amount of sunlight, but box B was not changed
+so that lot No. 3, at one end of the box, was constantly near the walk
+and in the full light, while lot No. 4, at the other end of the box, was
+constantly near the wall and in partial shade. The effect on the growth
+of the plants was very marked. The plants of lot No. 4 were nearly twice
+as high, but with much softer stems and leaves than those of lot No. 3.
+The plants received equal care when set side by side in the open ground
+and at the time the first fruit was gathered seemed of equal size and
+vigor, but the total yield of fruit of lots No. 1, 2 and 3 was very
+nearly the same and in each case at the rate of over 100 bushels an acre
+more than that from lot No. 4. This is but one of the scores of
+experiences which have led me to appreciate, in some degree, the
+necessity of plenty of sunlight for the best development of the tomato.
+
+=Heat.=--The plant thrives best out of doors in a dry temperature of 75
+to 85° F., or even up to 95° F., if the air is not too dry and is in
+gentle circulation. The rate of growth diminishes as the temperature
+falls below 75° until at 50° there is practically no growth; the plant
+is simply living at a poor dying rate and if the growth, particularly in
+young plants, is checked in this way for any considerable time they will
+never produce a full crop of fruit, even if the plants reach full size
+and are seemingly vigorous and healthy. The plant is generally killed by
+exposure for even a short time to freezing temperature, though young
+volunteer plants in the spring are frequently so hardened by exposure
+that they will survive a frost that crusts the ground they stand in; but
+such exposure affects the productiveness of the plant, even if it
+subsequently makes a seemingly vigorous and healthy growth. Under glass,
+plants usually do best in a temperature somewhat lower than is most
+desirable out of doors. I think this is due to the inevitable
+obstruction of the sunlight and the lack of perfect ventilation.
+
+=Moisture.=--Although the tomato is not a desert plant and needs a
+plentiful supply of water, it suffers far more frequently, particularly
+when the plants are young, from an over-supply than from the want of
+water. Good drainage at the root and warm, dry, sunny air, in gentle
+motion, are what it delights in. Good drainage is essential not only to
+the best growth of the plant but to the production of any fruit of good
+quality. So important is this feature that though it can be readily
+proved that, other things being equal, the tomato will give larger yield
+and better fruit on well drained clay loam than on sandy soil, yet it is
+more generally and more successfully planted on sandy lands simply
+because they are usually better drained and on this account give better
+crops. While excess of water in the soil is most injurious to the young
+and growing plant, an abundance of it at the time the fruit swells and
+ripens is very essential, and a want of it at that time results in small
+and imperfect fruit of poor flavor. Excessive moisture in the air is
+just as injurious as at the root. In my personal experience I have known
+of more failures in tomato crops, at least in the northern states, to
+come from a season of persistent rains and damp atmosphere at the time
+when the plants should be in bloom and setting fruit than from any other
+climatic cause.
+
+=Food supply.=--The tomato is not a gross feeder nor is the crop an
+exhaustive one, but the plant is very particular as to its food supply.
+It is an epicure among plants and demands that its food shall not only
+be to its taste in quality but that it be well served. In order for the
+plant to do its best, or even well, it is essential that the food
+elements be in the right proportions and readily available. If there is
+a deficiency of any single element there will be but a meager crop of
+fruit, no matter how abundant the supply of the others. An over-supply
+of an element, especially nitrogen, is hardly less injurious and will
+actually lessen the yield of fruit though it may increase the size of
+the vine. Not only must the food be in right proportions but in such
+condition as to be readily available. Tomato roots have little power to
+wrest plant food from the soil. The use of coarse, unfermented manure is
+even more unsatisfactory with this than with other crops. The enormous
+yields sometimes obtained by English gardeners from plants grown under
+glass result from a supply of food of the right proportions and in
+solution, instead of incorporating it in a crude condition with the
+soil.
+
+=Cultivation.=--The tomato is grown in all parts of the United States
+and under very different conditions, not only as to climate and soil but
+as to the facilities for growing and handling the crop and the way in
+which it is done. What would be ideal conditions of soil and the most
+advantageous methods under some conditions would not be at all desirable
+in others. In some cases the largest possible yield an acre, in others
+fruit at the lowest cost a bushel, or at the earliest possible date, or
+in a continuous supply and of the best quality, is the greatest
+desideratum. It is impossible to give specific instructions which would
+be applicable to all these varying conditions and requirements; so I
+give general cultural directions for maximum crops with variations
+suggested for special conditions and requirements, and then the reader
+may follow those which seem best suited to his individual conditions.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+Selection of Soil for Maximum Crop
+
+
+Large yields of tomatoes have been, and can be, obtained from soils of
+varying composition, from a gumbo prairie, a black marsh muck, or a
+stiff, tenacious clay, to one of light drifting sand, provided other
+conditions, such as drainage, tilth and fertility are favorable. The
+Connecticut experiment station and others have secured good results from
+plants grown under glass in a soil of sifted coal ashes and muck, or
+even from coal ashes alone, the requisite plant food being supplied in
+solution. But a maximum crop could never, and a full one very seldom, be
+produced on a soil, no matter what its composition, which could not be,
+or was not put into and kept in a good state of tilth, or on one which
+was poorly drained, sodden or sour, or which was so leachy that it was
+impossible to retain a fair supply of moisture and of plant food.
+
+Of the 10 largest yields of which I have personal knowledge and which
+ran from 1,000 to 1,200 bushels of fruit (acceptable for canning and at
+least two-thirds of it of prime market quality) an acre, four were grown
+on soils classed as clay loam, two on heavy clay--one of which was so
+heavy that clay for making brick was subsequently taken from the very
+spot which yielded the most and best fruit--one on what had been a black
+ash swamp, one on a sandy muck, two on a sandy loam and one on a light
+sand made very rich by heavy, annual manuring for several years. They
+were all perfectly watered and drained, in good heart, liberally
+fertilized with manures of proved right proportions for each field, and
+above all, the fields were put into and kept in perfect tilth by methods
+suited to each case; while the plants used were of good stock and so
+grown, set and cultivated that their growth was never stopped or hardly
+checked for even a day. These conditions as to soil and culture,
+together with seasons of exceptionally favorable weather, resulted in
+uniformly large crops on these widely different soils.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 12--TOMATOES TRAINED TO STAKES ON A GEORGIA FARM]
+
+The composition of the soil, then, as to its proportions of sand or clay
+is of minor importance as regards a maximum yield or as to quality of
+the fruit, except as it affects our ability to put and keep the soil in
+good physical condition. The tomato crop, however, particularly when the
+plants are trimmed and trained to stakes, as is the usual practice in
+the South, as seen in Fig. 12, with crops grown for early shipment,
+necessitates in the trimming and training of the plants and the
+gathering of the fruit when it is in the right degree of maturity for
+shipment a great deal of trampling of the surface regardless of whether
+it is wet or dry. Consequently if the surface soil has any considerable
+proportion of clay there is danger of compacting and even puddling it by
+working when wet, to the great detriment of the crop. Again, a more or
+less sandy surface soil can be much more easily worked than one with a
+large proportion of clay. For these reasons our choice of a soil for the
+lowest cost a bushel and probably for a maximum yield should be a rich
+sandy or sandy loam surface soil overlying a well-drained clay
+sub-soil. I would prefer one which was originally covered with a heavy
+growth of beech and maple timber, though I should want it to be "old
+land" at the time. Tomatoes do not succeed as well on prairie soils,
+particularly if they are at all heavy, as they do on timbered lands, but
+one need not despair of a profitable crop of tomatoes on any soil which
+would give a fair crop of corn or of cotton.
+
+=For early-ripening fruit.=--Sometimes the profit and satisfaction from
+a tomato crop depend more largely upon the earliness of ripening than
+upon the amount of yield or cost of growing. In such cases a warm, sandy
+loam, or even a distinctly sandy soil, is to be preferred, as this is
+apt to be warmer and the fruit will be matured much earlier on it than
+on a heavier soil. It is essential, however, that it be well drained and
+warm. Often lands classed as sandy are really colder than some of those
+classed as clay, and such soils should be carefully avoided if early
+maturity is important.
+
+=For the home garden.=--Here we seldom have a choice, but no one need
+despair and abandon effort, no matter what the soil may be, for it is
+quite possible to raise an abundant home supply on any soil and that,
+too, without inordinate cost and labor. Some of the most prolific plants
+and the finest fruits I have ever seen were grown in a village lot which
+five years before had been filled in to a depth of 3 to 10 feet with
+clay, coal ashes and refuse from a brick and coal yard. In another
+instance magnificent fruit was grown in a garden where the soil was
+originally made up chiefly of sawdust mixed with sand, drawn on a
+foundation of sawmill edgings so as to raise it above the water of a
+swamp. Where one has to contend with such conditions he should make an
+effort to create a friable soil with a supply of humus by adding the
+material needed. A very few loads, sometimes even a single load, of clay
+or sand will greatly change the character of the soil of a sufficient
+area to grow the one or two dozen plants necessary for a family supply.
+In the two cases mentioned, the owner of the first named garden used
+both sand and sawdust to lighten his soil, while the second drew a great
+many loads of clay on his.
+
+=Growing under glass.=--I would make up a soil composed of about three
+parts rotted sod, two or three parts of well-rotted stable manure (and
+it is very important that it be well decomposed) and one part either of
+coarse, sharp sand, sandy loam or clay loam, according as the sod soil
+is light or heavy, the aim being to form a rich, light, open soil rather
+than one which is as heavy and compact as desirable for some plants. If
+sod soil is not available, of course, garden loam can be substituted,
+but it is very important that the soil be thoroughly mixed, and
+desirable that it be prepared sometime before it is to be used. Some
+growers use the same soil for several crops, simply adding some fresh
+manure; but, if so used, it is important that it be stirred and
+thoroughly re-mixed and sterilized.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+Exposure and Location
+
+
+In sections where there is danger of the plants being killed by early
+fall frosts before they have ripened their entire crop, exposure of the
+field is sometimes of importance in determining the marketable yield.
+
+A gentle inclination to the south, with a protection of higher land or
+timber on the sides from which frost or high winds are most likely to
+come, is the best. A steep descent to the south, shut in by high land to
+the east and west, so as to form a hot pocket, is not favorable for a
+maximum crop although it may give a smaller yield of early ripening
+fruit; nor is a small field entirely surrounded by forest desirable.
+
+I once knew of a field, of about two acres, sloping to the south and
+entirely surrounded by heavy timber, on which two or three tomato crops
+were failures when other fields on the same farm gave large yields, but
+after the timber on the south and east had been cut away this field
+generally gave the largest yield in the neighborhood.
+
+=Location.=--While exposure is in some cases an important factor in
+determining the total yield an acre, and so the cost, the location of
+the field as regards distance from marketing point and the character of
+the roads between them is of far greater importance in determining the
+cost and profit of crop, but one which is very often disregarded. The
+marketable product of an acre of tomatoes weighs from 3 to 30 tons,
+which is not only more than that of most farm crops, but the product is
+of such character that its value is easily destroyed by long hauls over
+ordinary roads. It has to be marketed within a day or two of the time it
+is in prime condition, regardless of the conditions of the roads or
+weather; so that it is quite deceptive to estimate the cost of delivery
+at the same rate a ton, as for potatoes or wheat, for it always costs
+more, and sometimes several times more, to deliver tomatoes than it
+would to deliver the same weight of less perishable crops. In most cases
+the cost of picking and delivery is one of the most important factors in
+determining profit and loss, particularly when the crop is grown for
+canning factories, where one often has to wait for hours for his team to
+unload. These conditions make it very important that the field be
+located within a short distance of, and connected by good roads with the
+point of delivery.
+
+=Early maturing fruit.=--Where early maturity is the great desideratum
+the exposure of the field is often very important. It should, first of
+all, be such as to secure comparative freedom from spring frosts so as
+to permit of early setting of the plants and the full benefit of the
+sunshine as well as protection from cold winds. There is often a great
+difference in these respects between fields quite near each other.
+Professor Rolfs, of Florida, mentions a case where the tomatoes in a
+field sloping to the southeast and protected on the north and west by a
+strip of oak timber were uninjured by a spring frost that killed not
+only all the plants in neighboring fields, but those in the same field
+farther away from the protecting timber. Such spots should be sought out
+and utilized, as often they can be used to great advantage. Immediate
+proximity to large bodies of water is sometimes advantageous in the
+South, but in the North it is often disadvantageous for early fruit
+because of the chilling of the air and the increased danger of spring
+frosts, although affording protection from those of early fall. Here,
+too, proximity of field to shipping point and distance and
+transportation rate to market are very important factors affecting
+profit on the crop.
+
+=The home garden.=--The south side of buildings or of tight fences and
+walls often furnishes a most desirable place for garden tomatoes, but
+the plants should be set at least 6 to 10 feet from the protection and
+not so as to be trained upon or much shaded by them, as the disadvantage
+of shutting off the light and circulation of the air, even from the
+north, would more than overbalance anything gained by the protection.
+
+=Growing under glass.=--In this country tomatoes are seldom grown under
+glass except during the darker winter months and the exposure of the
+house; the form of the roof and the method of glazing which will give
+the greatest possible light, are of importance, for tomatoes can not be
+profitably grown in a dark house. Just how the greatest amount of light
+may be made available in any particular case will depend upon local
+conditions, but every effort should be made to secure the most
+unobstructed sunlight possible and for the greatest number of hours each
+day.
+
+=Previous crop and condition.=--In field culture tomatoes should not
+follow tomatoes or potatoes. Both of these crops make use of large
+quantities of potash, and although a small part of that used by the
+plants is taken from the field in the crop, they inevitably reduce the
+proportion of this element in the soil--that is, in such condition as to
+be readily available for the succeeding crop. It is true that the
+deficiency in potash may be supplied, but it is not so easy to supply it
+in a condition in which it is possible for the roots of the tomato to
+take it in. Unlike potatoes, tomatoes do not do well on new land,
+whether it be newly cleared timber lands or new breaking of prairie.
+Clover leaves the land in better condition for tomatoes than any other
+of the commonly grown farm crops, while for second choice I prefer one
+of peas, beans, corn, or wheat in the order named.
+
+One of the most successful tomato growers I know of, whose soil is a
+rich, dark clay loam, prepares for the crop, as follows: Very late in
+the fall or early in the spring he gives a clover sod a heavy dressing
+of manure and plows it under. In the spring he prepares the ground by
+frequent cultivation and plants it with early sweet corn or summer
+squash. At the time of the last cultivation of these crops he sows
+clover seed, covering it with a cultivator having many small teeth, and
+rarely fails to get a good stand and a good growth of young clover
+before the ground freezes. In the spring he plows this under, running
+the plow as deep as possible and following in the furrow with a
+sub-soiler which stirs, but does not bring the sub-soil to the surface.
+He then gives the field a heavy dressing with wood ashes and puts it
+into the best possible tilth before planting his tomatoes. This grown
+usually harvests at least 500 bushels to the acre and has made a crop of
+over 1,000 bushels.
+
+=Early market.=--In some sections of the South where the soil is light
+and the growers depend almost wholly on the use of large quantities of
+commercial fertilizer, they seem to meet with the best success by using
+the same field for several successive crops, but in some places they
+succeed best with plantings following a crop of cowpeas or other green
+soiling crops plowed under, with a good dressing of lime.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+Fertilizers
+
+
+The experiences and opinions of different gardeners and writers vary
+greatly as to the amount and kind of fertilizer necessary for the
+production of the maximum crop of tomatoes. If the question were as to
+the growth of vine all would agree that the more fertilizer used and the
+richer the soil, the better. Some growers act as if this were equally
+true as to fruit, while others declare that one can easily use too much
+fertilizer and get the ground too rich not only for a maximum but for a
+profitable crop of fruit. I find that the amount an acre recommended by
+successful growers varies from 40 tons of well-rotted stable manure,
+supplemented by 1,000 pounds of complete fertilizer and 1,000 pounds of
+unleached ashes, to one of only 300 pounds of potato fertilizer.
+
+In my own experience the largest yield that I can recall was produced on
+what would be called rich land, and the application of fertilizer for
+the tomato crop was not in excess (unless possibly of potash) of that of
+the usual annual dressing. I think that in preparing a soil for
+tomatoes, as in selecting social acquaintances, the "new rich" are to be
+avoided. A soil which is rich because of judicious manuring and careful
+cropping for many years can scarcely be too rich, while one that is made
+rich by a single application of fertilizer, no matter how well
+proportioned, may give even a smaller yield of fruit because of its
+excessive use. Again, the proportions of the various food elements vary
+greatly in different locations.
+
+Professor Halstead finds that in his section of New Jersey the liberal
+use of nitrate of soda increases the yield and improves the quality,
+while in some localities of New York, Ohio, and the West, growers find
+that the yield of first-class fruit was actually lessened by its use. In
+some sections of the South liberality in the use of phosphates
+determines the amount and the quality of the crop, while at other points
+it seems to be of little value. In my own experience the liberal
+application of potash, particularly in the form of wood ashes, has more
+often given good results than the application of any other special
+fertilizer.
+
+If called upon to name the exact quantity and kind of manure for
+tomatoes, without any knowledge of the soil or its previous condition, I
+would say 8 to 10 tons of good stable manure worked into the soil as
+late as possible in the fall or during the winter and early spring and
+300 to 600 pounds of commercial fertilizer, of such composition as to
+furnish 2 per cent. nitrogen, 6 per cent. phosphoric acid and 8 per
+cent. potash scattered and worked into the row about the time that the
+plants are set. The use of a large proportion of nitrogen tends to rank
+growth of vine and soft, watery fruit. The use of a large proportion of
+phosphoric acid tends to produce soft fruit with less distinctly acid
+flavor; of potash, to smaller growth of vine and firm but more acid
+fruit.
+
+I think that even more than with most crops it will be well for the
+farmer to experiment to determine the best and most economical
+fertilizer for his soil, setting aside five to ten plots of 1 to 4
+square rods each and apply nitrate of soda, muriate of potash, wood,
+ashes, and phosphate alone and in different combinations. The results
+will suggest the combination which he can use to best advantage. In the
+majority of cases, however, where the soil is reasonably rich,
+expenditures for putting the ground in the best possible state of tilth
+will give larger returns than those for manures in excess of that which
+the land has usually received in the regular rotation for ordinary farm
+crops.
+
+=For the home garden.=--Usually a dressing of wood ashes up to a rate of
+1 bushel to the square rod, well worked into the soil before the plants
+are set, and occasionally watering with liquid manure, will generally
+give the best returns of any special fertilization, it being assumed
+that the garden has been well enriched with stable manure.
+
+=Tomatoes under glass.=--Some growers recommend frequent waterings with
+liquid manure; others a surface dressing of sheep manure; still others a
+mulch of moderately well decayed stable manure. Plants growing under
+glass, particularly in pots or boxes, seem to be benefitted by so heavy
+a dressing that if applied to plants growing outside it would be likely
+to give excessive growth of vine with but little fruit.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+Preparation of the Soil
+
+
+The proper preparation of the soil before setting the plants is one of
+the most essential points in successful tomato culture. The soil should
+be put into the best possible physical condition and to the greatest
+practicable depth. How this can be best accomplished will vary greatly
+with different soils and the facilities at the command of the planter.
+My practice on a heavy, dry soil is to plow shallow as early in the
+spring as the ground is fit to work, and then work and re-work the
+surface so as to make it as fine as possible.
+
+If I am to use any manure which is at all coarse, it is well worked in
+at this time. A week or 10 days before I expect to set the plants I
+again plow, and to as great a depth as practicable, without turning up
+much of the sub-soil, and if this has not been done within two years,
+follow in the furrows with a sub-soil plow which loosens, but does not
+bring the sub-soil to the surface. Then I work and re-work the surface,
+at the same time working in any dressing of well-rotted manure, ashes or
+commercial fertilizer that I want to use. I never regret going over the
+field again, if by so doing I can improve its condition in the least. On
+a lighter soil it might be better to compact rather than loosen as much
+as would give the best results with clay, but always and everywhere the
+soil should be made fine, friable and uniform in condition, to the
+greatest depth possible.
+
+One of the most successful growers has said that if he could afford to
+spend but two days' time on a patch of tomatoes he would use a day and a
+half of the two days in fitting the ground before he set the plants. It
+is my opinion that any working of the ground that serves to get it into
+better mechanical condition, if done economically, will not only
+increase the yield, but to such an extent as to lower the cost a bushel.
+T. B. Terry's teaching of the necessity for working and re-working the
+soil, if one would have the largest crops of potatoes of the best
+quality, is even more applicable to the culture of tomatoes.
+
+=Home garden.=--Here there is no excuse for setting plants in hard,
+lumpy soil. It should be worked and re-worked, not simply once or twice,
+but once or twice after it has been thoroughly worked. In short, the
+tomato bed should be made as friable as it is possible to make it and to
+as great a depth as the character of the sub-soil will permit.
+
+=Under glass.=--I would strongly advise that soil for tomatoes, whether
+it is to be used in solid beds or in pots or boxes, be thoroughly
+sterilized by piling it not over 15 inches deep or wide over iron pipes
+perforated with two lines of holes about one-sixteenth inch in diameter
+and 2 inches apart and filled with steam for at least a half hour. It
+can be sterilized, but far less effectively, by thorough wetting with
+boiling water. It should always be well stirred and aired before the
+plants are set in it.
+
+=Starting plants.=--From about the latitude of New York city southward,
+it is possible to secure large yields from plants grown from seed sown
+in place in the field, and one often sees volunteer plants which have
+sprung up as weeds carrying as much or more fruit than most carefully
+grown transplanted ones beside them. In many sections tomatoes are grown
+in large areas for canning factories, and as a farm rather than a market
+garden crop, individual farmers planting from 10 to 100 acres; and to
+start and transplant to the field the 25,000 to 30,000 plants necessary
+for a ten-acre field seems a great undertaking. Tomato plants, however,
+when young, are of rather weak and tender growth, and need more careful
+culture than can be readily given in the open field; and, again, the
+demand of the market, even at the canning factories, is for delivery of
+the crop earlier than it can be produced by sowing the seed in the
+field.
+
+For these reasons it is almost the universal custom of successful
+growers to use plants started under glass or in seed-beds where
+conditions of heat and moisture can be somewhat under control. I
+believe, however, that the failure to secure a maximum yield is more
+often due to defective methods of starting, handling and setting the
+plants than to any other single cause. In sections where tomatoes are
+largely grown there are usually men who make a business of starting
+plants and offering them for sale at prices running from $1 or even as
+low as 40 cents, up to $8 and $10 a 1,000, according to their age and
+the way they are grown; but generally, it will be found more
+advantageous for the planter to start his plants on or near the field
+where they are to be grown.
+
+=Tomato plants from cuttings= may be easily grown, but such plants, when
+planted in the open ground, do not yield as much fruit as seedlings nor
+is this apt to be of so good quality; so that, in practice, seedlings
+only are used for outside crops. Under glass, plants from cuttings do
+relatively better and some growers prefer them, as they commence to
+fruit earlier and do not make so rank a growth.
+
+Seedlings can be most easily started and grown, at least up to the time
+of pricking out, in light, well-ventilated greenhouses, and many large
+growers have them for this specific purpose. Houses for starting tomato
+plants should be so situated as to be fully exposed to the sun and not
+shaded in any way; be provided with heating apparatus by which a night
+temperature of 60 and up to one of 80° F. in the day can be maintained
+even in the coldest weather and darkest days likely to occur for 60 to
+90 days before the plants can be safely set out in the open field; and
+the houses should be well glazed and ventilated.
+
+Houses well suited for this purpose are often built of hotbed sash with
+no frame but a simple ridge-board and sides 1 or 2 feet high, head room
+being gained by a central sunken path and the sash so fastened in place
+that they may be easily lifted to give ventilation or entirely removed
+to give full exposure to sunshine, or for storing when the house is not
+needed. Hotbed sash 3×6 feet with side-bars projecting at the ends to
+facilitate fastening them in place are usually kept by dealers, who
+offer them at from $1.50 to $3 each, according to the quality of the
+material used.
+
+A hot water heating apparatus is the best, but often one can use a
+brick furnace or an iron heating stove, connected with a flue of sewer
+or drain-pipe that will answer very well and cost much less. It requires
+but 6 to 10 square feet of bench to start plants enough for an acre, and
+a house costing only from $25 to $50 will enable one to grow plants
+enough for 20 acres up to the stage when they can be pricked out into
+sash or cloth-covered cold-frames in which they can be grown on to the
+size best suited for setting in the field. When a grower plants less
+than 5 acres it is often better for him to sow his seed in flats or
+shallow boxes and arrange to have these cared for in some neighboring
+greenhouse for the 10 to 20 days before they can be pricked out.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+Hotbeds and Cold-frames
+
+
+Plants can be advantageously started and even grown on to the size for
+setting in open ground in hotbeds. In building these of manure it is
+important to select a spot where there is no danger of standing water,
+even after the heaviest rains, and it is well to remove the soil to a
+depth of 6 inches or 1 foot from a space about 2 feet larger each way
+than the bed and to build the manure up squarely to a hight of 2 to 3
+feet. It is also very important that the bed of manure be of uniform
+composition as regards mixture of straw and also as to age, density and
+moisture, so as to secure uniformity in heating. This can be
+accomplished by shaking out and evenly spreading each forkful and
+repeatedly and evenly tramping down as the bed is built up. Unless this
+work is well and carefully done the bed will heat and settle unevenly,
+making it impossible to secure uniformity of growth in different parts.
+
+Hotbed frames should be of a size to carry four to six 3×6-foot sash,
+and made of lumber so fastened together that they can be easily knocked
+apart and stored when not in use. They should be about 10 inches high in
+front and 16 or 18 inches at the back, care being taken that if the back
+is made of two boards one of them be narrow and at the bottom so that
+the crack between them can be covered by banking up with manure or
+earth. In placing them on the manure short pieces of board should be
+laid under the corners to prevent their settling in the manure unevenly.
+I prefer to sow the seed in flats or shallow boxes filled with rich but
+sandy and very friable soil, and set these on a layer of sifted coal
+ashes covering the manure and made perfectly level, but many growers sow
+on soil resting directly on the manure; if this is done the soil should
+be light and friable and made perfectly level. A perspective view of a
+three-sash hotbed is given in Fig. 13, and of a cross-section in Fig.
+14.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 13--THREE-SASH HOTBED]
+
+In some sections, particularly in the South, it is not always easy to
+procure suitable manure for making hotbeds, so these are built to be
+warmed by flues under ground, but I think it much better where a fire is
+to be used that the sash be built into the form of a house. A hotbed of
+manure is preferred to a house by some because of its supplying uniform
+and moist bottom heat--and one can easily give abundant air; but the
+sash can be built into the form of a house at but little more expense,
+and it has the great advantage of enabling one to work among the plants
+in any weather, while, if properly built, any desired degree of heat and
+ventilation can be easily secured. Except when very early ripening fruit
+is the desideratum, plants started with heat but pricked out and grown
+in cold-frames without it, but where they can be protected during cold
+nights and storms, will give better results than those grown to full
+size for the field in artificial heat.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 14--CROSS-SECTION OF HOTBED]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 15--COLD-FRAMES ON HILL-SIDE]
+
+=Cold-frames.=--In locations where tomatoes are much grown large areas
+are devoted to cold-frames covered either by sash or cloth curtains.
+Sash give much better protection from cold and on this account are more
+desirable, particularly where very early fruiting is wanted, but their
+first cost is much greater and the labor of attending to beds covered by
+them is much more than where cloth is used. Sash-covered beds should be
+of single width and run east and west, but if the beds are covered with
+cloth it is better that they be double width (12 feet) and run north and
+south. The front of the single and the sides of the double width beds
+should be 8 to 10 inches high, held firmly erect by stakes and perfectly
+parallel, both horizontally and vertically, with the back or with the
+central support. This should be 6 inches higher than the front. The
+cross strips, when sash are used, should be made of a 3-inch horizontal
+and a 1-1/2-inch vertical strip of 1-inch lumber nailed together very
+firmly in the form of an inverted T, the vertical pieces projecting 1
+inch at each end and resting on the front and back of the bed and
+forming supports and guides for the sash. Some growers use vertical
+strips as heavy as 2×3 or 4 inches for stepping across the beds. When
+the plants are to be taken to the field, the sash and guides can be
+easily removed. (Fig. 15.)
+
+Ground to be covered with cold-frames should be made very friable and
+rich by repeated plowing and working in of a liberal dressing of
+well-rotted stable manure and wood ashes. In southwestern New Jersey,
+where immense areas of early tomatoes are grown, the soil of the beds
+for a depth of about 6 inches is removed and a layer 3 to 5 inches deep
+of well-rotted stable manure is placed in. That made of a mixture of
+manure from horses, cattle and hogs is preferred. It is important that
+the manure be so well rotted that it will not heat, and so dry that it
+will not become pasty when tramped into a firm, level layer. On this
+they place a layer of nearly 3 inches deep of rich, friable, moderately
+compact soil and prick out the plants into this. The roots soon bind the
+manure and soil together and by cutting through the manure so as to form
+blocks one can carry the plants to the fields with but very little
+disturbance of the root.
+
+=Cloth covers for beds= should be made of heavy, unbleached sheeting or
+light duck, and it is better that the selvage run up and down the bed
+rather than lengthwise. The cloth is torn into lengths of about 13 feet
+and then sewn together with a narrow double-stitched flat seam so as to
+form a sheet 13 feet wide and about 8 inches longer than the bed. The
+edges are tacked every foot to the strips about 2 inches wide by 7/8
+inch thick with beveled outside edges and laid perfectly in line. A
+second line of strips is then nailed to the first so as to break joints
+with it and so that the two will form a continuous roller about a foot
+longer than the bed with the edge of the curtain firmly fastened in its
+center. The center of the curtain is secured to the central ridge of the
+bed by strips of lath. When rolled up, the rollers are held in place by
+loops of rope around their ends and when they are down they are held by
+similar loops to the notched tent-pins driven into the ground or to
+wooden buttons fastened to the sides and ends of the frame as shown in
+Fig. 16.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 16--TRANSPLANTING TOMATOES UNDER CLOTH-COVERED
+FRAMES (Photo by Prof. W. G. Johnson)]
+
+Cloth covers are sometimes dressed with oil, but this is not to be
+recommended, though it is an advantage to have them wet occasionally
+with a weak solution of copper sulphate or with sea water as a
+preservative and to prevent mildew. Such covers, well cared for, may
+last five years or be of little use after the first, depending upon the
+care given them. They can be made from 50 to 200 feet long and two men
+can roll them up or down very quickly.
+
+When cloth covers are used the supporting cross-strips should not be
+over 3 inches wide nor more than 3 feet apart; sometimes the strips are
+made to bind the sideboard and ridge together by means of short pieces
+of hoop iron or of barrel hoop. These are so placed and nailed as to
+hold the upper edge of sideboards and of the central ridge flush with
+the cross-strips, thus forming a smooth surface for cloth to rest on and
+enabling one easily to "knock down" and remove the frames to facilitate
+the taking of the plants from the bed to the field and the storing of
+the frames for another season.
+
+=Flats for starting seeds.=--Any shallow box may be used or the plants
+sown directly in the beds without them, but flats of a uniform size are
+to be preferred--these will pack well on the greenhouse shelves; or in
+the hotbed we make them with 7/8 inch thick ends and 1/2 inch thick
+sides and bottom, the latter if of a single board having four half-inch
+holes for drainage and in any case having two narrow strips about 1/4
+inch thick nailed across their bottoms so as to allow drainage water to
+escape freely when the boxes are set on hard, cool floors. Two or three
+such boxes, 35-1/2 inches long, 12 inches wide and 3 inches deep, will
+be sufficient to start plants enough for an acre. I like to use similar
+boxes only 4 inches deep for growing the plants after they are pricked
+out, particularly if this is to be done in a greenhouse, as by turning
+them we can equalize exposure to light and thus distribute the plants in
+the field where they are to be set with the least possible disturbance.
+One would need nearly 60 such boxes for plants enough for an acre. On
+account of the lessened necessity for watering when plants are set in
+beds rather than in boxes, many growers prefer to grow their plants in
+that way.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+Starting Plants
+
+
+This has been the subject of a vast amount of horticultural writing, and
+the practice of different growers, and in different sections, varies
+greatly. I give the methods I have used successfully, together with
+reasons for following them, but it may be well for the reader to modify
+them to suit his own conditions and requirements.
+
+=Largest yield.=--Some 45 to 50 days before plants can be safely set in
+the open field the flats in which the seed is to be sown should be
+filled with light, rich, friable soil, it being important that its
+surface be made perfectly level, and that it be compact and quite moist,
+but not so wet as to pack under pressure. Sow the seed in drills 3/8
+inch deep and 2 to 3 inches apart at the rate of 10 to 20 to the inch;
+press the soil evenly over them, water and place in the shade in an even
+temperature of 80 to 90° F. As soon as the seeds begin to break soil,
+which they should do in three to four days, place in full light and
+temperature of 75 to 80°, keeping the air rather close so as to avoid
+necessity of watering. After a few days reduce the temperature to about
+65° and give as much air as possible. Some growers press a short piece
+of 2-inch joist into the soil of the benches, so as to form trenches 2
+inches wide and about 3/8 inch deep, and so spaced as to be under the
+center of each row of glass, their sash being mostly made of five-inch
+glass. In this, by using a little tin box with holes in the top, like
+those of a pepper-box, they scatter seeds so that they will be nearly
+1/8 to 1/4 inch apart, over the bottom of the 2-inch wide trench, and
+then cover. This has the advantage of evenly spacing the plants and so
+locating the rows that the plants will be little liable to injury from
+drip.
+
+Young tomato plants are very sensitive to over-supply of water and some
+of the most successful growers do not water at all until the plants are
+quite large and then only when necessary to prevent wilting. In 10 to 15
+days, or as soon as the central bud is well started, the plants should
+be pricked out, setting them 3 to 6 inches apart, according to the size
+we expect them to reach before they go into the field; 5 inches is the
+most common distance used. I think it better to set the full distance
+apart at first, not to transplant a second time. It is very important
+that this pricking out should be done when the plants are young and
+small, though many successful growers wait until they are larger. The
+soil in which they are set, whether it be in boxes or beds, should be
+composed of about three parts garden loam, two parts well-rotted stable
+manure and one part of an equal mixture of sand and leaf mold, though
+the proportion of sand used should be increased if the garden loam is
+clayey. The soil in the seed-boxes or in the beds, when the seedlings
+are taken up, should be in such condition, and the plants be handled in
+such a way that nearly all the roots, carrying with them many particles
+of soil, are saved. The plants should be set a little, and but a little,
+deeper than they stood in the seed-box and the soil so pressed about
+the roots, particularly at their lower end, that the plants can not be
+easily pulled out.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 17--SPOTTING-BOARD FOR USE IN COLD-FRAMES]
+
+Where plants are set in beds the work can be facilitated by the use of a
+"spotting-board" (Fig. 17). This should be about 1 foot in width, and
+have pegs about 3 inches long, 3/4 inch in diameter at the base and
+tapering to a point, fastened into the board the distance apart the
+plants are to be set. It should also have narrow projections carrying a
+single peg nailed to the top of board at each end, so that when these
+pegs are placed in the end holes of the last row the first row of pegs
+in the "spotting board" will be the right distance from the last row of
+holes or plants. By standing on this, while setting plants in one set of
+holes, holes for another set are formed. If the conditions of soil, air
+and plants are right and the work is well done, the plants will show
+little tendency to wilt, and it is better to prevent their doing so by
+shading, rather than by watering, though the latter should be resorted
+to if necessary. When plants are set in beds, some growers remove the
+soil to a depth of about 6 inches and put in a layer of about 2 inches
+of sifted coal ashes, made perfectly level, and then replace the soil.
+This confines the roots to the surface and enables one to secure nearly
+all of them when transplanting. The plants should be well established
+in 24 hours and after this the more light and air that can be given,
+without the temperature falling below 40° F. or subjecting the plants to
+cold, dry wind, the better.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 18--SPOTTING-BOARD FOR USE ON FLAT (From W. G.
+Johnson)]
+
+One can hardly overstate the importance to the healthy growth of the
+young tomato plant of abundant sunshine, a uniform day temperature of
+from 60 to 80° F., or of the ill effects of a variable temperature,
+particularly if it be the result of cold, dry winds, or of a wet, soggy
+soil, the effect of over-watering. These points should be kept in mind
+in caring for the plants, and every effort made to secure, as far as
+possible, the first named conditions and to avoid the latter. The
+frames, whether they be covered with sash or cloth, but more
+particularly if with sash in sunshine and with curtains in dull days,
+should be opened so as to prevent their becoming too hot, and so as to
+admit air. And in a greenhouse full ventilation should be given
+whenever it is possible to do so without exposure to too low a
+temperature. If the plants are in boxes and on greenhouse shelves, it is
+important that these be turned end for end every few days to equalize
+exposure to light and give full exposure to the sun. The plants should
+be watered only when necessary to prevent wilting, and the beds should
+be covered during heavy rains. A "spotting-board" for use on flats is
+seen in Fig. 18.
+
+The most unfavorable weather conditions are bright sun combined with a
+cold wind, and cold storms of drizzling rain and frosty nights. Loss
+from the latter cause may often be prevented by covering the beds with
+coarse straw, which should always be provided for use in an emergency.
+Many growers provide a second curtain--an old one answers very well--to
+throw over the straw-covered beds. Beds so covered will protect the
+plants from frost in quite severe weather. Watering should especially be
+avoided for nearly three days before setting in fields; but six to
+twelve hours before it is well to water thoroughly, though not so as to
+make the soil at all muddy. About five days after pricking out and again
+about five days before the plants are to go into the field and five days
+after they are set, they should be sprayed with Bordeaux mixture.
+
+=Early ripening fruit.=--Here the aim is to secure, by the time they can
+be set in the field, plants which have come by an unchecked but
+comparatively slow rate of growth to the greatest size and maturity
+consistent with the transplanting to the field without too serious a
+check. The methods by which this is accomplished vary greatly and
+generally differ materially from those given above. The seed is planted
+much earlier and 60 to 90 days before it is at all safe to set plants in
+the open field; while a steady rate of growth is desirable, it should be
+slow and the plants kept small by a second and even third and fourth
+transplanting, and especial care taken to avoid the soft and irregular
+growth resulting from over-watering or over-heating. Any side shoots
+which may appear should be pinched out and a full pollination of the
+first cluster of the blossoms secured, either by direct application of
+pollen or by staking or jarring the plants on bright days; and finally,
+special efforts made to set the plants in the field as early and with as
+little check as possible. Growers are often willing to run considerable
+risk of frost for the sake of early setting.
+
+When one has sandy land a very profitable crop can sometimes be secured
+by sowing the seed very early, and growing the plants on in beds until
+the first cluster of fruit is set, then heeling them in, much as nursery
+trees are, but so close that they can be quickly covered in case of
+frost. As soon as it is at all safe to do so, they are set in the open
+ground, very closely, on the south side of ridges, so that only the
+upper one-third of the plant is exposed, the remainder being laid nearly
+level and covered with earth.
+
+So treated the plants will ripen the upper one or two clusters very
+early but will yield little more until late in the season, and it is
+generally more profitable to plow them up and put in some other crop as
+soon as the first clusters of fruit have ripened. Others pinch out the
+central bud as soon as it is well formed, usually within 10 days from
+the sowing of the seed. When this is done a great proportion of the
+plants will start branches from the axils of the cotyledons; these
+usually develop blossoms in the third to the fifth node and produce
+fruit much lower than in a normal plant. It is questionable if there is
+any gain in time from seed to fruit by this method, but it enables one
+to get older plants of a size which it is practicable to transplant to
+the field.
+
+In most cases it will be found more profitable and satisfactory so to
+grow the plants that by the time they can be safely set out of doors
+they will be in vigorous condition, about 6 to 10 inches tall, stout,
+healthy and well hardened off. Such plants will ripen fruit nearly, and
+often quite as early as older ones and will produce a constant
+succession of fruit, instead of ripening a single cluster or two and
+then no more until they have made a new growth.
+
+=For late summer and early fall.=--It is generally true in the South and
+often equally so in the North, that there is a more eager local demand
+for tomatoes in the late summer and fall months, after most of the
+spring set plants have ceased bearing, than in early summer. In Michigan
+I have often been able to get more for choice fruit in late October and
+in November than the best Floridas were sold for in May or early June,
+and certainly in the South the home use of fresh tomatoes should not be
+confined to spring set plants. For the fall crop in the South seed may
+be sown in late spring or up to the middle of July, in beds shaded with
+frames, covered with lath nailed 3 to 4 inches apart and the plants set
+in the field about 40 days from sowing, the same care being taken to
+put the ground into good condition as is recommended for the spring
+planted crop.
+
+A second plan, which has sometimes given most excellent results, is to
+cut back spring set plants which have ripened some fruit but which are
+not completely exhausted, to mere stubs, and spade up the ground about
+them so as to cut most of the roots, water thoroughly and cover the
+ground with a mulch of straw. Most of the plants so treated will start a
+new and vigorous growth and give most satisfactory returns.
+
+=Fruit at least expenditure of labor.=--When this is the great
+desideratum, many growers omit the hotbed and even the pricking out,
+sowing the seed as early as they judge the plants will be safe from
+frost, and broadcast, either in cold-frames or in uncovered beds, at the
+rate of 50 to 150 to the square foot and transplanting directly to the
+field. Or they may be advantageously sown in broad drills either by the
+use of the pepper-box arrangement suggested on page 60, or a garden
+drill adjusted to sow a broad row. In Maryland and the adjoining states,
+as well as in some places in the West, most of the plants for crops for
+the canners are grown in this way and at a cost of 40 cents or even less
+a 1,000. The seed should be sown so that it will be from 1/4 to 1/2 inch
+apart and the plants thinned as soon as they are up so that they will be
+at least 1/2 inch apart. Where seed is sown early with no provision for
+protection from the frost it is always well to make other sowings as
+soon as the last begins to break ground in order to furnish reserve
+plants, if the earlier sown lots be destroyed by frost. Others even sow
+the seed in place in the field, thinning out to a single one in a hill
+when the plants are about 2 inches high. Some of the largest yields I
+have ever known have been raised in this way, but the fruit is late in
+maturing and generally the method is not so satisfactory as starting the
+plants where they can be given some protection, and transplanting them
+to the field.
+
+=Plants for the home garden.=--These may be grown in pots or boxes set
+in the sunniest spot available and treated as has been described. In
+this way plants, equal to any, may be grown without the aid of either
+hotbed or greenhouse. It will generally be more satisfactory, however,
+to secure the dozen or two plants needed from some one who has grown
+them in quantity than to grow so small a lot by themselves. In selecting
+plants, take those which are short, stiff, hard, and dark green in
+color with some purple color on the lower part of the stem rather than
+those which are softer and of a brighter green, or those in which the
+foliage is of a yellowish green; but in selection it must be remembered
+that varieties differ as to the color of foliage, so that there may be a
+difference in shade which is not due to conditions.
+
+=Plants under glass.=--If to be grown in pots or boxes, "prick out,"
+when small, into three-inch pots and as they grow re-pot several times
+so that when set in the pots or beds in which they are to fruit, they
+are stout plants 12 to 16 inches high. Plants propagated from cuttings
+give much better returns relatively under glass than out of doors.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+Proper Distance for Planting
+
+
+The best distance apart for the plants to be set in the field varies
+greatly with the soil, the variety, the methods of cultivation and other
+conditions. Plants set as close in rich clay soil as would give the best
+results in a warm, sandy one, or those of a strong growing sort, like
+Buckeye State, set as close as would be desirable for sorts, like
+Atlantic Prize or Dwarf Champion, would give little but leaves and
+inferior fruit. In field culture I like to space the plants so as to
+facilitate gathering the fruit, and recommend the following arrangement:
+Set the plants according to soil and the variety 2-1/2 to 4 feet apart
+in the row, omitting two or three in every 75 or 100 plants so as to
+form driveways across the rows. Set the first and second and the third
+and fourth rows, etc., 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 and the second and third and the
+fourth and fifth rows 5-1/2 to 6 feet apart. As the plants grow, those
+of the first and second and those of the third and fourth rows, etc.,
+are thrown together and in many cases it will pay to have a pair of
+narrow horizontal strips or wires nearly 18 inches from the ground upon
+which they can be thrown.
+
+This arrangement of the plants allows us to continue to cultivate the
+wider spaces between the second and third and fourth and fifth, etc.,
+rows, much longer, and tends to confine the necessary tramping and
+packing of the soil when gathering the fruit chiefly to these rows--an
+important point in case the soil is wet. The rows can be marked out the
+day before, but it is better to set the plants in the cross-rows and
+that these be marked out just ahead of the setters. In this arrangement
+the distances are equivalent to from 2-1/2×4 feet, requiring 4,300
+plants to the acre, to 4×5 feet, requiring but about 2,100 plants. The
+latter distance is that most commonly used by New Jersey growers.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 19--TOMATOES SOWN AND ALLOWED TO GROW IN HOTBEDS]
+
+=In the home garden.=--It will usually be more satisfactory to give each
+plant plenty of space, setting them 5 or 6 feet apart each way, except
+in the case of the dwarf sorts, which should be from 3-1/2 to 3 feet
+apart. A few plants at these distances will usually be much more
+satisfactory than more set nearer together, but the larger growing
+sorts should have at least 3 feet and the dwarf sorts 2 feet. When one
+has a hotbed or cold-frame it is often an advantage to set a row of
+tomato plants nearly 18 inches apart at the back end much earlier than
+they could be safely set in the open ground, and if these are allowed to
+grow on in place, as shown in Fig. 19, being pruned and tied to stakes,
+they will give some very early fruit.
+
+=In the greenhouse.=--Experience and practice differ as to the most
+desirable distance apart for plants under glass. But 2 feet apart, where
+quality is the main consideration, and 18 inches when quantity, if fair,
+is of more importance than extra quality.
+
+=Setting plants in the field.=--The economical and successful setting of
+plants in the field is an important element of successful tomato culture
+and is very dependent upon soil and weather conditions. It is assumed
+that the soil of the field has been put into the best possible condition
+of tilth, but its condition as to moisture is also very important. The
+worst condition is when it is wet and muddy, especially if it is at all
+clayey--not only is the cost of setting greatly increased, but plants
+set in such soil can seldom, by any amount of care, be made to do well,
+especially if a heavy beating rain or dry windy weather follows
+immediately; the condition is less unfavorable if a warm gentle rain or
+still moist weather follows. A dry cold wind, even if the day is cloudy
+and the soil in good condition, is also unfavorable, particularly if the
+roots of the plants are exposed.
+
+Wet soil, cold, dry air and wind are the conditions to be avoided.
+Moist, not wet, soil and still, warm air are to be desired; whether the
+day is sunny or not is less important. There is a certain definite time,
+which does not usually extend beyond a few days, when any lot of plants
+is in the best condition for setting in the field. It is hardly possible
+to describe this condition more than to say it is when the plants are as
+large as they can be without crowding and are in a state where they can
+best stand the shock of removal.
+
+It will always be a matter of judgment as to how long it is best to hold
+plants, which are in condition for setting, for favorable weather
+conditions. They can sometimes be held a few days, by scant watering and
+full exposure, or in some cases by taking from the bed and heeling in,
+as nurserymen do trees; but it is better to set when the weather is
+unfavorable or to run some risk from frost rather than to hold them in
+this way too long. The wise selection of time for setting is an
+important factor in securing a good and profitable crop.
+
+The South Jersey growers, to whom early ripening fruit is the great
+desideratum and who have a very warm soil, and grow plants so they are
+quite hardy and can be transplanted with little check, set them in the
+field very early, some seasons by the last of April; and if the plants
+can be got out so as to have two or three days of favorable weather to
+get established before it comes, they seem to be little hurt even by a
+quite severe frost. The first essential to successful transplanting is
+to have well-grown, healthy, hardy plants; the second is that they be in
+good condition for setting, which can be secured by giving them, for a
+few days before planting, a scant supply of water and fullest possible
+exposure to air and sun, and then a thorough wetting a few hours before
+they are to be set.
+
+The South Jersey plan of growing and setting plants gets them into the
+field in the best condition of any method I know. Two to five days
+before they expect to plant, the growers go over the beds and, by means
+of a hoe that has been straightened and sharpened to form a sort of
+spade, they cut through the soil and manure so as to divide the plants
+into blocks of six. A few hours before they are to plant, they saturate
+the bed with water. By means of a flattened shovel they can take up the
+blocks of plants and place them in a cart or low wagon so the soil is
+scarcely disturbed at all, the roots in the manure serving to bind the
+whole together. In the meantime furrows are opened along the rows and
+the cart driven to the field; the plants in the blocks are cut apart
+with a butcher knife placed in the furrow and the earth drawn about
+them.
+
+Plants set in this way often do not wilt at all, even in hot sunshine.
+When plants are grown in boxes these can be taken to the field and
+plants taken from them in much the same way and so that they will be
+disturbed but little. In setting the plants it should always be borne in
+mind that while sunshine on the leaves of a plant rarely does any
+injury, it is very injurious to the roots, and the exposure of the roots
+to the sun or to cold, dry wind, should be avoided in every practicable
+way, such as by carrying the plants to the field laid on the sides of a
+box, which is then carried with its bottom toward the sun so as to have
+the plants in the shade, always handling the plant in the shade of one's
+body, etc. It is well worth while to walk to the end of the row to
+commence work in order to secure this. It is attention to such details
+that distinguishes one whose plants nearly always do well from one who
+loses a large proportion of those he handles.
+
+=Fruit at the least expenditure of labor.=--The plants are prepared for
+setting by scant watering, and are taken up so as to secure as much root
+as possible with little soil adhering to them. Great care should be
+taken in taking the plants from the bed, and in handling them, _to avoid
+twisting the stems_, as to do so very seriously injures the plants,
+often to such an extent that they will fail to grow, no matter how
+carefully set out. Some growers dip the roots in a very thin clay mud,
+hardly thicker than thin cream, but I have not found this of advantage
+except, sometimes, when the roots are to be exposed for a longer period
+than usual and I do not recommend it for general use. In setting, holes
+are made either with a long dibble, in the hands of the one who
+distributes the plants, or by a short one, in the hands of the setter;
+the plants are dropped into them a little deeper than they had stood in
+the bed, the earth closed about the roots, by pressure from the side.
+Especial care should be taken that this is well done, particularly at
+the bottom; the earth should be so firmly pressed to the root that the
+plant cannot be easily pulled from the soil. In some sections
+transplanting machines (Fig. 20) are used and liked, but most planters
+prefer to set by hand and the additional cost is not great. An expert
+with one or two boys to assist in handling the plants can put out as
+many as 5,000 plants in a day. A machine requiring more help to run it
+can set from 15,000 to 20,000.
+
+=In the home garden=, when but a few plants are to be set, it will be
+better to put them in after 4 P. M. and use water in setting, but the
+wet soil should be covered with some dry earth to prevent its caking.
+
+=In the greenhouse.=--Plants are better set in the places where they are
+to fruit just before their first blossoms open and should be set in
+accordance with the suggestions given for transplanting to the field.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 20--PLANTING TOMATOES ON A DELAWARE FARM (Photo by
+courtesy of _American Agriculturist_)]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+Cultivation
+
+
+=For maximum crop.=--As soon as plants are set the ground should be well
+cultivated to the greatest depth practicable. We should remember that
+the tomato needs for its best development a very friable soil, while the
+tramping necessary in setting out the plants and gathering the fruit
+tends to compact and harden the soil. Often transplanting has to be done
+when the soil is wet, and we need to counteract the injury from tramping
+by immediate cultivation; but, at the same time, we must avoid the
+disturbing of the plants any more than is necessary, and all of our
+cultivation should be done with these points in mind. Just how it can be
+done best will vary not only with the location and the facilities
+available, but with the weather conditions, so that it is not well to
+attempt to give explicit directions any further than that one can hardly
+cultivate too deeply for the first seven days nor too often for the
+first 30 days after the plants are set, provided he avoids turning the
+soil when it is too wet. Even walking through the field when the soil is
+wet is injurious and should be avoided, in proportion as the soil is a
+clayey one.
+
+=At least expenditure of labor.=--I hardly need add to or change the
+suggestions given above for tomatoes at least cost, for any cultivation
+wisely given will probably do as much to reduce cost per bushel by
+increasing the yield per acre as any other expenditure. _In the garden_
+it is advisable that from the time the plants are set until the fruit
+ripens, the surface soil about them be stirred every evening when it is
+not actually wet.
+
+=In the greenhouse.=--The surface of the soil should be kept open by
+frequent stirring or, as is the practice of some successful growers, it
+may be covered with a mulch of partially rotted manure. The plants
+should be watered only as needed to prevent wilt, and special pains
+taken to guard against too much moisture either in the soil or in the
+air, particularly on dark days. The night temperature should be
+uniformly about 60° F. while in the day it should be 75°, and if it be
+bright and sunny it may go to 90° or even higher. Air should be given
+freely whenever feasible to do so without too greatly reducing
+temperature. A moderate degree of moisture should be maintained in the
+air, care being taken that it does not become too moist, especially
+during dark days. There is more danger from the air becoming too moist
+than from its becoming too dry, though either extreme is injurious.
+
+=Pollinating.=--The structure and relations of the parts of the tomato
+flower are such that while perfect pollination is possible, and in
+plants grown in the open air usually takes place without artificial
+assistance, it is not so likely to occur when plants are grown under
+glass, particularly in the winter months, and it is usually necessary to
+secure it by artificial means. With vigorous, healthy plants and on
+light, sunny days, it can be accomplished by jarring the plants near
+midday. This generally throws enough pollen into the air so that an
+abundance of it reaches each receptive stigma. With less vigorous plants
+and on dark days it is necessary to hand pollinate the flowers. This is
+done by gathering the pollen by means of jarring the plants, so that it
+falls into a watch crystal or other receptacle secured at the end of a
+wand, and then pressing the projecting pistils of other flowers into it
+so that they may become covered with the pollen.
+
+Some growers transfer the pollen with a camel's-hair-brush; others by
+pulling off the corolla and adhering anthers and rubbing them over the
+stigma of other flowers. Fruit rarely follows flowers that are not
+pollinated, and if it is incomplete the fruit will be unsymmetrical and
+imperfectly developed. As tomato flowers secrete but very little, if
+any, honey and are not attractive to insects, it is of no advantage to
+confine a hive of bees in the tomato house in the way which is so useful
+in one where cucumbers or melons are growing.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+Staking, Training and Pruning
+
+
+Under favorable conditions of soil and climate, plants of most varieties
+of tomatoes will, in field culture, yield as much fruit if allowed to
+grow naturally and unpruned as if trained and pruned. This is especially
+true of the sorts of the Earliana type and on warm, sandy soils, while
+it may not be true of the stronger growing sorts, or on rich clay lands
+or where the fertilizer used contains an excess of nitrogen. In any case
+more fruit can be grown to the acre on pruned and staked plants because
+more of them can be gotten on an acre; and it is an advantage to grow
+them in that way because it enables us, by later cultivation, to keep
+the ground in good tilth longer; also it facilitates the gathering of
+the fruit; and last, but not least, it generally enables us to produce
+better ripened and flavored fruit.
+
+Staking and pruning used to be the almost universal practice in the
+South, but in many sections growers have abandoned it, claiming that
+they get as good or better results without it. In the North it is rarely
+used in field culture, though often used in private gardens and by some
+market gardeners, and both staking or tying up and pruning are essential
+to the profitable growing of tomatoes under glass. In the South, stout
+stakes from 1 to 2 inches in diameter and 4 to 5 feet long are driven
+into the ground so that they can be depended upon to hold the plants
+erect through the heaviest storms, as seen in Fig. 21. This is generally
+and wisely done as soon as the plant is set, though some growers delay
+doing so until the fruit is well set, claiming that the disturbance of
+staking, tying and pruning tends to hasten the ripening of the fruit.
+The plant is then tied up, the tying material being wrapped once about
+the stake and then looped about the plant so as to prevent slipping on
+the stake or choking the stem of the plant as it enlarges. Raffia is
+largely used and is one of the best tying materials, but short pieces of
+any soft, cheap string can be used. The tying up will need to be
+repeated as the stem elongates, which it will do very rapidly.
+
+In pruning the tomato we should allow the central shoot of the young
+plant to grow, and remove all of the side shoots which spring from the
+axils of the leaves and sometimes even from the fruit clusters, as seen
+in Fig. 22. It is very desirable that this be done when the branches are
+small, as there is then less danger of seriously disturbing the balance
+of the growing forces of the plant, and also because there is less
+danger of careless workmen cutting off the main shoot in place of a
+lateral, which would seriously check the ripening of the fruit. It is
+especially important that any shoots springing from the fruit cluster be
+removed as early as possible. For these reasons it is important that, if
+the plants are to be pruned at all, the field be gone over every few
+days. If the pruning is not well done it is a disadvantage rather than a
+help.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 21--TRAINING TOMATOES IN FLORIDA TO SINGLE STAKE
+(Photo by courtesy of Prof. P. H. Rolfs, Director Florida Experiment
+Station)]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 22--TOMATO PLANT TRAINED TO SINGLE STAKE]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 23--METHOD OF TRAINING TO THREE STEMS IN
+FORCING-HOUSE AND OUT OF DOORS]
+
+Some growers allow two or three (Fig. 23) instead of one shoot to grow,
+selecting for the second the most vigorous of the shoots starting from
+below the first cluster of fruit. In some locations they stop or pinch
+out the main shoot just above the first leaf above the third or fourth
+cluster; in some soils it is an advantage and in others rather a
+disadvantage to do this. I have seldom practiced it. When fruit at the
+lowest cost a bushel is the desideratum, neither pruning nor staking is
+desirable.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 24--METHOD OF TRAINING ON LINE IN GREENHOUSE]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 25--READY TO TRANSPLANT IN GREENHOUSE (Redrawn from
+photo by New York Experiment Station)]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 26--TRAINING YOUNG TOMATOES IN GREENHOUSE AT NEW
+YORK EXPERIMENT STATION (Photo by courtesy Prof. U. P. Hedrick)]
+
+=For home gardens.=--In the home garden trellising and pruning are often
+very desirable, as they enable us not only to produce more fruit in a
+given area but of better quality. Many forms of trellis, have been
+recommended. Where the plants are to be pruned as well as supported, as
+they should always be in gardens, there is nothing better than the
+single stake, as described above. For a trellis without pruning, one
+to three stout hoops supported by three stakes so as to surround the
+plant which is allowed to grow through and fall over them, or two or
+more parallel strips supported about a foot from the ground on each side
+of a row of plants answer the purpose, which is simply to keep the plant
+up from the ground and facilitate the free circulation of the air among
+leaves and fruit.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 27--TOMATOES IN GREENHOUSE AT OHIO EXPERIMENT
+STATION (Photo by courtesy of C. W. Waid)]
+
+I have seen tomatoes grown very successfully by the side of an open
+fence. Two stakes were driven into the ground about 6 inches from the
+fence and the plant, but slanting outward and away from each other. The
+tops of the stakes were fastened to the fence by wooden braces, and then
+heavy strings fastened to the fence around the stakes and back to the
+fence, the whole with the fence forming a sort of inverted pyramidal
+vase about 3 feet across at the top. In this the plant was allowed to
+grow, but it would be essential to success that the fence be an open
+one.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 28--FORCING TOMATOES IN GREENHOUSE AT NEW HAMPSHIRE
+EXPERIMENT STATION. NOTE CHARACTER OF BED ON THE GROUND FLOOR. (Photo by
+courtesy of Prof. H. F. Hall)]
+
+=In the greenhouse.=--Here pruning and training are essential. The
+plants may be supported by wires or strings (a coarse wool twine will
+answer), twisting the string about the plant as it grows. The growth is
+usually confined to a single shoot, though some growers allow two (Fig.
+24); the method of pruning does not differ from that given for field
+culture, but it is more important that the plants be gone over often
+and the branches removed when small. If allowed to do so, branches would
+spring from the axil of each leaf and the plant would become a perfect
+thicket of slender branches and leaves and produce but little fruit. The
+main stem is sometimes pinched out after three or four clusters of fruit
+are set and the branch from the axil of the first leaf above is allowed
+to take its place. This tends to hasten the maturing of the fruit
+clusters already set. After several clusters have matured, or the main
+stem reaches the top of the house, some growers allow a shoot from the
+bottom to grow and as soon as fruit sets on it the first stem is cut
+away and this takes its place. Others prefer to remove the old plant
+entirely and set in young ones. A plant ready for transplanting is shown
+in Fig. 25. In figures 26, 27 and 28 are shown interior views of
+greenhouses at the New York station at Geneva, the Ohio station at
+Wooster, and the New Hampshire station at Durham. Note the strong,
+vigorous plants in Fig. 26; the method of utilizing tile for watering in
+Fig. 27; and the ground-floor bedding in Fig. 28.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+Ripening, Gathering, Handling and Marketing the Fruit
+
+
+Tomatoes ripen and color from within outward and they will acquire full
+and often superior color, particularly about the stems, if, as soon as
+they have acquired full size and the ripening process has fairly
+commenced, they are picked and spread out in the sunshine. The point of
+ripeness when they can be safely picked is indicated by the surface
+color changing from a dark green to one of distinctly lighter shade with
+a very light tinge of pink. Fruit picked in this stage of maturity may
+be wrapped in paper and shipped 1,000 or 2,000 miles and when unwrapped
+after two or ten days' journey will be found to have acquired a
+beautiful color, often even more brilliant than that of a companion
+fruit left on the vine. Enclosing the fruit while on the vine and about
+half grown in paper bags has been recommended, and it often results in
+deeper and more even coloring and prevents injury from cracking, but the
+fruit so ripened, while more beautiful, is not so well flavored as that
+ripened in the sun. But Americans are said to taste with their eyes, so
+that in this country, fruit of this beautiful color will often out-sell
+that which is of better flavor though of duller color.
+
+The tomato never acquires its full and most perfect flavor except when
+ripened on the vine and in full sunlight. Vine and sun-ripened
+tomatoes, like tree-ripened peaches, are vastly better flavored than
+those artificially ripened. This is the chief reason why tomatoes grown
+in hothouses in the vicinity are so much superior to those shipped in
+from farther south. After it has come to its most perfect condition on
+the plant the fruit deteriorates steadily, whether gathered or allowed
+to remain on the vine, and the more rapidly in proportion as the air is
+hot and moist. That it be fresh is hardly less essential to the first
+quality in a tomato than it is to such things as lettuce and cucumbers.
+
+=Gathering.=--As is the case with most horticultural products, the best
+methods of gathering, handling and marketing the fruit vary greatly with
+the conditions under which the fruit was grown and how it is to be used,
+and it requires the best of judgment to gather it in the stage of
+maturity in which it will give the best satisfaction, under the
+conditions and for the purposes for which it is to be used. It is
+impossible to give exact rules for determining when the fruit is in the
+best condition. This can only be learned by experience, guided by a
+knowledge of the ripening habit of the fruit, which not only varies
+somewhat in different localities, but with different varieties. In the
+extreme South, fruit is picked for shipment before it shows more than
+the slightest tint of color at the blossom end; the depth of color which
+is considered as indicating shipping condition deepens as we go north
+and nearer market.
+
+Generally the fruit should be left on the vine no longer than will
+permit of its becoming fully ripe by the time it reaches its
+destination and is exposed for sale. When the fruit is to be shipped any
+distance the field should be gone over frequently, as often as every
+second or third day or even every day in the hight of the season, and
+care taken to pick every fruit as soon as it is in proper condition.
+When it is to be sold in nearby markets or to a cannery the exact stage
+of maturity, when picked, is not so important, although it is always an
+advantage not to gather until the fruit is well colored and before it
+begins to soften. Some growers for canneries make but three or four
+pickings, but in this case it is well to gather the ripest fruit
+separately.
+
+In picking and handling great care should be taken not to mar or bruise
+the fruit, and the stems should be removed as the fruit is picked to
+prevent bruising in handling. A bruise or mar may not be as conspicuous
+in a tomato as in a peach, but it is quite as injurious. It is a great
+deal better for pickers to use light pails rather than baskets, the
+flexibility of the latter often resulting in bruises. It is an advantage
+to have enough of these so that the sorting can be from the pail, but if
+this is not practical the fruit should be carefully emptied on a sorting
+table for grading. It should first of all be separated with regard to
+its maturity. A single fruit which is a little riper or greener than the
+remainder may make the entire package unsalable. It should also be
+graded as to freedom from blemishes or cracks, and as to size, form and
+color. It is assumed that the fruit for each package is to be of the
+same variety, but often there is quite a variation in different fruits
+from even the same vine; the more uniform in all respects the fruit in
+a package is the more attractive and salable it becomes. There is no
+fruit where careful grading and packing have more influence on the price
+it will command.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 29--FLORIDA TOMATOES PROPERLY WRAPPED FOR LONG
+SHIPMENT (Photo by courtesy of _American Agriculturist_)]
+
+I know of a certain noted peach-grower in northern Michigan who grew,
+each year, some 2 to 5 acres of tomatoes for the Chicago market. It was
+his custom to pick out about one-tenth of the best of the fruit, putting
+it into small and attractively labeled packages; the remainder of the
+crop was sorted over and from one-tenth to one-fifth of it rejected and
+fed to stock or sold to a local cannery. The remainder was sent to
+Chicago with his selects, but as common stock, and usually brought more
+than his neighbors received for unsorted fruit; but the check he
+received for his selects was usually as large as that for his commons,
+thus giving him about 33-1/3 per cent. more for his crop than his
+neighbors received for their equally good, but unsorted, fruit--to say
+nothing of what he received for the rejected fruit and the saving of
+freight which, he said, was usually enough to pay the actual cost of
+sorting.
+
+Tomatoes are usually classed as vegetables but, when ripe, they require
+as careful handling as the most delicate fruits and are as easily and
+seriously injured by bruising and jarring. Just how this can be avoided
+and the fruit gotten from the vine to the possibly distant consumer in
+the best condition will vary in different cases. Tomatoes from the South
+(Fig. 29) are generally marketed in carriers which, though varying
+somewhat, are essentially alike and consist of an open basket or boxes
+of veneer holding about 10 pounds of fruit. When shipped, two, four or
+six of these are packed in crates made of thin boards, so as to protect
+the fruits but give them plenty of air.
+
+=Packing.=--Most of the fruit sent to New York and Philadelphia markets
+from New Jersey and other northern states is in boxes or crates holding
+about 5/8 of a bushel and so made as to facilitate ventilation when
+piled in cars or warehouses. Fruit for the canneries is usually picked
+and handled in bushel crates of lath. These various packages are usually
+sold in the flat and the grower puts them together as is convenient
+before the crop comes on; but in many sections where there are large
+shipments they are often put together by the package dealers. Fig. 30
+shows tomatoes as packed by the Ohio experiment station.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 30--GREENHOUSE TOMATOES PACKED FOR MARKET (By
+courtesy Ohio Experiment Station)]
+
+=Fruits after frost.=--Sometimes when there is a great quantity of
+partially ripe and full grown green fruit on the vines which is liable
+to be spoiled by an early fall frost, it can be saved by pulling the
+vines and placing them in windrows and covering them with straw. Of
+course the vines should be handled carefully to shake off as little
+fruit as possible. If the freeze is followed by a spell of warm, dry
+weather the fruit will ripen up so as to be quite equal to that shipped
+in from a distance. A second plan is to pull the vines and hang them up
+in a dry cellar or out-house, or lay them on the ground in an open
+grove of trees, or beneath the trees of an adjoining orchard.
+
+Still another plan is to gather the green fruit and spread it not more
+than two to four fruits deep in hotbed frames, which are then covered
+with sash. Local grocers are usually glad to pay good prices for this
+late fruit, and in seasons of scarcity I have known canners to buy
+thousands of bushels so ripened at better prices than they paid for the
+main crop.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+Adaptation of Varieties
+
+
+Whatever may be their botanical origin, the modern varieties of
+cultivated tomatoes vary greatly in many respects, and while these
+differences are always of importance their relative importance differs
+with conditions. When the great desideratum is the largest possible
+yield of salable fruit at the least expenditure of labor, the qualities
+of the vine may be the most important ones to be considered, while in
+private gardens and for a critical home market and where closer
+attention and better cultivation can be given, they may be of far less
+importance than qualities of fruit.
+
+=Habits of growth.=--Whether it be standard or dwarf, compact or
+spreading, is sometimes of great importance as fitting the sorts for
+certain soils and methods of culture. On heavy, moist, rich land, where
+staking and pruning are essential to the production of fruit of the best
+quality, it is of importance that we use sorts whose habits of growth
+fit them for it; while on warm, sandy, well-drained land, staking and
+pruning may be of little value, and a different habit of growth more
+desirable. We have sorts in which the vine is relatively strong growing
+with few branches, upright, with long nodes and small fruit clusters
+well scattered over the vine. They are usually very productive through a
+long season but generally late in maturing. Stocks of this type are
+sometimes sold, I think improperly, as giant climbing, or Tree tomato.
+The Buckeye State is a good type of these sorts. (Fig. 31.)
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 31--BUCKEYE STATE, SHOWING LONG NODES AND DISTANCE
+BETWEEN FRUIT CLUSTERS]
+
+Other varieties make a stout and vigorous but shorter growth, with more
+and heavier branches, shorter nodes and many small medium-sized clusters
+of fruit well distributed over the plant and which mature through a
+fairly long season. These sorts are usually very productive and our most
+popular varieties generally belong to this type, of which the Stone
+(Fig. 32) is a good representative of the more compact and the Beauty of
+the more open growing.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 32--STONE, AND CHARACTERISTIC FOLIAGE]
+
+Other varieties form many short, weak, sprawling branches, with
+usually large and sometimes very large clusters of fruit produced
+chiefly near the center of the plant and which mature early and all
+together. Plants of this type will often mature their entire crop and
+die by the time those of the first type have come into full crop. The
+Atlantic Prize (Fig. 33) and Sparks Earliana are examples of this type.
+
+In sharp contrast with the above is the tomato De Laye, often called
+Tree tomato. This originated about 1862 in a garden at Chateau de Laye,
+France. In this the plant rarely exceeds 18 inches in hight, is
+single-stemmed or with few very short branches, the nodes very short,
+the fruit clusters few and small. From this, by crossing with other
+types, there has been developed a distinct class of dwarf tomatoes which
+are of intermediate form and character and are well represented by the
+Dwarf Champion (Fig. 34). Early maturity is sometimes the most important
+consideration of all, though, because of increasing facilities for
+shipping from the South, it is less commonly so than formerly. For
+shipping and canning it is generally, though not always, desirable that
+the crop mature as nearly together as possible, that it may be gathered
+with the fewest number of pickings and advantage taken of a favorable
+market; while for the home garden and market a longer season is
+desirable.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 33--ATLANTIC PRIZE, AND ITS NORMAL FOLIAGE]
+
+=Foliage.=--Abundant, broad and close, or scanty cut and open foliage is
+sometimes of importance, according to whether the location, season and
+other conditions make it desirable that the foliage protect the fruit
+from the sun or admit the sunlight, with as little obstruction as
+possible, to the center of the plant. In different sorts, we have
+gradations from those in which the leaves are so deeply cut as to have a
+fern-like appearance, to those like the Magnus, or potato-leaved, in
+which the margin of each leaflet is entire, and from those in which the
+leaflets are so few and small as to scarcely shut out the light at all
+to those in which they are so numerous that the light can hardly
+penetrate to the center of the plant. The Atlantic Prize is an
+illustration of the scanty foliaged sorts, and the Royal Red or Buckeye
+State of those in which it is more abundant. As to color, the foliage
+varies from the dark blue-green of the Buckeye State to the light,
+distinctly yellowish-green of the Honor Bright.
+
+=Varietal differences as to fruit.=--These are often more important than
+those of vine. For canning, for forcing, and some other uses and for
+certain markets, a medium and uniform size is a very important quality,
+while in other cases uniformity is not important and the larger the
+individual fruits, provided they be well formed, the better. We have
+different sorts in which the size of the fruit varies from that of the
+Currant, which is scarcely 1 inch in circumference, to that of
+Ponderosa, of which well-formed specimens over 20 inches in
+circumference have been grown.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 34--DWARF CHAMPION. NOTE CHARACTER OF FOLIAGE]
+
+=Shape.=--It is always desirable that the outline of the vertical
+section shall be a flowing line with a broad and shallow, or no
+depression at the stem end and as little as possible at the opposite
+point; but the relative importance of this, or whether the general
+outline shall be round or oval, either vertically or horizontally,
+forming a round, long or flat fruit, is largely determined by how the
+fruit is to be used, and by individual taste. A round fruit is best
+for canning; a long one is the most economical for slicing, though some
+prefer a flat one for this purpose. It is always desirable that the
+outline of the horizontal section shall be smooth, flowing and
+symmetrical, and if there be any distinct sutures that they shall be
+shallow and broad; but the relative importance of this, and whether the
+outline be round or oval, is wholly a matter of individual taste. Some
+people and markets prefer one shape and others a very different one.
+Size and smoothness of fruit are the factors which control price in some
+markets, while in others these points are quite secondary to color and
+character of flesh.
+
+We have sorts which vary from the perfectly spherical ones of the grape
+and cherry, to those in which the vertical diameter is less than a third
+of that of the horizontal section; and the pear-shaped in which the
+vertical diameter is twice or thrice that of the longest horizontal
+section, and from those in which the outline of both the vertical and
+horizontal sections is smooth and flowing to those in which the vertical
+section has a deep indentation at both the stem and opposite ends, and
+those in which the horizontal section is broken by deep indentures and
+sutures often disposed with great irregularity.
+
+For shipping long distances, for the rough handling, and for the easy
+preparation for the fruit for canning, a thick, tough skin is desirable,
+while for home use it is objectionable. Freedom from blemish or skin
+crack is also often an important quality, and we have sorts which vary
+greatly in these respects. The color of the skin, whether purple, red,
+yellow or white, is a matter of taste. In some markets the choice is
+given to purple fruit, like the Beauty, while in others it can only be
+sold at a reduced price. There are few who would care to use either
+yellow or white fruit for canning or cooking in any way, but many prefer
+them for slicing, or like to use them with the red for this purpose; we
+have sorts showing every gradation from white or light yellow in color
+through shades of red to dark purple-red, and still others which show
+distinct colors in splashings and shadings.
+
+=Character of flesh.=--Many consider that the greater the number of cells
+and the larger the proportion of flesh to that of pulp and seed the
+better. This may be true of itself, but the fruit-like acid tomato
+flavor which most people value is found chiefly in the pulp, and the
+fruit which has not a due proportion of pulp and flesh seems to be
+insipid and tasteless. Again, the division into many small cells is
+often connected with a large and pithy placenta and unevenness in
+maturity and coloring, which faults often more than overbalance any
+advantage from small cells and thick flesh. The size and character of
+the placenta are important qualities.
+
+In some sorts it is large, dry, pithy and hard, extending far into the
+fruit even to below the center; and sometimes seems to divide into
+secondary or branch placentas or masses of hard cellular matter, while
+in other varieties it is small and so soft and juicy as scarcely to be
+distinguished from the flesh. Usually, but not invariably, the large and
+pithy placenta is correlated with large-sized fruit having many cells;
+where this is the case it practically necessitates the cutting away and
+wasting of a large proportion of the fruit in preparing it for canning,
+so that the canners usually prefer round, medium-sized fruits.
+
+The character of the interior of the fruit varies greatly in different
+varieties. Both the exterior and divisional walls vary in thickness and
+in consistency. In some varieties they are comparatively thin, hard and
+dry; in others, thicker, softer and more juicy. In some cases there is
+but little interior wall, the fruit being divided into but few--even but
+two--cells of even size and shape, while in others there are many cells
+of varying size and shape. Varieties also differ greatly as to the
+amount, consistency and flavor of the pulp and the number of seeds. It
+requires from 300 to 500 pounds of ripe fruit to furnish a pound of seed
+of Ponderosa, while with some of the smaller, earlier sorts one can get
+a pound of seed from 100 to 200 pounds of fruit.
+
+=Coloring and ripening.=--Uniformity and evenness in coloring and
+ripening are an important quality. Tomatoes generally color and ripen
+from within outward, and from the point opposite the stem upward, but
+varieties differ in the evenness and rapidity with which this takes
+place. It is always desirable that the ripening be as even as possible
+and that there be no green and hard spots either at the surface or in
+the flesh, but often perfection in this respect is correlated with such
+lack of size and solidity as to counterbalance it. Rapidity in ripening,
+in a general way, is desirable for fruit to be used at home, and
+undesirable in that which is to be shipped.
+
+The time a tomato fruit will remain in usable condition and the amount
+of rough handling it will endure without becoming unsalable are most
+important commercial qualities depending largely upon the combined
+effects of the form and structure of the fruit, solidity and firmness of
+the flesh and ripening habit. In all these respects we have varieties
+which differ greatly, from the Honor Bright, which requires as much time
+to ripen, and when ripe is firm-fleshed and will remain usable as long
+as a peach, to those which 24 hours after reaching their full size are
+fully colored and ripe, and in 24 hours more are so over-ripe and soft
+that they will break open of their own weight.
+
+These are only some of the varietal differences of the tomato. Are such
+differences of practical importance? I think they are, and that a wise
+selection of the type best suited to one's own particular conditions and
+requirements is one of the most essential requisites of satisfactory
+tomato culture. How important it seems to practical tomato growers may
+be illustrated by an actual case.
+
+In a certain section of New Jersey the money-making crop is early
+tomatoes, and they are grown to such an extent that from an area with a
+radius of not exceeding 5 miles they have shipped as much as 15,000
+bushels in one day, and the shipments will often average 8,000 bushels
+for days together. They have tried a great number of sorts, but have
+settled upon a certain type of a well-known variety as that best suited
+to their conditions and needs. Seeds of this variety which are supposed
+to produce plants of the exact type wanted can be bought from seedsmen
+for 10 cents an ounce and at much lower rates for larger quantities,
+but when one of the most successful growers of that locality, because of
+change of occupation, offered seed selected by him for his own use for
+sale at auction, it brought $3 an ounce. This price was paid because of
+the confidence of the bidders that the seed could be depended upon to
+produce plants of the exact type wanted for their conditions; and I was
+assured that the use of this high-priced seed actually added very
+largely to the profits from every field in that vicinity in which it was
+used, but the use of some of the same lot of seed by planters in Florida
+resulted in financial loss because the type of plant produced was not
+suited to their conditions and requirements.
+
+A wise answer can only be given after a study of each case, and no one
+can do this so well as the planter himself. He should know, as no one
+else can know, his own conditions and requirements, and should be able
+to form very exact ideas of just what he wants, and the doing so is, in
+my opinion, one of the most important requisites for satisfactory tomato
+growing. I also believe that it is as impossible for a man to answer
+offhand the question, "What is the best variety of tomato?" as for a
+wise physician to answer the question, "What is the best medicine?"
+
+=Varietal names= and descriptions mean something quite different in the
+case of plants like the tomato, which are propagated by seed, from what
+they do with plants like the apple and strawberry, which are propagated
+by division. In the latter case all the plants of the variety are but
+parts of the primal origination, and so are alike. A description is
+simply a more or less complete and accurate definition of what a
+certain immutable thing really is, but in the case of plants propagated
+by seed the variety is made up of all the plants which accord with a
+certain ideal. Bailey says, "Of all those which have more points of
+resemblance than of difference," and a description of the variety is of
+that ideal which in common practice is not fixed, but may and generally
+does vary not only with different people but from time to time. The only
+foundation for varietal names in plants of this class is an agreement as
+to the ideal the name shall stand for. Under modern horticultural
+practice when anyone has been able to secure seed most of which he is
+reasonably sure will develop into plants of a distinct type different
+from that of any sort known to him, he has a distinct variety, so that
+it is not surprising that we should find that American seedsmen offer
+tomato seed under more than 300 different names, and those of Europe
+under more than 200 additional, so that we have more than 500 varietal
+names, each claiming to stand for a distinct sort. Now it is quite
+possible--indeed, it is certain--that we might have 500 tomato plants
+each different in some respect, either of vine, leaf, habit of growth,
+or character of fruit, from any of the others and that these differences
+might make plants of one type better suited to certain conditions and
+uses than any other; but it is very certain that these 500 names do not
+stand for such differences. It is doubtless true that a portion--though
+I think but a small portion--of these different sorts exist simply as a
+matter of commercial expediency; but by far a greater part of them exist
+because one has found that plants of a certain character were better
+suited to some set of conditions and requirements than any sort with
+which he was acquainted, and having secured seed which he thought would
+produce plants of that character, has offered it as of a distinct sort.
+
+It is probable that a better acquaintance with sorts already in
+cultivation would have prevented the naming of many of these stocks as
+distinct varieties. What is of far more practical importance, the same
+name does not always stand for precisely the same type with different
+seedsmen, or even with the same seedsmen in different years; nor are the
+seedsmen's published descriptions such as would enable any one to learn
+from them just what type he will receive under any particular name, or
+which sort he should buy in order to get plants of any desired type.
+Seedsmen's catalogs are published and distributed gratuitously at great
+expense, and are issued, primarily, for the sake of selling the seeds
+they offer. They answer the purpose for which they are designed, in
+proportion as they secure orders for seeds. Will this be measured by the
+accuracy and completeness of their descriptions? I think that it needs
+but slight acquaintance with the actual results of advertising to answer
+in the negative, and whatever your answer may be, the answer given by
+the catalogs themselves is an emphatic no.
+
+In a recent case I looked very carefully through the catalogs of 125
+American seedsmen who listed a certain variety which is very markedly
+deficient in a certain desirable quality, and found that but 37 of the
+125 mentioned the quality in connection with the variety at all and of
+these but 7 admitted the deficiency, while 30 told the opposite of the
+truth. Even if a complete, exact and reliable description of a variety
+was published by disinterested persons, one could not be sure of getting
+seed from seedsmen which would produce plants of that exact type, since
+there is no agreement or uniformity among them as to the exact type any
+varietal name shall stand for.
+
+One way of getting seed of the exact type wanted is to do as the South
+Jersey growers did: go to work and breed up a stock which is uniformly
+of the type wanted; but this involves more painstaking care than many
+are willing to give, though I think not more than it would be most
+profitable for them to expend for the sake of getting seed just suited
+to their needs.
+
+A second and easier way is to secure samples of the most promising sorts
+and from the most reliable sources and grow them on one's own farm;
+select the stock which seems best for him and buy enough of that exact
+stock for several years' planting, and in the meantime be looking for a
+still better one. Tomato seed stored in a cool, dry place will retain
+its vitality for from three to seven years.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+Seed Breeding and Growing
+
+
+The potentialities of every plant and its limitations are inherent,
+fixed and immutable in the seed from which it is developed and are made
+up of the balanced sum of the different tendencies it receives in
+varying degree from each of its ancestors back for an indefinite number
+of generations. A very slight difference in the character or the degree
+of any one of the tendencies which go to make up this sum may make a
+most material difference in the balance and so in the resulting
+character of the plant produced. Different plants, even of the same
+ancestry, vary greatly in prepotency or in the relative dominance of the
+influence they have over descendants raised from seed produced by them.
+
+In some cases all the plants raised from seed produced by a certain
+plant will be essentially alike and closely resemble the seed-bearing
+plant, while seed from another plant of the same parentage will develop
+into plants differing from each other and seemingly more influenced by
+some distant ancestor or by varying combinations of such influences than
+of those of the plant which actually produced the seed from which they
+were developed. Successful seed breeding can only be accomplished by
+taking advantage of these principles of heredity and variation, and by a
+wise use of them it is possible to produce seed which can be depended
+upon to produce plants of any type possible to the species.
+
+=The first essential for breeding= is to have a clear and exact
+conception of precisely what, in all respects, the type shall be and
+then the securing of seed which has come from plants of that exact
+character for the greatest possible number of generations, carefully
+avoiding the introduction by cross-pollination of tendencies from plants
+differing in any degree from the desired type. Secondly, seed should be
+used from plants which have been proven to produce seed, which will
+develop into plants like themselves or are strongly prepotent. A
+practical way to accomplish this in the tomato is as follows:
+
+By experiment and observation form a very clear conception of precisely
+the type of plant and fruits which is best suited to your needs. This
+may be done by the study of available descriptions of sorts, by
+conference with those who have had experience in your own or similar
+climatic and soil conditions and in raising fruit for the same purposes
+and, best of all, by trials of samples of different sorts and stocks on
+your own grounds. Having formed such a conception, write out the
+clearest possible description of exactly what you want and the ideal
+plant you are aiming at, stating as fully and minutely as possible every
+desirable quality and also those to be avoided. I consider not only the
+formation of an exact ideal, but the writing out of a most minute and
+exact description of precisely what in every particular the ideal plant
+should be and the rigid adherence to that exact ideal in selection, as
+the most important elements of successful seed breeding. Without it one
+is certain to vary from year to year in the type selected and in just so
+far as he does this, even if it be toward what might be called
+improvements or in regard to an unimportant quality, he undermines all
+his work and makes it impossible to establish a strain which can be
+relied upon to produce an exact type.
+
+With this description in hand, search out one or more plants which seem
+the nearest to the ideal. In doing this it should be kept in mind that
+the character of the seed is determined by the plant rather than by the
+individual fruit. Therefore, a plant whose fruit is most uniformly of
+the desired type should be chosen over one having a small proportion of
+its fruits of very perfect type, the others being different and
+variable. Save seed from one or more fruits from each of the selected
+plants, keeping that from each fruit, or at least each plant, separate.
+Give it a number and make a record of how nearly, in each particular,
+the plant and fruit of each number come to the desired ideal. I regard
+the saving of each lot separately and recording its characters as very
+important, even when all have been selected to and come equally close to
+precisely the same ideal. Quite often the seed of one plant will produce
+plants precisely like it, while that of another, equal or superior, will
+produce plants of which no two are alike and none like that which
+produced the seed, so that often the mixing of seed from different
+plants of the same general type, and seemingly of equal quality,
+prevents the establishment of a uniform type.
+
+The next year from 10 to 100 plants raised from each lot are set in
+blocks and labeled. As they develop the blocks are studied and compared
+with the original description of the desired type and that of each plant
+from which seed was saved, and the block selected in which all the
+plants come the nearest to the desired type, and which show the least
+variation. From it plants are selected in the same way and to the same
+type as the previous year. It is better to make selections from such a
+block than to take the most superior plants from all of the blocks, or
+from one which produced but one or but a few superlative ones, the rest
+being variable.
+
+It is also well to consider the relative importance of different
+qualities in connection with the degree to which the different lots
+approach the ideal in these respects. Such a course of selection
+intelligently and carefully carried out will give, in from three to five
+years, strains of seed greatly superior and better adapted to one's own
+conditions than any which it is possible to purchase. A single or but a
+very few selections may be made each year, and the superior value of the
+seed of the remainder of the seed blocks for use in the field will be
+far more than the cost of the whole work.
+
+=Growing and saving commercial seed.=--The ideal way is for the seedsman
+to grow and select seed as described above and give this stock seed to
+farmers who plant in fields and cultivate it, much as is recommended for
+canning, and save seed from the entire crop, the pulp being thrown away.
+Only a few pickings are necessary and the seed is separated by machines
+worked by horse power at small cost, often not exceeding 10 cents a
+pound. They secure from 75 to 250 pounds per acre, according to the
+variety and crop, and the seedsmen pay them 40 cents to $1 a pound for
+it. Some of our more careful seedsmen produce all the seed they use in
+this way; others buy of professional seed growers, who use more or less
+carefully grown stock seed. In other cases when the fruit is fully ripe
+it is gathered, and the seeds, pulp and skins, are separated by
+machinery; the seed is sold to seedsmen, the pulp made into catsup, and
+only the skins are thrown away. Still others get their supply by washing
+out and saving the seed from the waste of canneries. Such seed is just
+as good as seed saved _from the same grade of tomatoes_ in any other
+way, but the fruit used by the canneries is, usually, a mixture of
+different crops and grades, and even of different varieties, and
+consequently the seed is mixed and entirely lacking in uniformity and
+distinctness of type.
+
+Generally from 5 to 20 per cent. of the plants produced by seed as
+commonly grown either by the farmer himself or the seedsmen, though they
+may be alike in more conspicuous characteristics, will show varietal
+differences of such importance as to affect more or less materially the
+value of the plant for the conditions and the purposes for which it is
+grown. In a book like this it is useless to attempt to give long
+varietal descriptions even of the sorts commonly listed by seedsmen,
+since such descriptions would be more a statement of what the writer
+thought seed of that variety should be rather than of what one would be
+likely to receive under that name.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+Production for Canning
+
+
+=Growing for canning= has many advantages over growing for market. Some
+of these are that it is not necessary to start the plants so early, that
+they can be grown at less cost, and set in the field when smaller and
+with less check, and on this latter account are apt to give a large
+yield. It is not necessary to gather the fruit so often, nor to handle
+it so carefully, while practically all of it is saleable. For these
+reasons the cost of production is lower and it is less variable than
+with crops grown for market. Still farmers and writers do not agree at
+all as to the actual cost. It is claimed by some that where the factory
+is within easy reach of the field the cost of growing, gathering and
+delivering a full yield of tomatoes need not exceed $12 to $18 an acre,
+while others declare they cannot be grown for less than $40. Nearly
+one-third of this cost is for picking and delivering, and varies more
+with the facilities for doing this easily and promptly and with the
+yield than with crops grown for market. A large proportion of the crops
+grown for canning are poorly cultivated and unwisely handled, so that
+the average yield throughout the entire country is very low, hardly
+exceeding 100 bushels an acre. But where weather and other conditions
+are favorable, and with judicious cultivation, a yield of 300 to 800
+bushels an acre can be expected. I have known of many larger ones.
+
+A large proportion of the tomatoes grown for canning are planted under
+contract, by which the farmer agrees to deliver the entire yield of
+fruit fit for canning, which may be produced on a given area, at the
+contract price per bushel or ton. The canner is to judge what fruit is
+fit for canning and this often results in great dissatisfaction. To the
+grower it seems in many cases as though the quantity of acceptable fruit
+paid for was determined quite as much by the abundance or scarcity of
+the general crop as by the weight hauled to the factory. The prices paid
+by the factories for the past 10 years run from 10 to 25 cents a bushel,
+while canning tomatoes in the open market for the same period have
+brought from 8 to 50 cents a bushel, which, however, are exceptional
+prices. In all but two of the past 10 years uncontracted tomatoes could
+generally be sold, in most sections, for more than was paid on contract.
+I have given the price a bushel, though canning tomatoes are usually
+sold by the ton. The cost of the product of a well-equipped cannery is
+divided about as follows: fruit, 30 per cent.; handling, preparing and
+processing the fruit, 18 per cent.; cost of cans, labels, cases, etc.,
+43 per cent.; labeling, packing and selling, 0.035 per cent.;
+incidentals, 0.055 per cent.
+
+=Canning on the farm.=--While as a general proposition such work as
+canning tomatoes can usually be done at less cost in a central plant,
+yet in many cases the grower can profitably do this on the farm, thus
+saving not only the expense of delivery at the factory, but the
+dissatisfaction with weights credited and delays in receiving the fruit.
+But very little special apparatus or machinery (more than some form of
+boiler for supplying steam) is needed, and this and the cans can be
+readily obtained of dealers in canners' supplies. In Maryland and
+neighboring states many dealers furnish all necessary machinery, cans
+and other requisites and contract for the crop delivered in cans.
+
+Canning on the farm where the fruit is grown would be more generally
+practiced except for the popular demand that the canned product shall be
+brighter colored than it is possible to produce from fruit alone, and
+the necessary dyeing and other doctoring can be more easily and
+skilfully done at a central factory, though it is always at the
+sacrifice of flavor and healthfulness for the sake of appearance.
+Another advantage of canning on the farm is that it can be done with
+less waste of fruit. The hauling to the factory and delay in working the
+fruit result in a great deal of waste. The average cannery does not
+obtain more than 1,200 pounds of product from a ton of fruit, there
+being 800 pounds of waste, while with sound, ripe, perfectly fresh
+fruit, it is entirely practical to secure from 1,600 to 1,800 pounds of
+canned goods from a ton, and this saving in waste would more than
+counterbalance the gain from the use of the better machinery possible in
+the factory.
+
+=The process of canning= is simple and consists first of rinsing off the
+fruit, then in wire baskets or pails dipping it into boiling hot water
+to start the skins, which will require but two to four minutes. While
+they are still hot they should be peeled and imperfections cut out,
+then promptly placed in the cans, which should be fully filled; it is
+well to do this by adding the juice which has escaped while peeling,
+instead of water, as is done in the larger factories. This will give the
+canned fruit better color and lessen the need of dye. Place in a hot box
+for three to five minutes until heated through, wipe top of can clean
+and drop perforated cap in place, add flux and solder, seal cap in place
+with round capper, close perforation in cap with drop of solder. Place
+in box or kettle and steam or boil for 20 to 40 minutes. If the tomatoes
+were all ripe and none over-ripe, and have been kept hot from the time
+they went into the scalding kettle until the sealed cans are in the
+kettle, 20 minutes' cooking will make them surer to keep than 40 minutes
+would with fruit such as is commonly received at factories, or that
+which has been allowed to cool once or twice while in process.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+Cost of Production
+
+
+There are a few vegetables or fruits where the cost of production and
+the price received are more variable than with the tomato. The cost per
+acre for raising the fruit varies with the conditions of soil,
+facilities for doing the work economically and with the season, while
+that of marketing the product varies still more. Under usual conditions,
+the growing of an acre of tomatoes and the gathering and marketing of
+the fruit will cost from $18 to $90, of which from 15 to 40 per cent. is
+spent in fertilizing and preparing the ground, 5 to 10 per cent. for
+plants, 20 to 30 per cent. for cultivation, and 25 to 40 per cent. for
+gathering and handling the fruit. The last item, of course, varies
+somewhat with, but not in proportion to, the amount of the crop, as it
+costs proportionately less to gather a large than a small crop, and for
+canners' use than for market.
+
+The expense of shipping and marketing the crop varies so greatly
+according to the conditions and methods that I do not attempt to state
+the amount. The total yield of fruit runs from 200 to 600 or 700 bushels
+to the acre, a 200-bushel crop of tomatoes comparing as to amount with
+one of 25 bushels of wheat and a 700-bushel crop of tomatoes with one of
+60 bushels of wheat; with the best and wisest cultivation and under the
+most favorable conditions one can as reasonably hope for one as for the
+other. Of this total yield, from 10 to 25 per cent. of the fruit should
+be such as, because of earliness and quality, can be sold as extras, and
+there is usually from 5 to 10 per cent., and sometimes a much larger per
+cent., which should be rejected as unsalable. The selected fruit should
+net from $1 to $5 a bushel, the common from 30 to 75 cents--making the
+returns for a 200-bushel yield well sold in a nearby market $70 to $350,
+and proportionately larger, for a better yield. In practice I have known
+of crops which gave a profit above expenses of over $1,000 an acre. This
+came, however, from exceptionally favorable conditions and skilled
+marketing, and I have known of many more crops where, though the fruit
+was equally large and well grown, the profit was less than $100.
+
+In this country a greenhouse is seldom used solely for the growing of
+tomatoes, but other crops--such as lettuce--are grown in connection with
+the tomatoes, so that it is impracticable to give the cost of
+production. As grown at the Ohio state experiment station--and the crop
+ripened in late spring or early summer and sold on the market of smaller
+cities--greenhouse tomatoes have yielded about two pounds a square foot
+of glass and brought an average price of 12 cents per pound. In other
+cases yields as high as 10 pounds a foot of glass and an average price
+of 40 cents a pound have been reported.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+Insects Injurious to the Tomato
+
+    By DR. F. H. CHITTENDEN
+    Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agriculture
+
+
+From the time tomato plants are set in the field until the fruit has
+ripened they are subject to the attacks of insects which frequently
+cause serious injury. On the whole, however, the tomato is not so
+susceptible to damage as are some related crops--such as the potato.
+
+=Cutworms.=--Of insects most to be feared and of those which attack the
+plants when they are first set out are cutworms of various species. The
+grower is as a rule quite too familiar with these insects, and no
+description of their methods is necessary, beyond the statement that
+they cut off and destroy more than they eat and re-setting is frequently
+necessary. The best remedy is a poisoned bait, prepared by dipping
+bunches of clover, weeds, or other vegetation in a solution of Paris
+green or other arsenical, 1 pound to 100 gallons of water. These baits
+are distributed in small lots over the ground _before_ the plants are
+set, the precaution being observed that the land is free for two or
+three weeks from any form of vegetation. This will force the hungry
+"worms" to feed on the baits, to their prompt destruction. A bran-mash
+is also used instead of weeds or clover, and is prepared by combining
+one part by weight of arsenic, one of sugar, and six of sweetened bran,
+with enough water added to make a mash. The baits are renewed if they
+become too dry, or they can be kept moist by placing them under shingles
+or pieces of board.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 35--CUTWORM AND PARENT MOTH (_Feltia subgothica_)
+(From Chittenden, U. S. Department of Agriculture)]
+
+=Flea-beetles= attack the plants soon after they are set, and their
+injuries can be prevented by dipping the young plants before setting in
+a solution of arsenate of lead, about 1 pound to 50 gallons of water, or
+Paris green, 1 pound to 100 gallons. If this precaution has not been
+observed a spray of either of these arsenicals used in the proportion
+specified will suffice, repeating if the insects continue on the plants.
+In the preparation of the spray a pound of fresh lime to each pound of
+the arsenical should be added; or, better yet, Bordeaux mixture should
+be employed as a diluent instead of water. This mixture has some
+insecticidal value, is a most valuable fungicide, and is also a
+powerful deterrent of flea-beetle attack, acting to a less degree
+against other insects which are apt to be found on the tomato. In
+applying any spray a sprayer costing not less than $7 is a positive
+necessity.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 36--FLEA-BEETLE Does great injury to young plants.
+Much enlarged. Actual size shown by line at right. (From Chittenden)]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 37--MARGINED BLISTER BEETLE (From Chittenden)]
+
+=The Colorado potato beetle=, or "potato bug," sometimes injures
+tomatoes, but not as a rule when potatoes are available. This suggests
+the use of potatoes as a trap crop, planted in about three rows
+completely around the field of tomatoes. The arsenicals used in the same
+proportion as for flea-beetles will destroy the potato beetle. It is
+necessary to keep the trap potatoes well sprayed to prevent them from
+breeding on these plants and migrating to the tomatoes. Potato beetles
+can also be controlled by jarring them from the affected plants into
+large pans containing a little water on which a thin scum of kerosene is
+floating.
+
+=Blister beetles= may be controlled, under ordinary circumstances, by
+the same method employed against the Colorado beetle. When they are
+present in great numbers a good remedy consists in driving them with the
+wind from the cultivated fields into windrows of straw or similar dry
+material previously prepared along the leeward side of the field, where
+they will congregate and can be burned.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 38--TOMATO WORM (_Protoparce sexta_) (_a_) Adult
+moth; (_b_) full-grown larva; (_c_) pupa--all reduced. (After Howard, U.
+S. Dept. Agr.)]
+
+=The tomato worms=, of which there are two common species closely
+resembling each other, are often abundant and destructive on tomato
+foliage, particularly southward. The arsenicals will kill them, or they
+can be held in check by hand-picking, a little experience enabling one
+to detect their presence readily. Turkeys are utilized in destroying
+these worms in the South.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 39--TOMATO STALK-BORER (_Papaipema nitela_)
+(_a_) Female moth; (_b_) half-grown larva; (_c_) mature larva in injured
+stalk; (_d_) lateral view of abdominal segment; (_e_) pupa--all somewhat
+enlarged. (From Chittenden, U. S. Dept. Agr.)]
+
+=The stalk-borer=, as its name implies, attacks the stalk, and is an
+intermittent pest, though quite annoying at times. It is difficult to
+combat, but its injuries may be prevented by care in keeping down, and
+by _promptly_ destroying, the weeds after they are pulled or hoed out
+during the growing season. If weeds are left to dry the striped
+caterpillar of this species will desert them and enter cultivated
+plants. Ragweed and burdock are the principal foods of this insect, and
+special attention should be given to eradicate them where tomatoes are
+planted. Crop rotation is advisable where this can be conveniently
+practiced, and such plants as cabbage, radish and the like, onions,
+beets, asparagus and celery are suggested as alternates. When the plants
+are sprayed with arsenicals for other insects this will operate to a
+certain extent against the stalk-borer.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 40--CHARACTERISTIC WORK OF THE TOMATO FRUIT WORM
+(_Heliothis obsoleta_) (Redrawn by Johnson from C. V. Riley)]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 41--ADULT MOTH, OR PARENT OF TOMATO FRUIT WORM
+(From Chittenden, U. S. Department of Agriculture)]
+
+=The tomato fruit worm= (Fig. 40) known as the bollworm of cotton and the
+ear worm of corn, is frequently the cause of serious trouble to tomato
+growers, especially in the southern states, due to its pernicious habit
+of eating into and destroying the green and ripening fruit. For its
+control it is advisable not to plant tomatoes in proximity to old corn
+or cotton fields, nor should land be used in regions where this species
+is abundant until it has been fall or winter plowed. Sweet corn planted
+about the field before the tomatoes are set will serve as a lure for the
+parent moths to deposit their eggs, corn and cotton being favorite foods
+of this species and preferred to tomatoes. The fruit worm feeds to a
+certain extent on the foliage before penetrating the fruit, and it is
+possible to keep it in subjection by spraying with arsenicals as advised
+for the flea-beetles. It is suggested that arsenate of lead, being more
+adhesive than other arsenicals, should be used for the first sprayings,
+beginning when the fruit commences to form, repeating once or twice as
+found necessary, and making a last spraying with Paris green within a
+few days of ripening. This last poison will readily wash off and there
+is no danger whatever of poisoning to human beings, as has been
+conclusively proved in numerous similar cases. For the perfect success
+of this remedy the last spraying is essential, as those who have
+sprayed with an arsenical and have reported only partial good results
+have discontinued within about two weeks of the time of the ripening of
+the first fruit.
+
+=White fly or aleyrodes.=--These minute insects are familiar to most
+growers who raise tomatoes under glass. They can be held in control by
+vaporization or fumigation with tobacco or nicotine extracts, or by
+spraying with kerosene emulsion or the so-called whale-oil (fish-oil)
+soap. Care is necessary in using the extracts that the smudge does not
+become too dense and injure the plants. Before applying this remedy on a
+large scale a preliminary trial should be made following the directions
+on the packages, and reducing the amount if any ill results follow.
+Hydrocyanic acid gas, properly used, is also an excellent remedy for
+aleyrodes, aphides, "mealy-bug," and other soft-bodied insects which are
+sometimes troublesome on greenhouse tomatoes.
+
+    For a complete account of the methods of making and handling
+    hydrocyanic acid gas, see Professor Johnson's book entitled
+    "Fumigation Methods," published by Orange Judd Company, of New
+    York. Sent postpaid for $1.--[AUTHOR.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+Tomato Diseases
+
+    By W. A. ORTON
+    U. S. Department of Agriculture
+
+DISEASES NOT CAUSED BY FUNGI OR INSECTS
+
+
+The health of tomato plants is to a large extent dependent on the
+conditions under which they are being grown. The character and physical
+condition of the soil, the supply of water and plant food, the
+temperature and amount of sunlight, are all factors of the greatest
+importance in the growth and development of the crop. When there are
+variations from the normal in the case of any of these the plant adapts
+itself to the change as far as possible, but its functions may be so
+disturbed as to result in ill health or disease. It is in many cases
+difficult to draw a line between a natural re-action of the plant to its
+environment and a state of disease. For example, the trouble described
+in the next paragraph seems to fall into the first class.
+
+=Shedding of blossoms.=--The tomato is very liable to drop its buds and
+blossoms and in some instances partial or total crop failures have
+resulted. The principal causes are an over-rapid growth, due in many
+cases to an excess of nitrogenous fertilizers, unfavorable weather
+conditions, especially cold winds, continued rainy or moist weather,
+which hinders pollination, lack of sunlight, or extremely hot weather.
+Such shedding can be partially controlled by pruning away the lateral
+branches as soon as formed and topping the plants after the third
+cluster of fruit has set, and by a reduction in the use of nitrogenous
+fertilizers. A failure to set fruit in the greenhouse is often due to
+lack of pollination, which must be remedied by hand pollination.
+
+=Cracking of the fruit.=--The formation of cracks or fissures in the
+nearly mature fruit is due to variations in the water supply and other
+conditions affecting growth at this stage. If after the development of
+the outer portion of the fruit has been checked by drought there follows
+a period of abundant water supply and rapid growth, the fruit expands
+more rapidly than its epidermis and the latter is ruptured. Some
+varieties of tomatoes are much less subject to this trouble than others
+and should be given preference on this account. The grower, so far as
+lies in his power, should seek to maintain an uninterrupted growth by
+thorough preparation of the land, by cultivation or by mulching. If the
+half-grown fruits are enclosed in paper bags, cracking may be prevented,
+but at the risk of loss of flavor in the ripened fruit.
+
+=Leaf curl.=--The effect of pruning is to stimulate growth and to
+increase the size of the leaves, the effort of the plant being to
+maintain a balance between roots and foliage. With rapidly growing
+plants, especially in the greenhouse and garden where both high manuring
+and pruning have been practiced, more or less curling and distortion of
+the leaves may result without developing into serious trouble if the
+grower takes the hint and modifies his methods so as to permit a more
+balanced growth. On the other hand, the ill effects of over-feeding and
+pruning may reach a point where the plant is seriously crippled.
+
+=Edema.=--Under certain conditions plants in greenhouses or even in the
+open field, may absorb water through the roots faster than it can be
+transpired through the leaves, with the result that dropsical swellings
+or blisters occur on the leaves and more succulent stems. There is also
+a deformation of the foliage, much like the leaf-curl produced by
+over-feeding. This trouble, known as edema, occurs when the soil is
+warmer than the air, or during periods of moist, warm, cloudy weather,
+which checks transpiration. The grower should cease pruning, and
+withhold water, and in the field cultivate deeply. In the greenhouse,
+adequate ventilation should be given, keeping the house dry rather than
+moist.
+
+=Mosaic disease.=--The tomato is occasionally subject to a trouble allied
+to the mosaic disease of tobacco. It is characterized by a variegation
+of the leaves into light and dark green areas, usually accompanied by
+distortion and reduction in size. In severe cases a whole field may
+become worthless. While the nature of this malady is not fully
+understood, it is known to be due to a disordered nutrition of the young
+leaf-cells. It can be produced by severe pruning or by mutilation of the
+roots in transplanting, both of which should be carefully avoided. It is
+more likely to occur in seedlings that have made a soft, rapid growth on
+account of an excess of nitrogenous fertilizer or too high temperature.
+Close, clayey soils, on account of their poor physical condition, also
+favor the development of the disease after transplanting.
+
+=Western blight (Yellows).=--In the North Pacific and Rocky Mountain
+states, serious losses are annually caused by a disease apparently
+unlike any eastern trouble. It is marked by a gradual yellowing of the
+foliage and fruit. Development is checked, the leaves curl upward and
+the plant dies without wilting. The nature and cause of this disease is
+as yet unknown. It appears to be worst on new land. Experiments that
+have been made indicate that in older cultivated fields thorough
+preparation of the soil, manuring and cultivation, combined with care in
+transplanting to avoid injuring the roots and checking growth, will
+greatly restrict the spread of this blight.
+
+
+DISEASES CAUSED BY PARASITES
+
+There are several fungous parasites of tomatoes, which, for the readers
+convenience, may be briefly mentioned and the treatment of all discussed
+together. The first three are indeed somewhat difficult to tell apart
+without a microscope, as they produce a similar effect on the leaves and
+all yield to the same treatment--thorough spraying with Bordeaux
+mixture.
+
+=Leaf spot= (_Septoria lycopersici_ Speg.) has been widely prevalent and
+injurious during recent years. It produces small, roundish dark-brown
+spots on leaves and stems. The lower leaves are attacked first and
+gradually curl up, die and fall off. The vitality of the plant is
+reduced and it is only kept alive by the young leaves formed at the
+top.
+
+The fungus that causes early blight of potatoes (_Alternaria solani_ (E.
+& M.) J. & G.) occurs on tomatoes also, sometimes doing much injury. The
+spots formed are at first small and black, later enlarging and
+exhibiting fine concentric rings.
+
+A somewhat similar leaf-blight results from a species of
+_Cylindrosporium_, and other fungi may occur on diseased leaves.
+
+=Leaf mold= (_Cladosporium fulvum_ Cke.) is quite distinct from the
+foregoing in appearance. It does not cause such distinct spots but
+occurs in greenish brown, velvety patches of irregular outline on the
+under side of the leaves. The lower leaves are first attacked, and as
+the disease progresses they turn yellow and drop off. This is the
+principal fungous enemy of greenhouse tomatoes, but also does injury in
+gardens, particularly in Florida and the Gulf region. It is readily
+controlled by spraying. In the greenhouse care should be taken to
+ventilate well, without, however, allowing cold drafts to strike the
+plants.
+
+=Downy mildew= (_Phytopthora infestans_ DeBy.), the cause of the late
+blight of potatoes, will attack tomatoes during cool and very moist
+weather, which greatly favors its development. Such outbreaks sometimes
+occur to a limited extent in New England and serious losses are reported
+on the winter crop in southern California, but the disease has never
+been troublesome in other sections of the country, as it cannot develop
+in dry or hot weather. It affects the tomato as it does the potato,
+forming on the leaves dark, discolored spots, which spread rapidly under
+favorable conditions, killing the foliage in a few days. The fruit is
+also attacked and becomes covered with the mildew-like spore-bearing
+threads of the fungus. Bordeaux mixture properly applied is an efficient
+preventive.
+
+=Spraying tomatoes.=--It should be the invariable practice of the tomato
+grower to spray with Bordeaux mixture to prevent injury from any of
+these leaf-blights. This should be done while the plants are still
+healthy, as if put off until the disease appears the battle is half
+lost. Make the first application to the young plants in the seed-bed a
+few days before transplanting. Spray again within a week after the
+plants are set in the field, and repeat at intervals of ten days or two
+weeks until the fruit is full grown. Success in spraying depends mainly
+on the thoroughness of the work. The aim should be to cover every leaf
+with a fine mist. Do not drench the foliage but pass to the next plant
+before the drops run together and off the leaf. Use a nozzle that gives
+a fine spray and maintain a high pressure at the pump.
+
+_Preparation of Bordeaux mixture._--Formula: Copper sulphate
+(bluestone), 5 pounds; lime, 5 pounds; and water, 50 gallons. The copper
+sulphate may be either in crystals or pulverized. Dissolve by suspending
+the required amount in a coarse sack near the top of the water a few
+hours before it will be needed. The lime must be fresh stone lime of
+good quality. Slake thoroughly by the addition of small quantities of
+water at a time as needed, stirring until all small lumps are slaked.
+Strain both the lime milk and the copper sulphate or bluestone solution
+through a brass strainer of 18 meshes per inch and dilute each with half
+the water before mixing together. Do not use Bordeaux left over from
+the previous day. An old mixture or one made from the concentrated
+solutions has a poor physical condition. It settles more quickly, tends
+to clog the nozzle and does not adhere so well to the foliage. Failure
+to use the strainer results in endless trouble in the field from clogged
+nozzles.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 42--PROPER WAY TO MAKE BORDEAUX (From W. G.
+Johnson)]
+
+When much spraying is to be done it is more convenient to keep the
+bluestone and lime in separate permanent stock solutions, as shown in
+Fig. 42, containing 2 pounds to the gallon of their respective
+ingredients. These will keep indefinitely, if the water evaporated is
+replaced, and may be used from as needed.
+
+_Spraying apparatus._--Tomato growers having only a small area to spray
+may use one of the numerous forms of hand-pumps or bucket sprayers now
+on the market. For larger fields it will be necessary to employ a
+barrel sprayer. This consists of a hand-pump mounted in a barrel or tank
+and equipped with two leads of 3/8 inch hose 25 feet long, each with a
+four-foot, extension made from 1/4 inch gas pipe, and a double Vermorel
+nozzle. The barrel should be carried in an ordinary farm wagon. Three
+men do the work. One is expected to drive and pump, while the other two
+manipulate the nozzles. The outfit is stopped while the plants within
+reach are sprayed, then driven forward about 30 feet and stopped again.
+On an average in actual field practice 3 to 4 acres a day can be sprayed
+in this way, applying 100 to 200 gallons of Bordeaux per acre. To keep
+the long hose off the plants two poles about 10 feet long may be pivoted
+to the bed of the wagon so as to swing at an angle over the wheel and
+carry the hose. The pump for this outfit should be of good capacity,
+with brass valves. A "Y" shut-off discharge connection on the pump is a
+convenience for stopping the spray at any time. The most satisfactory
+nozzles are those of the Vermorel type. It is cheapest in the long run
+to buy the best grades of pumps on the market. This outfit is
+excellently adapted for spraying small fields of potatoes and for
+general orchard work, and is invaluable on the average farm.
+
+=Phytoptosis.=--This disease is known to occur only in Florida, where it
+is sometimes common enough to require remedial treatment. The affected
+portions of the foliage are more or less distorted and covered with an
+ashy white fuzz. The general vigor and fruitfulness of the plants are
+greatly reduced. The name applied to this trouble denotes its cause, an
+extremely small mite (_Phytoptus calacladophora_ Nal.), which by its
+presence on the leaves or stems so irritates them as to result in the
+abundant development of modified plant hairs, which shelter the mites
+and form the fuzzy covering characteristic of the disease. A remedy for
+phytoptosis is available in the sulphur compounds. The following one is
+particularly recommended by Prof. P. H. Rolfs, to whom our knowledge of
+the disease is due:
+
+_Preparation of sulphur spray._--Place 30 pounds of flowers of sulphur
+in a wooden tub large enough to hold 25 gallons. Wet the sulphur with 3
+gallons of water, stir it to form a paste. Then add 20 pounds of 98 per
+cent. caustic soda (28 pounds should be used if the caustic soda is 70
+per cent.) and mix it with the sulphur paste. In a few minutes it
+becomes very hot, turns brown, and becomes a liquid. Stir thoroughly and
+add enough water to make 20 gallons. Pour off from the sediment and keep
+the liquid as a stock solution in a tight barrel or keg. Of this
+solution use 4 quarts to 50 gallons of water. Apply with a spray pump
+whenever the disease appears, and repeat if required by its later
+reappearance. The use of dry sulphur is also recommended.
+
+
+DISEASES OF THE FRUIT
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 43--POINT-ROT DISEASE OF THE TOMATO (Redrawn from
+N. Y. Expr. Sta. No. 125)]
+
+=Point-rot.=--This trouble, called also "blossom-end rot," and
+"black-rot," occurs on the green fruit at various stages of development,
+as shown in Fig. 43. It begins at the blossom end as a sunken brown
+spot, which gradually enlarges until the fruit is rendered worthless.
+The decayed spot is often covered in its later stages by a dense black
+fungous growth (_Alternaria fasciculata_ (C. & E.) J. & G. syn.
+_Macrosporium tomato_ Cke.), formerly thought to be the cause of the
+rot, but now known to be merely a saprophyte. Point-rot sometimes occurs
+in greenhouses, but is more common in field culture. It is one of the
+most destructive diseases of the tomato, but its nature is not fully
+worked out, and a uniformly successful treatment is unknown. It has been
+thought to be due to bacterial invasion, but complete demonstrations of
+that fact have not yet been published. The physiological conditions of
+the plant appear to be important. The disease is worst in dry weather
+and light soils, where the moisture supply is insufficient, and
+irrigation is beneficial in such cases. Spraying does not control
+point-rot so far as present evidence goes.
+
+=Anthracnose--ripe-rot=--(_Colletotrichum phomoides_ (Sacc.) Chest.), is
+distinguished from the point-rot by the fact that it occurs mainly on
+ripe or nearly ripe fruits, producing a soft and rapid decay. Widespread
+losses from this cause are not common, but when a field becomes infected
+a considerable proportion of the crop within a limited area may be
+destroyed if humid or rainy weather prevails. Preventive measures only
+can be employed. These should consist in collecting and destroying
+diseased fruit and in staking and trimming the vines to admit light and
+air to dry out the foliage. Bordeaux mixture applied after the
+development of the disease would be of doubtful efficiency and would be
+objectionable on account of the sediment left on the ripe fruit.
+
+
+DISEASES OF THE ROOT OR STEM
+
+=Damping off.=--Young plants in seed-beds often perish suddenly from a
+rot of the stem at the surface of the ground. This occurs as a rule in
+dull, cloudy weather among plants kept at too high a temperature,
+crowded too closely in the beds or not sufficiently ventilated. Several
+kinds of fungi are capable of causing damping off, under such
+conditions.
+
+_Preventive measures_ are of the first importance. Since old soil is
+often full of fungous spores left by previous crops, it is the wisest
+plan to use sterilized soil for the seed-bed. When the young plants are
+growing, constant watchfulness is required to avoid conditions that will
+weaken the seedlings and favor the damping off fungi.
+
+_Watering and ventilation_ are the two points that require especial
+skill. Watering should be done at midday, to allow the beds to drain
+before night, and only enough water for the thorough moistening of the
+soil should be applied. Ventilation should be given every warm day as
+the temperature and sunshine will permit, but the plants must be
+protected from rain and cold winds. Work the surface of the soil to
+permit aeration and do not crowd the plants too closely in the beds. If
+damping off develops something can be done to check it by scattering a
+layer of dry, warm sand over the surface, and by spraying the bed
+thoroughly with weak Bordeaux or by applying dry sulphur and air-slaked
+lime.
+
+=Bacterial wilt= (_Bacterium solanacearum_ Erw. Sm.).--This disease,
+which also attacks potatoes and eggplants and some related weeds, is one
+of the most serious enemies of the tomato. It is known to occur from
+Connecticut southward to Florida and westward to Colorado, but is most
+prevalent in the Gulf States, where it has greatly discouraged many
+growers.
+
+_Its most prominent symptoms_ are the wilting of the foliage and a
+browning of the wood inside the recently wilted stems. An affected plant
+wilts first at the top, or a single branch wilts, but later the entire
+plant yellows, wilts and dies. Young plants wilt more suddenly and dry
+up. The disease progresses more rapidly in plants that have made a
+succulent, luxurious growth, while those with hard, woody stems resist
+it somewhat.
+
+_The disease is due_ to the invasion of bacteria, which enter the leaves
+through the aid of leaf-eating insects, or through the roots. They plug
+the water-carrying vessels of the stem, shutting off the water and food
+supply of the plant. If the stem of a plant freshly wilted from this
+disease be severed, the bacteria will ooze out in dirty white drops on
+the cut surface.
+
+=Remedial measures= entirely satisfactory for the control of bacterial
+wilt have not yet been worked out. The best methods to adopt at present
+are the following:
+
+(1) _Rotation of crops._--The field evidence is that this disease is in
+many cases localized in old gardens or in definite spots in the field.
+It appears also that the infection left by a diseased crop can remain in
+the soil for some time. It is therefore advised that tomato growers
+should always practice a rotation of crops, whether any disease has
+appeared or not, and that in case bacterial wilt develops they should
+not plant that land in tomatoes, potatoes, or eggplants for three or
+four years. The length of rotation necessary to free the soil is not
+known, but will have to be worked out by the individual grower.
+
+(2) _Destruction of diseased plants._--The bacteria causing wilt not
+only spread through the soil but are carried by insects from freshly
+wilted to healthy plants. Diseased plants thus become dangerous sources
+of infection, and it is evident that all such should be pulled out and
+burned. This is particularly important at the beginning of the trouble
+when the eradication of a few wilting plants may save the remainder.
+
+(3) _Control of insects._--To lessen the danger from spread of wilt by
+insects, the measures advised in the next chapter for the control of
+leaf-eating insects should be adopted. In this connection it should be
+mentioned that the use of Bordeaux mixture for leaf blights, as
+previously recommended, has an additional value in that the coating on
+the leaves is distasteful to insects and helps to keep them away.
+
+(4) _Seed selection._--Work done at the Florida experiment station
+indicates that resistant varieties may be secured, but there are as yet
+none in commercial use. This is an important line for experimenters to
+follow up. There is no proof that the disease is spread through seed
+from diseased plants.
+
+=Fusarium wilt.=--This disease and the one following resemble the
+bacterial wilt so closely, as far as external characters go, that they
+are difficult to tell apart. The parasites, however, differ so
+materially in their nature and life history that the field treatment is
+quite different. There are also differences in geographical distribution
+that are important, for while the Fusarium wilt occurs occasionally
+throughout the southern states, it is known to be of general commercial
+importance only in southern Florida and southern California.
+
+_The symptoms of the disease_ are a gradual wilting and dying of the
+plants, usually in the later stages of their development. Young plants
+die, however, when the soil infection is severe. There is a browning of
+the woody portions of the stem, and when a section of this is examined
+under a compound microscope the vessels are found to be filled with
+fungous threads, which shut off the water supply.
+
+_The infection_ in the Fusarium wilt appears to come entirely from the
+soil. Little is known of its manner of spread, except that the
+cultivation of a tomato crop in certain districts appears to leave the
+soil infected so that a crop planted the next year will be injured or
+destroyed. The fungus does not remain in the soil for a very long time
+in sufficient abundance to cause serious harm. A rotation of crops that
+will bring tomatoes on the land once in three years has been found in
+Florida to prevent loss from Fusarium wilt.
+
+_This fungus does not attack any other crop_ than tomatoes, so far as
+known, though it is very closely related to species of Fusarium
+producing similar diseases in cotton, melon, cowpea, flax, etc. Fusarium
+wilt has not been found in fields and gardens in the northern states,
+but tomatoes in greenhouses there are sometimes attacked by it or a
+related Fusarium, which also occurs in England. When greenhouse beds are
+infected the soil for the next crop should be thoroughly sterilized by
+steam under pressure.
+
+=Sclerotium wilt.=--This disease resembles the two preceding in its
+effect on the plant, which wilts at the tip first, and gradually dies.
+Its geographical range is more restricted. It seems to be confined to
+northern Florida and the southern part of Georgia and Alabama, where it
+occurs in gardens and old cultivated fields. The fungus causing this
+wilt attacks the root and the stem near the ground, working in from the
+outside. There is not the browning of the wood vessels characteristic of
+the two preceding diseases. If an affected stem is put in a moist
+chamber made from a covered or inverted dish, there will develop an
+exceedingly vigorous growth of snow-white fungous mycelium which, after
+a few days, bears numerous round shot-like bodies, at first
+light-colored, then becoming smaller and dark-brown. These are the
+sclerotia or resting bodies of the fungus. This fungus, called
+_Sclerotium_ sp., or "Rolf's Sclerotium," is noteworthy because it
+attacks potatoes, squash, cowpea, and a long list of other garden
+vegetables and ornamental plants. The only satisfactory means of control
+is rotation of crops, using corn, small grain, and the Iron cowpea, a
+variety immune to this and other diseases. Susceptible crops should be
+kept from infected fields for two or three years.
+
+=Root-knot= (_Heterodera radicicola_ (Greef) Mül.) attacks tomatoes in
+greenhouses and is in some cases an important factor in southern field
+culture. It is caused by a parasitic eelworm or nematode, of minute
+size, which penetrates the roots and induces the formation of numerous
+irregular swellings or galls, in which are bred great numbers of young
+worms. The effect on the plant is to check growth and diminish
+fruitfulness, in advanced cases even resulting in death.
+
+_The remedy in greenhouse culture_ is thorough soil sterilization. In
+the open field this is impracticable and recourse must be had to a
+rotation with immune crops, which will starve out the root-knot. It must
+now be borne in mind that the root-knot worm can attack cotton, cowpea,
+okra, melons and a very large number of other plants. The only common
+crops safe to use in such a rotation in the South are corn, oats,
+velvet beans, beggar weed, peanuts, and the Iron cowpea. The use of
+other varieties of cowpea than the Iron is particularly to be avoided,
+on account of the danger of stocking the land with root-knot.
+Fortunately, the disease is serious only in sandy or light soils.
+
+=Rosette= (_Corticium vagum_ (B. & C.) var. _solani_ Burt.) is a disease
+of minor importance, which occurs in Ohio, Michigan, and scatteringly in
+other states. The fungus causing it (_Rhizoctonia_) attacks the roots
+and base of the stem, forming dark cankers. The effect on the plant is
+to dwarf and curl the leaves and to restrict productiveness. The potato
+suffers more severely from the same trouble. Rotation of crops and
+liberal application of lime to the soil are advised for the control of
+rosette in tomatoes.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+                                PAGE
+
+  Adaptations of varieties,      97
+    as to habit,      97
+    as to foliage,      100
+    as to fruit,      102
+
+
+  Botany,      1
+
+
+  Canning, cost of,      118
+    on the farm,      118
+    Essentials for successful,      119
+
+  Catalog descriptions incomplete,      110
+
+  Characteristics of blossom,      25
+
+  Characteristics of fruit,      26
+    Development from original form,      26
+    Effect of conditions on,      26
+    Quality,      26
+
+  Characteristics of plant,      20
+    Checking of growth, effect upon,      20
+    Natural environment,      20
+    Uniform growth, importance of,      21
+
+  Characteristics of root,      23
+
+  Characteristics of stem and leaves,   24
+
+  Classification,      4
+    Cherry,      5
+    Cultivated varieties,      10
+    Currant,      4
+    Pear,      7
+
+  Cold-frames, construction,      53
+
+  Commercial importance of crop,      18
+
+  Cost of crop, per acre,      121
+    as grown for canners,      117
+
+  Covers for plant beds,      55
+
+  Cultivation,      76
+
+  Care and thoroughness necessary,      76
+    in greenhouse,      77
+    in home garden,      77
+
+
+  Diseases,      131
+    Bacterial wilt,      142
+    Blight, early,      135
+    Blight, leaf,      134
+    Blight, Western,      134
+    Cracking of fruit,      132
+    Damping off,      141
+    Edema,      133
+    Fusarium wilt,      144
+    Leaf curl,      132
+    Leaf mold,      135
+    Leaf spot,      134
+    Mildew, downy,      135
+    Mosaic disease,      133
+    Phytoptosis,      138
+    Point rot,      139
+    Root knot,      146
+    Sclerotium wilt,      145
+    Yellows,      134
+
+  Diseases, remedies for,      131
+    Bordeaux mixture, preparation of,      136
+    Preventatives of,      143
+    Spraying apparatus,      137
+    Spraying, importance of,      136
+    Sulphur spraying,      139
+
+  Distances for setting plants,      68
+    in field,      68
+    in greenhouse,      70
+    in home garden,      69
+
+  Drainage, importance of,      31
+
+
+  Essentials for best development,      28
+    Cultivation,      32, 76
+    Effect of shade,      28
+    Food supply,      31, 43
+    Heat,      30
+    Moisture,      30
+    Sunlight,      28
+
+  Exposure,      38
+    for early crop,      39
+    for greenhouse,      40
+    for home garden,      40
+
+
+  Fertilizers,      43
+    Amounts,      43
+    Character,      44
+    Experiments with,      45
+    for general application,      44
+    for greenhouse,      45
+    for home garden,      45
+
+  Flats, construction,      57
+
+
+  Gathering fruit,      91
+
+
+  Habit,      22
+
+  Handling fruit,      92
+
+  History,      14
+
+  Hotbeds, construction,      51
+
+  Hotbeds, growing fruit in,      70
+
+  House, construction,      49
+
+
+  Insects injurious to tomatoes,      123
+    Blister beetle,      125
+    Colorado potato beetle,      125
+    Cut worm,      123
+    Flea-beetle,      124
+    Stalk-borer,      127
+    Tomato fruit worm,      128
+    Tomato worm,      126
+    White fly,      130
+
+
+  Location of field as determining profit,      38
+
+
+  Manure
+    Fall dressing,      41
+    for cold-frames,      55
+    for greenhouse soil,      37
+    for hotbeds,      51
+    in preparing ground,      46
+
+
+  Origin,      10
+
+  Origin of name,      14
+
+
+  Packing,      94
+
+  Pollinating,      77
+
+  Pollination,      25
+
+  Prices obtained
+    at canneries,      118
+    for hothouse fruit,      122
+    for select field grown fruit,      122
+
+  Profits on crop,      122
+
+  Propagation of plants,      48
+    from cuttings,      49
+    from seed,      48, 49
+    in cold-frames,      53
+    in hotbeds,      51
+    in temporary greenhouses,      49
+
+  Pruning,      80
+
+
+  Ripening on the vines,      90
+
+  Ripening after frost,      95
+
+
+  Sash, cost,      49
+    for hotbeds,      52
+    for cold-frames,      53
+
+  Seed breeding,      112
+    Essentials to success,      113
+    Growing and saving commercial seed,      115
+      Methods followed,      115
+      Prices received,      116
+      Yields obtained,      116
+    Importance of breeding from individual plants,      114
+    Importance of exact ideals,      113
+    Methods recommended,      113
+    Principles underlying,      112
+
+  Setting plants,      70
+    Conditions favorable and unfavorable,      70, 71
+    in field,      70
+    in greenhouse,      74
+    in home garden,      74
+    New Jersey method,      71
+    Other methods,      73
+
+  Soil
+    Composition, importance of,      24
+    Conditions essential,      41
+    Preparation,      41, 46
+      for greenhouse,      47
+      for home garden,      47
+
+  Soil Preparation,
+      for main crop,      46
+      Importance of,      46
+    Selection,      33
+      for early crop,      36
+      for greenhouse,      37
+      for home garden,      36
+      for main crop,      34
+      Previous crop,      41
+
+  Sorting,      92
+
+  Staking,      79
+
+  Starting plants,      59
+    Effect of shade,      29
+    for early fruit,      63
+    for forcing,      67
+    for home garden,      67
+    for late crop,      65
+    in flats,      59
+    in greenhouse,      59
+    Pricking out,      60
+    Right conditions,      62
+    Spotting boards,      61
+    Unfavorable conditions,      63
+    Watering,      60
+    With least labor,      66
+
+  Succession, practice in the South,      42
+
+
+  Training,      79
+    for greenhouse,      88
+    for home garden,      85
+
+  Types,      14
+
+
+  Value, development of,      16
+
+  Variations,
+    in foliage,      100
+    in fruit,      102
+      Coloring,      106
+      Flesh,      105
+      Ripening,      106
+      Shape,      102
+    in habit,      97
+
+  Varietal differences,
+    as to foliage,      100
+    as to fruit,      102
+    as to growth,      97
+
+  Variety names,      108
+    Sources,      109
+    Varying application,      110
+
+
+  Watering, danger in,      30, 60
+
+
+  Yielding capacity,      22
+
+  Yield per acre,      117, 121
+
+  Yield per foot of greenhouse bench,      122
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes
+
+
+The following typographical errors have been corrected:
+
+  Page 61: "... necessary. When plants are set in ..." (had 'plans').
+  Page 107: "... these respects we have varieties ..." (had 'resepcts').
+  Page 117: "... the question, "What is the best ..." (had 'queston').
+  Page 148: "Mildew, downy,      135" (had 'downey').
+  Page 149: "Pollinating,      77" (had 'Pollenating').
+  Page 149: "Pollination,      25" (had 'Pollenation').
+
+The archaic spelling of "hight" is as used throughout the original.
+
+'_' is used to denote italics, and '=' is used to denote bold typeface.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Tomato Culture: A Practical Treatise
+on the Tomato, by William Warner Tracy
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+    <title>
+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Tomato Culture, by Will W. Tracy.
+    </title>
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Tomato Culture: A Practical Treatise on the
+Tomato, by William Warner Tracy
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Tomato Culture: A Practical Treatise on the Tomato
+
+Author: William Warner Tracy
+
+Release Date: February 6, 2009 [EBook #28011]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TOMATO CULTURE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Tom Roch, Louise Pattison and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images produced by Core Historical
+Literature in Agriculture (CHLA), Cornell University)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<div class="bbox" style="display;block;">
+ <p><span class="pagenuminv"><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</a></span></p>
+ <h1>TOMATO CULTURE</h1>
+</div>
+<div class="bbox" style="display;block;">
+  <div class="blockquot">
+    <p>A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE TOMATO, ITS HISTORY,
+    CHARACTERISTICS, PLANTING, FERTILIZATION, CULTIVATION IN FIELD,
+    GARDEN, AND GREENHOUSE, HARVESTING, PACKING, STORING, MARKETING,
+    INSECT ENEMIES AND DISEASES, WITH METHODS OF CONTROL AND
+    REMEDIES, ETC., ETC.</p>
+  </div>
+  <p class="center">By<br />
+  <big><strong>WILL W. TRACY</strong></big><br />
+  <em><small>Bureau of Plant Industry, United States Department of Agriculture</small></em><br /><br /></p>
+  <p class="center"><em>ILLUSTRATED</em><br /><br /></p>
+</div>
+<div class="bbox" style="display;block;">
+  <p class="center">NEW YORK</p>
+  <p class="center">ORANGE JUDD COMPANY</p>
+  <p class="center">1907</p>
+</div>
+
+<!-- Note: there is a page missing from the original images, probably a blank page here? -->
+<p><span class="pagenuminv"><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[Pg ii]</a></span></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenuminv"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span><br /></p>
+
+<p class="center">To<br />
+<span class="old"><big>Dr. F. M. Hexamer</big></span><br /></p>
+<p class="center">IN HONOR OF HIS LIFELONG EFFORTS FOR THE<br />
+BETTERMENT OF AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL<br />
+PRACTICE<br /><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p class="center">Copyright, 1907, by<br />
+ORANGE JUDD COMPANY</p>
+<p class="center"><em>All rights reserved</em><br /><br /></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><span class="pagenuminv"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span>
+<img src="images/i0003.jpg" width="300" height="475" alt="WHERE NEW VARIETIES OF TOMATOES ARE DEVELOPED AND TESTED(By courtesy American Agriculturist. Photo by Prof. W. G. Johnson)" title="WHERE NEW VARIETIES OF TOMATOES ARE DEVELOPED AND TESTED" />
+</div>
+<p class="caption">WHERE NEW VARIETIES OF TOMATOES ARE DEVELOPED AND TESTED<br />(By courtesy <cite>American Agriculturist</cite>. Photo by Prof. W. G. Johnson)</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE</h2>
+
+<p>This little book has been written in fulfilment of a promise made many
+years ago. Again and again I have undertaken the work, only to lay it
+aside because I felt the need of greater experience and wider knowledge.
+I do not now feel that this deficiency has been by any means fully
+supplied, but in some directions it has been removed through the
+kindness of Dr. F. H. Chittenden of the Bureau of Entomology, who wrote
+the chapter on insect enemies, and of W. A. Orton of the Bureau of Plant
+Industry, United States Department of Agriculture, who wrote the chapter
+on diseases of tomatoes.</p>
+
+<p>I have made free use of, without special credit, and am largely indebted
+to, the writings of Doctor Sturtevant and Professor Goff, Professor
+Munson of Maine, Professor Halsted of New Jersey, Professor Corbett of
+Washington, Professor Rolfs of Florida, Professor Bailey of New York,
+Professor Green of Ohio, and many others. I have also found a vast
+amount of valuable information in the agricultural press of this country
+in general. I am also indebted to L. B. Coulter and Prof. W. G. Johnson
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span>for many photographs. My thanks are also due B. F. Williamson, who made
+the excellent drawings for this book under Professor Johnson's
+direction.</p>
+
+<p>Tomatoes are among the most generally used and popular vegetables. They
+are grown not only in gardens, but in large areas in every state from
+Maine to California and Washington to Florida, and under very different
+conditions of climate, soil and cultural facilities, as well as of
+requirements as to character of fruit. The methods which will give the
+best results under one set of conditions are entirely unsuited to
+others.</p>
+
+<p>I have tried to give the nature and requirements of the plant and the
+effect of conditions as seen in my own experience, a knowledge of which
+may enable the reader to follow the methods most suited to his own
+conditions and requirements, rather than to recommend the exact methods
+which have given me the best results.</p>
+
+<p>&nbsp;<span class="smcap ralign">Will W. Tracy.</span><br />
+<br />
+<em>Washington, April, 1907.</em><br />
+</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></p>
+<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<p><span>&nbsp;</span><span class="ralign smcap">page</span></p>
+<p class="smcap widemargin">Preface <span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_v">v</a></span></p>
+<p class="center">CHAPTER I</p>
+<p class="smcap widemargin">Botany of the Tomato <span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></span></p>
+<p class="center">CHAPTER II</p>
+<p class="smcap widemargin">History <span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_14">14</a></span></p>
+<p class="center">CHAPTER III</p>
+<p class="smcap widemargin">General Characteristics of the Plant <span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_20">20</a></span></p>
+<p class="center">CHAPTER IV</p>
+<p class="smcap widemargin">Essentials for Development <span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_28">28</a></span></p>
+<p class="center">CHAPTER V</p>
+<p class="smcap widemargin">Selection of Soil for Maximum Crop <span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></span></p>
+<p class="center">CHAPTER VI</p>
+<p class="smcap widemargin">Exposure and Location <span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_38">38</a></span></p>
+<p class="center">CHAPTER VII</p>
+<p class="smcap widemargin">Fertilizers <span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_43">43</a></span></p>
+<p class="center">CHAPTER VIII</p>
+<p class="smcap widemargin">Preparation of the Soil <span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_46">46</a></span></p>
+<p class="center">CHAPTER IX</p>
+<p class="smcap widemargin">Hotbeds and Cold-frames <span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_51">51</a></span></p>
+<p class="center"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span>CHAPTER X</p>
+<p class="smcap widemargin">Starting Plants <span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_59">59</a></span></p>
+<p class="center">CHAPTER XI</p>
+<p class="smcap widemargin">Proper Distance for Planting <span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_68">68</a></span></p>
+<p class="center">CHAPTER XII</p>
+<p class="smcap widemargin">Cultivation <span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_76">76</a></span></p>
+<p class="center">CHAPTER XIII</p>
+<p class="smcap widemargin">Staking, Training and Pruning <span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_79">79</a></span></p>
+<p class="center">CHAPTER XIV</p>
+<p class="smcap widemargin">Ripening, Gathering, Handling and Marketing the Fruit <span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_90">90</a></span></p>
+<p class="center">CHAPTER XV</p>
+<p class="smcap widemargin">Adaptation of Varieties <span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_97">97</a></span></p>
+<p class="center">CHAPTER XVI</p>
+<p class="smcap widemargin">Seed Breeding and Growing <span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_112">112</a></span></p>
+<p class="center">CHAPTER XVII</p>
+<p class="smcap widemargin">Production for Canning <span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_117">117</a></span></p>
+<p class="center">CHAPTER XVIII</p>
+<p class="smcap widemargin">Cost of Production <span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_121">121</a></span></p>
+<p class="center">CHAPTER XIX</p>
+<p class="smcap widemargin">Insects Injurious to the Tomato <span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_123">123</a></span></p>
+<p class="center">CHAPTER XX</p>
+<p class="smcap widemargin">Tomato Diseases <span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_131">131</a></span></p>
+<p class="smcap widemargin">Index <span class="ralign"><a href="#Page_148">148</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="ILLUSTRATIONS" id="ILLUSTRATIONS"></a>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+
+<div class="widemargin">
+<p class="smcap">figure <span class="ralign smcap">page</span></p>
+<ol>
+<li>Where new varieties of tomatoes are developed and tested <span class="ralign"><em><a href="#Page_iv">Frontispiece</a></em></span></li>
+<li>Tomato flowers<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig2">2</a></span></li>
+<li>Two-celled tomato<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig3_4">3</a></span></li>
+<li>Three-celled tomato<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig3_4">3</a></span></li>
+<li>Currant tomato and characteristic clusters<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig5">5</a></span></li>
+<li>Red cherry tomato<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig6">6</a></span></li>
+<li>Pear-shaped tomato<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig7">8</a></span></li>
+<li>Yellow plum tomato<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig8">9</a></span></li>
+<li>One of the first illustrations of the tomato<span class="ralign"> <a href="#Page_11">11</a></span></li>
+<li>An early illustration of the tomato<span class="ralign"> <a href="#Page_12">12</a></span></li>
+<li>Typical bunch of modern tomatoes<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig11">27</a></span></li>
+<li>Tomatoes trained to stakes in the South<span class="ralign"> <a href="#Page_35">35</a></span></li>
+<li>Three-sash hotbed<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig13">52</a></span></li>
+<li>Cross-section of hotbed<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig14">53</a></span></li>
+<li>Cold-frames on hill-side<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig15">54</a></span></li>
+<li>Transplanting tomatoes under cloth-covered frames<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig16">56</a></span></li>
+<li>Spotting-board for use in cold-frames<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig17">61</a></span></li>
+<li>Spotting-board for use on flat<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig18">62</a></span></li>
+<li>Tomatoes sown and allowed to grow in hotbeds<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig19">69</a></span></li>
+<li>Planting tomatoes on a Delaware farm<span class="ralign"> <a href="#Page_75">75</a></span></li>
+<li>Training tomatoes in Florida to single stake<span class="ralign"> <a href="#Page_81">81</a></span></li>
+<li>Tomato plant trained to single stake<span class="ralign"> <a href="#Page_82">82</a></span></li>
+<li>Method of training to three stems in forcing-house and out of doors<span class="ralign"> <a href="#Page_83">83</a></span></li>
+<li>Training on line in greenhouse<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig24">84</a></span>
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[Pg x]</a></span></li>
+<li>Ready to transplant in greenhouse<span class="ralign"> <a href="#Page_85">85</a></span></li>
+<li>Training young tomatoes in greenhouse at New York experiment station<span class="ralign"> <a href="#Page_86">86</a></span></li>
+<li>Tomatoes in greenhouse at the Ohio experiment station<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig27">87</a></span></li>
+<li>Forcing tomatoes in greenhouse at New Hampshire experiment station<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig28">88</a></span></li>
+<li>Florida tomatoes properly wrapped for long shipment<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig29">93</a></span></li>
+<li>Greenhouse tomatoes packed for market<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig30">95</a></span></li>
+<li>Buckeye State, showing long nodes and distance between fruit clusters<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig31">98</a></span></li>
+<li>Stone, and characteristic foliage<span class="ralign"> <a href="#Page_99">99</a></span></li>
+<li>Atlantic Prize, and its normal foliage<span class="ralign"> <a href="#Page_101">101</a></span></li>
+<li>Dwarf Champion<span class="ralign"> <a href="#Page_103">103</a></span></li>
+<li>A cutworm and parent moth<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig35">124</a></span></li>
+<li>Flea-beetle<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig36_37">125</a></span></li>
+<li>Margined blister beetle<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig36_37">125</a></span></li>
+<li>Tomato worm<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig38">126</a></span></li>
+<li>Tomato stalk-borer<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig39">127</a></span></li>
+<li>Characteristic work of the tomato fruit worm<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig40">128</a></span></li>
+<li>Adult moth, or parent of tomato fruit worm<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig41">129</a></span></li>
+<li>Proper way to make Bordeaux<span class="ralign"> <a href="#fig42">137</a></span></li>
+<li>Point-rot disease of the tomato <span class="ralign"><a href="#fig43">140</a></span></li>
+</ol>
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p>
+<h1><a name="TOMATO_CULTURE" id="TOMATO_CULTURE"></a>TOMATO CULTURE</h1>
+
+<hr style="width: 30%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I</h2>
+
+<h3>Botany of the Tomato</h3>
+
+<p><strong>The common tomato</strong> of our gardens belongs to the natural order
+<em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">Solanaceae</em> and the genus <em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">Lycopersicum</em>. The name from <em lang="grc" xml:lang="grc">lykos</em>, a
+wolf, and <em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">persica</em>, a peach, is given it because of the supposed
+aphrodisiacal qualities, and the beauty of the fruit. The genus
+comprises a few species of South American annual or short-lived
+perennial, herbaceous, rank-smelling plants in which the many branches
+are spreading, procumbent, or feebly ascendent and commonly 2 to 6 feet
+in length, though under some conditions, particularly in the South and
+in California, they grow much longer. They are covered with resinous
+viscid secretions and are round, soft, brittle and hairy, when young,
+but become furrowed, angular, hard and almost woody with enlarged
+joints, when old. The leaves are irregularly alternate, 5 to 15 inches
+long, petioled, odd pinnate, with seven to nine short-stemmed leaflets,
+often with much smaller and stemless ones between them. The larger
+leaflets are sometimes entire, but more generally notched, cut, or even
+divided, particularly at the base.<a name="fig2" id="fig2"></a></p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i0011.png" width="400" height="341" alt="FIG. 2&mdash;TOMATO FLOWERS ENLARGED ABOUT 2&frac12; TIMES." title="FIG. 2&mdash;TOMATO FLOWERS ENLARGED ABOUT 2&frac12; TIMES." />
+</div>
+<p class="caption">FIG. 2&mdash;TOMATO FLOWERS ENLARGED ABOUT 2&frac12; TIMES.
+SECTION OF FLOWER SHOWN AT RIGHT<br />(Drawn from a photograph by courtesy of Prof. L. C. Corbett)</p>
+
+
+<p><strong>The flowers</strong> are pendant and borne in more or less branched clusters,
+located on the stem on the opposite side and usually a little below the
+leaves; the first cluster on the sixth to twelfth internode from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span>
+ground, with one on each second to sixth succeeding one. The flowers
+(Fig. 2) are small, consisting of a yellow, deeply five-cleft,
+wheel-shaped corolla, with a very short tube and broadly lanceolate,
+recurving petals. The calyx consists of five long linear or lanceolate
+sepals, which are shorter than the petals at first, but are persistent,
+and increase in size as the fruits mature. The stamens, five in number,
+are borne on the throat of the corolla, and consist of long, large
+anthers, borne on short filaments, loosely joined into a tube and
+opening by a longitudinal slit on the inside, and this is the chief
+botanical distinction between<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span> this genus and <em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">Solanum</em> to which the
+potato, pepper, night shade and tobacco belong. The anthers in the
+latter genus open at the tip only. The two genera, however, are closely
+related and plants belonging to them are readily united by grafting. The
+Physalis, Husk tomato or Ground cherry is quite distinct, botanically.
+The pistils of the true tomato are short at first, but the style
+elongates so as to push the capitate stigma through the tube formed by
+the anthers, this usually occurring before the anthers open for the
+discharge of the pollen. The fruit is a two to many-celled berry with
+central fleshy placenta and many small kidney-shaped seeds which are
+densely covered with short, stiff hairs, as seen in Figs. 3 and 4.<a name="fig3_4" id="fig3_4"></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 530px;">
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 220px;">
+<img src="images/i0012a.png" width="204" height="191" alt="FIG. 3&mdash;TWO-CELLED TOMATO" title="FIG. 3&mdash;TWO-CELLED TOMATO" />
+<p class="caption">FIG. 3&mdash;TWO-CELLED TOMATO</p></div>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 220px;">
+<img src="images/i0012b.png" width="204" height="191" alt="FIG. 4&mdash;THREE-CELLED TOMATO" title="FIG. 4&mdash;THREE-CELLED TOMATO" />
+<p class="caption">FIG. 4&mdash;THREE-CELLED TOMATO</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<p style="clear:both;">It is comparatively easy to define the genus with which the tomato
+should be classed botanically, but it is by no means so easy to classify
+our cultivated varieties into botanical species. We have in cultivation
+varieties which are known to have originated in gardens and from the
+same parentage, but which differ<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> from each other so much in habit of
+growth, character of leaf and fruit and other respects, that if they had
+been found growing wild they would unhesitatingly be pronounced
+different species, and botanists are not agreed as to how our many and
+very different garden varieties should be classified botanically. Some
+contend that all of our cultivated sorts are varieties of but two
+distinct species, while others think they have originated from several.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Classification.</strong>&mdash;The author suggests the following classification,
+differing somewhat from that sometimes given, as he believes that the
+large, deep-sutured fruit of our cultivated varieties and the distinct
+pear-shaped sorts come from original species rather than from variations
+of <em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">Lycopersicum cerasiforme</em>:</p>
+
+<p><strong>Currant tomato, Grape tomato, German or Raisin tomato</strong> (<em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">Lycopersicum
+pimpinellifolium</em>, <em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">L. racemiforme</em>) (Fig. 5).&mdash;Universally regarded as
+a distinct species. Plant strong, growing with many long, slender, weak
+branches which are not so hairy, viscid, or ill-smelling, and never
+become so hard or woody as those of the other species. The numerous
+leaves are very bright green in color, leaflets small, nearly entire,
+with many small stemless ones between the others. Fruit produced
+continuously and in great quantity on long racemes like those of the
+currant, though they are often branched. They continue to elongate and
+blossom until the fruit at the upper end is fully ripened. Fruit small,
+less than &frac12; inch in diameter, spherical, smooth and of a particularly
+bright, beautiful red color which contrasts well with the bright green
+leaves, and this abundance of beautifully colored and grace<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span>fully poised
+fruit makes the plant worthy of more general cultivation as an ornament,
+though the fruit is of little value for culinary use. This species, when
+pure, has not varied under cultivation, but it readily crosses with
+other species and with our garden varieties, and many of these owe their
+bright red color to the influence of crosses with the above species.<a name="fig5" id="fig5"></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i0014.png" width="400" height="372" alt="FIG. 5&mdash;CURRANT TOMATO AND CHARACTERISTIC CLUSTERS" title="FIG. 5&mdash;CURRANT TOMATO AND CHARACTERISTIC CLUSTERS" />
+</div><p class="caption">FIG. 5&mdash;CURRANT TOMATO AND CHARACTERISTIC CLUSTERS<a name="fig6" id="fig6"></a></p>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span>
+<img src="images/i0015.png" width="300" height="413" alt="FIG. 6&mdash;RED CHERRY TOMATO" title="FIG. 6&mdash;RED CHERRY TOMATO" />
+</div><p class="caption">FIG. 6&mdash;RED CHERRY TOMATO</p>
+
+
+<p><strong>Cherry tomato</strong> (<em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">L. cerasiforme</em>) (Fig. 6).&mdash;Plant vigorous, with stout
+branches which are distinctly trailing in habit. Leaves flat or but
+slightly curled. Fruit<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> very abundant, borne in short, branched
+clusters, globular, perfectly smooth, with no apparent sutures. From &frac12;
+to &frac34; inch in diameter and either red or yellow in color, two-celled
+with numerous comparatively small, kidney-shaped seeds. Many of our
+garden varieties show evidence of crosses with this species, and by many
+it is regarded as the original wild form of all of our cultivated sorts.
+These, when they escape from cultivation and become wild plants, as they
+often do, from New Jersey southward, produce fruit which, in many
+respects, resembles that of this species in size and form; but they are
+generally more flattened, globe-shaped, with more or less distinct
+sutures on the upper side, and I have never seen any fruit of these wild
+plants which could not be readily distinguished from that of the true
+Cherry tomato.</p>
+
+<p>Prof. P. H. Rolfs, Director of the Florida experiment station, reports
+that among the millions of volunteer, or wild, tomatoes he has seen
+growing in the abandoned tomato fields in Florida, he has never seen a
+plant with fruit which could not be easily distinguished from that of
+the true Cherry tomato. Again, one can, by selection and cultivation,
+easily develop from these wild forms plants producing fruit as large and
+often practically identical with that of our cultivated varieties, while
+I have given a true stock of Cherry tomato most careful cultivation on
+the best of soil for 20 consecutive generations without any increase in
+size or change in character of the fruit.<a name="fig7" id="fig7"></a></p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i0017.png" width="400" height="288" alt="FIG. 7&mdash;PEAR-SHAPED TOMATO" title="FIG. 7&mdash;PEAR-SHAPED TOMATO" />
+</div><p class="caption">FIG. 7&mdash;PEAR-SHAPED TOMATO</p>
+
+<p><strong>Pear (not Plum) tomato</strong> (<em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">L. pyriforme</em>) (Fig. 7).&mdash;Plant exceptionally
+vigorous, with comparatively few long, stout stems inclined to ascend.
+Leaves numerous,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> broad, flat, with a distinct bluish-green color
+noticeable, even in the cotyledons. Fruit abundant, borne in short
+branched or straight clusters of five to ten fruits. It is perfectly
+smooth, without sutures, and of the shape of a long, slender-necked
+pear, not over an inch in transverse by 1&frac12; inches in longitudinal
+diameter. When the stock is pure the fruit retains this form very
+persistently. The production of egg-shaped or other forms is a sure
+indication of impure stock. They are bright red, dark yellow, or light
+yellowish white in color, two-celled, with very distinct central
+placenta and comparatively few and large seeds. The fruit is inclined to
+ripen unevenly, the neck remaining green when the rest of the fruit is
+quite ripe. It is less juicy than that of most of our garden sorts but
+of a mild and pleasant flavor. This is considered, by many, to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> be
+simply a garden variety, but I am inclined to the belief that it is a
+distinct species and that the contrary view comes from the study of the
+impure and crossed stocks resulting from crosses between the true Pear
+tomato and garden sorts which are frequently sold by seedsmen as
+pear-shaped. Many garden sorts&mdash;like the Plum (Fig. 8), the Egg, the
+Golden Nugget, Vick's Criterion, etc.&mdash;are known to have originated from
+crosses of the Pear and I think that most, if not all, the garden sorts
+in which the longitudinal diameter of the fruit is greater than its
+transverse diameter owe this form to crosses with <em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">L. pyriforme</em>.<a name="fig8" id="fig8"></a></p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i0018.png" width="600" height="233" alt="FIG. 8&mdash;YELLOW PLUM TOMATO, SHOWING MOST USUAL FORM OF CLUSTER"
+title="FIG. 8&mdash;YELLOW PLUM TOMATO, SHOWING MOST USUAL FORM OF CLUSTER" /></div>
+<p class="caption">FIG. 8&mdash;YELLOW PLUM TOMATO, SHOWING MOST USUAL FORM OF CLUSTER</p>
+
+<p><strong>Cultivated varieties</strong> (<em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">L. esculentum</em>).&mdash;This is commonly used as the
+botanical name of our cultivated varieties, rather than as the name of a
+distinct species. In western South America, however, there is found
+growing a wild plant of Lycopersicum which differs from the other
+recognized species in being more compact in growth, with fewer branches
+and larger leaves, and carrying an immense burden of fruit borne in
+large clusters. The fruit is larger than that of the other species but
+much smaller than that of our cultivated sorts; is very irregular in
+shape, always with distinct sutures, and often deeply corrugated and
+bright red in color. The walls are thin; the flesh is soft, with a
+distinct sharp, acid flavor much less agreeable than that of our
+cultivated forms of garden tomatoes.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>
+<img src="images/i0020.png" width="300" height="462" alt="FIG. 9&mdash;ONE OF THE FIRST ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE TOMATO Poma amoris, (Pomum aureum), (Lycopersicum), 1581"
+title="FIG. 9&mdash;ONE OF THE FIRST ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE TOMATO" />
+</div>
+<p class="caption">FIG. 9&mdash;ONE OF THE FIRST ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE TOMATO<br />
+<em>Poma amoris</em>, (<em>Pomum aureum</em>), (<em>Lycopersicum</em>), 1581</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>
+<img src="images/i0021.png" width="300" height="452" alt="FIG. 10&mdash;AN EARLY ILLUSTRATION OF THE TOMATO
+(From Morrison&#39;s &quot;Historia Universalis,&quot; 1680)" title="FIG. 10&mdash;AN EARLY ILLUSTRATION OF THE TOMATO" />
+</div>
+<p class="caption">FIG. 10&mdash;AN EARLY ILLUSTRATION OF THE TOMATO<br />
+(From Morrison's "Historia Universalis," 1680)</p>
+
+
+<p>This has commonly been regarded by botanists as a degenerate form of our
+garden tomatoes, rather than as an original species, but I find that,
+like <em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">L. cerasiforme</em> and <em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">L. pyriforme</em>, it is quite fixed under
+cultivation, except as crossed with other species or with our gar<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span>den
+varieties, and I believe it to be the original species from which our
+cultured sorts have been developed, by crossing and selection. Such
+crosses probably were made either naturally or by natives before the
+tomato was discovered by Europeans. The earliest prints we have of the
+tomato (Figs. 9 and 10) are far more like the fruit of this plant than
+that of <em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">L. cerasiforme</em>, and the prints of many of the earliest garden
+varieties and of some sorts which are still cultivated in southern
+Europe, for use in soups, are like it not only in size and form, but in
+flavor. These facts make it seem far more probable that our cultivated
+sorts have come, by crossing, between this and other species rather than
+by simple development from <em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">L. cerasiforme</em>.</p>
+
+<p>Prof. E. S. Goff, of Wisconsin, who has made a most careful study of the
+tomato, expressed the same opinion, writing that it seemed to him that
+our cultivated sorts must have come from the crossing of a small, round,
+smooth, sutureless type, with a larger, deep-sutured, corrugated fruit,
+like that of the Mammoth Chihuahua, but smaller. However this may be, I
+think that it is wise to throw all of our cultivated garden sorts,
+except the Pear, the Cherry, and the Grape&mdash;which I regard as distinct
+species&mdash;together under the name of <em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">L. esculentum</em>, even when we know
+they have originated by direct crosses with the other species; and it is
+well to classify the upright growing sorts under the varietal names, <em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">L.
+validum</em>, and the larger, heavier sorts, as <em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">L. grandifolium</em>, as has
+been done by Bailey. (Cyclopedia of Horticulture.)</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II</h2>
+
+<h3>History</h3>
+
+
+<p>The garden vegetable known in this country as tomato and generally as
+tomate in continental Europe, is also known as Wolf-peach and Love Apple
+in England and America, and Liebesapfel in Germany, Pomme d'Amour in
+France, Pomo d'oro in Italy, Pomidor in Poland.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Origin of name.</strong>&mdash;The name tomato is of South American origin, and is
+derived from the Aztec word <em lang="cai" xml:lang="cai">xitomate</em>, or <em lang="cai" xml:lang="cai">zitotomate</em>, which is given
+the fruit of both the Common tomato and that of the Husk or Strawberry
+tomato or Physalis. Both vegetables were highly prized and extensively
+cultivated by the natives long before the discovery of the country by
+Europeans, and there is little doubt that many of the plants first seen
+and described by Europeans as wild species were really garden varieties
+originated with the native Americans by the variation or crossing of the
+original wild species.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Different types now common</strong>, according to Sturtevant, have become known
+to, and been described by Europeans in about the following order:</p>
+
+<ol>
+<li>Large yellow, described by Matthiolus in 1554 and called Golden apple.</li>
+
+<li>Large red, described by Matthiolus in 1554 and called Love apple.
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span></li>
+
+<li>Purple red, described by D'el Obel in 1570.</li>
+
+<li>White-fleshed, described by Dodoens in 1586.</li>
+
+<li>Red cherry, described by Bauhin in 1620.</li>
+
+<li>Yellow cherry, described by Bauhin in 1620.</li>
+
+<li>Ochre yellow, described by Bauhin in 1651.</li>
+
+<li>Striped, blotched or visi-colored, described by Bauhin in 1651.</li>
+
+<li>Pale red, described by Tournefort in 1700.</li>
+
+<li>Large smooth, or ribless red, described by Tournefort in 1700.</li>
+
+<li>Bronzed-leaved, described by Blacknell in 1750.</li>
+
+<li>Deep orange, described by Bryant in 1783.</li>
+
+<li>Pear-shaped, described by Dunal in 1805.</li>
+
+<li>Tree tomato, described by Vilmorin in 1855.</li>
+
+<li>Broad-leaved, introduced about 1860.</li>
+</ol>
+
+
+<p>The special description of No. 10 by Tournefort in 1700 would indicate
+that large smooth sorts, like Livingston's Stone, were in existence
+fully 200 years ago, instead of being modern improvements, as is
+sometimes claimed; and a careful study of old descriptions and cuts and
+comparing them with the best examples of modern varieties led Doctor
+Sturtevant in 1889 to express the opinion that they had fruit as large
+and smooth as those we now grow, before the tomato came into general use
+in America, and possibly before the fruit was generally known to
+Europeans. Even the production of fine fruit under glass is not so
+modern as many suppose. In transactions of the London Horticultural
+Society for 1820, John Wilmot is reported to have cultivated under glass
+in 1818 some 600 plants and gathered from his entire plantings under<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>
+glass and in borders some 130 bushels of ripe fruit. It is stated that
+the growth that year exceeded the demand, and that the fruit obtained
+was of extraordinary size, some exceeding 12 inches in circumference and
+weighing 12 ounces each. Thomas Meehan states in <cite>Gardeners' Monthly</cite>
+for February, 1880, that on January 8, of that year, he saw growing in
+the greenhouses on Senator Cannon's place near Harrisburg, Pa., at least
+1 bushel of ripe fruits, none of which were less than 10 inches in
+circumference,&mdash;a showing which compares with the best to be seen
+to-day.</p>
+
+<p>Throughout southern Europe the value of the fruit for use in soups and
+as a salad seems to have been at once recognized, and it came into quite
+general use, especially in Spain and Italy, during the 17th century; but
+in northern Europe and England, though the plant was grown in botanical
+gardens and in a few private places as a curiosity and for the beauty of
+its fruit, this was seldom eaten, being commonly regarded as unhealthy
+and even poisonous, and on this account, and probably because of its
+supposed aphrodisiacal qualities, it did not come into general use in
+those northern countries until early in the 19th century.</p>
+
+<p><strong>First mention</strong> in America, I find of its being grown for culinary use,
+was in Virginia in 1781. In 1788 a Frenchman in Philadelphia made most
+earnest efforts to get people to use the fruit, but with little success,
+and similar efforts by an Italian in Salem, Mass., in 1802, were no more
+successful. The first record I can find of the fruit being regularly
+quoted in the market was in New Orleans in 1812, and the earliest
+records I have been able to find of the seed being<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> offered by seedsmen,
+as that of an edible vegetable, was by Gardener and Hipburn in 1818, and
+by Landreth in 1820. Buist's "Kitchen Gardener" says: "In 1828-9 it (the
+tomato) was almost detested and commonly considered poisonous. Ten years
+later every variety of pill and panacea was 'extract of tomatoes,' and
+now (1847) almost as much ground is devoted to its culture as to the
+cabbage." In 1834 Professor Dunglison, of the University of Virginia,
+said: "The tomato may be looked upon as one of the most wholesome and
+valuable esculents of the garden."</p>
+
+<p>Yet, though the fruit has always received similar commendation from
+medical men, there has been constant recurring superstition that it is
+unhealthy. Only a few years ago there was in general circulation a
+statement that an eminent physician had discovered that eating tomatoes
+tended to develop cancer. This has been definitely traced to the playful
+question, asked as a joke by Dr. Dio Lewis, "Didn't you know that eating
+bright red tomatoes caused cancer?" In more recent years an equally
+unfounded claim has been made that tomato seeds were responsible for
+many cases of appendicitis and that it was consequently dangerous to eat
+the fruit.</p>
+
+<p>I give some quotations for tomatoes in Quincy Hall Market, Boston, with
+some for other vegetables, for comparison. The records show that during
+the week ending July 22, 1835, tomatoes were quoted at 50 cents per
+dozen, cabbage at 50 cents per dozen. For the week ending September 22,
+1835, tomatoes were quoted at 25 cents per peck, lima beans, 12&frac12;
+cents per quart shelled, with comment that tomatoes are in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> much demand
+and a far greater quantity has been sold than in previous years. During
+the week ending July 22, 1837, tomatoes were quoted at 25 and 50 cents
+per peck, and the note that they are of good size and were well ripened
+and came from gardens in the vicinity would indicate that they had at
+that time early maturing varieties and knew how to grow them. From about
+1835 till the present time the cultivation and use of tomatoes have
+constantly increased both in this country and in Europe, so that now
+they are one of the most largely grown of our garden vegetables.</p>
+
+<p>A suggestion as to the extent they are now grown in America is the fact
+that a single seed grower saved in 1903 over 20,000 pounds of tomato
+seed&mdash;an amount sufficient to furnish plants for from 80,000 to 320,000
+acres, according to the care used in raising them, the larger quantity
+not requiring more care than the best growers commonly use. A careful
+estimate made by the <cite>American Grocer</cite> shows that in 1903 the packing of
+tomatoes by canners in the United States amounted to 246,775,426
+three-pound cans. In addition to the canned tomato, between 200,000 and
+250,000 barrels of catsup stock is put up annually, requiring the
+product of at least 20,000 acres.</p>
+
+<p>It is probable that the area required to produce the fruit that is used
+fresh at least equals that devoted to the production for preserving,
+which give us from 400,000 to 500,000 acres devoted to this crop each
+year in America alone. The fruit is perhaps in more general use in
+America than elsewhere, but its cultivation and use have increased
+rapidly in other coun<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>tries, particularly with the English speaking
+races. Large quantities are grown in Australia, and immense and
+constantly increasing quantities are grown under glass in England and
+adjacent islands, while <cite>The Gardeners' Chronicle</cite> states that in 1903
+between 600,000 and 800,000 pounds of fresh fruit were imported into
+England from other countries.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III</h2>
+
+<h3>General Characteristics of the Plant</h3>
+
+
+<p><strong>In the native home</strong> of the tomato, in South America, the conditions of
+the soil, both as regards composition and mechanical condition, of the
+moisture both in soil and air, and those of temperature and sunlight,
+are throughout the growing season not only very favorable for rapid
+growth, but are uniformly and constantly so. Under such conditions there
+has been developed a plant which, while vigorous, tenacious of life,
+capable of rapid growth and enormously productive, is not at all hardy
+in the sense of ability to endure untoward conditions either in the
+character of soil, of water supply, or of temperature. A check in the
+development because of any unfavorable condition is never fully
+recovered from, but will inevitably affect the total quantity and
+quality of the fruit produced, even if subsequent favorable conditions
+result in the rapid and vigorous growth of the plant.</p>
+
+<p>I know of an instance where two adjoining fields belonging to A and B
+were set with tomatoes, using plants started in the same hotbed from the
+same lot of seed. The soil was of equal natural fertility and each field
+received about the same quantity of manure, though that given A's was
+all well decomposed and worked into the soil, while that given B's was
+fresh and raw and simply plowed in. A's field was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> put into the best
+possible tilth before setting the plants, and the management of the
+plants and their cultivation were such as to secure unchecked growth
+from the time they were pricked out into cold-frames and set in the
+field until the crop was matured. As long as the plants would permit,
+the soil was cultivated every few days and kept in a state of perfect
+tilth.</p>
+
+<p>B's field when the plants were set out was a mass of clods, as it had
+been plowed, when wet, some time before and never harrowed but once. The
+plants had been crowded forward as rapidly as possible in the
+cold-frame, and when set in the field were much higher than A's, but so
+soft that they were badly checked in transplanting and a great many of
+them died and had to be reset. The field received but one or two
+cultivations during the entire season. The growth of the plants in B's
+field was irregular and uneven instead of steady and uniform as in A's,
+and though some of the fruits were quite as large, they were not as
+uniform as A's while the yield per acre was not more than half as much
+nor the fruit of as good general quality. B had difficulty in disposing
+of his crop and often had to sell below the market, while A had no
+trouble in disposing of his at the highest prices for the day. B's crop
+was a financial loss, while A's returned a most satisfactory profit.</p>
+
+<p>The key to the most successful culture of the tomato is the securing,
+from the start to finish, of an unchecked uniform growth, though it need
+not necessarily be a rapid one. The failure to do this is, in my
+opinion, the principal reason for the comparatively small yield usually
+obtained, which is very<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> much less than it would be with better cultural
+management. The tomato under conditions which I have repeatedly found it
+practicable to secure, not only in small plantings but in large fields,
+has proved capable of producing from 1,000 to 1,200 or even more bushels
+to the acre, and the possible yield per plant is enormous.</p>
+
+<p>As early as 1818 the Royal Horticultural Society of London reports the
+obtaining of over 40 pounds of fruit of marketable character from a
+single vine. An acre of such plants would give a yield of over 1,800
+bushels of fruit, and many similar yields, and even greater ones, have
+been recorded for single plants. The yield commonly obtained, even in
+favorable locations, and by men who have grown tomatoes all their lives,
+is more often less than 200 bushels to the acre than more. The way to
+secure a better yield is to study carefully the nature and requirements
+of the plants and the adaptation of our cultural practice to them.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Life habit of the plant.</strong>&mdash;The tomato could be described as a short-lived
+perennial, but its span of life is somewhat variable. Under favorable
+conditions it will develop from starting seed to first ripe fruit in
+from 85 to 120 days of full sunshine with a constant day temperature of
+from 75 to 90&deg; F., and with one from 15 to 20&deg; F. lower at night. The
+plants will ordinarily continue in full fruit for about 50 to 60 days,
+after which they generally become so exhausted by excessive production
+of fruit and the effects of diseases to which they are usually subject
+that their root action and sap circulation become weaker and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> weaker
+until they die from starvation. From Philadelphia southward gardeners
+expect that spring set plants will thus exhaust themselves and die by
+late summer, and they sow seed in late spring or early summer for plants
+on which they depend for late summer and fall crops.</p>
+
+<p>Under some conditions, particularly in the Gulf states and in
+California, tomato plants will not only grow to a much greater size than
+normal, but will continue to thrive and bear fruit for a longer time.
+Such a plant grown in Pasadena, Cal., was said to have been in constant
+bearing for over 10 months. Again, sometimes plants that have produced a
+full crop of fruits will start new sets of roots and leaves and produce
+a second and even a third crop, each, however, being produced on new
+branches and as a result of a fresh set of roots, those which produced
+the preceding crop having died and disappeared. The period of
+development, 85 to 120 days of full sunshine at a temperature above 75&deg;
+F., has been given. The full sunshine and high temperature are essential
+to such rapid development, and in so far as there is a lack of sunshine
+from clouds or shade, or the day temperature falls below 75&deg; F. the
+period will be lengthened, so that in the greater part of the United
+States the elapsed time between starting seed to ripened fruit is
+usually as much as from 120 to 150 days and often even longer.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Characteristics of the root.</strong>&mdash;The roots of the tomato plant, while
+abundant in number, are short and can only gather food and water from a
+limited area. A plant of garden bean, for instance, is not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> more than
+half the size of one of the tomato, but its roots extend through the
+soil to a greater distance, gather plant food from a greater bulk of
+soil, seem better able to search out and gather the particular food
+element which the plant needs than do those of the tomato. This
+characteristic of the latter plant makes the composition of the soil as
+to the proportion of easily available food elements of great importance.
+Tomato roots are also exceedingly tender and incapable of penetrating a
+hard and compact soil, so that the condition of the soil as to tilth is
+of greater importance with regard to tomatoes than with most garden
+vegetables.</p>
+
+<p>Another characteristic of the tomato roots is that the period of their
+active life is short. When young they are capable of transmitting water
+and nutritive material very rapidly, but they soon become clogged and
+inefficient to such an extent as to result in the starvation and death
+of the plant. If the branches of such an exhausted plant be bent over
+and covered with earth they will frequently start new roots and produce
+a fresh crop of fruit, or if plants which have made a crop in the
+greenhouse be transplanted to the garden and cut back, a new set of
+roots will often develop and the plant will produce a second crop of
+fruit which, in amount, often equals or exceeds the first one. But such
+growths come only from new roots springing from the stem&mdash;never from an
+extension of the old root system.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Characteristics of the stem and leaves.</strong>&mdash;The growth of the stem, and
+leaves of the young tomato plant is very rapid and, the cellular
+structure coarse,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> loose and open. A young branch is easily broken and
+when this is done it shows scarcely any fibrous structure&mdash;simply a mass
+of coarse cellular matter which while capable, when young, of
+transmitting nutritive matter rapidly, soon becomes dogged and inert.
+This structure not only makes the active life of the leaves short, like
+that of the roots, but necessitates a fresh growth in order to continue
+the fruitfulness of the plant and renders the leaves very susceptible to
+injury from bacterial and fungous diseases. The rapid growth also
+necessitates an abundance of sunlight.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Characteristics of the blossom.</strong>&mdash;The inflorescence of the tomato is
+usually abundant and it is rare that a plant does not produce sufficient
+blooms for a full crop. The flowers are perfect as far as parts are
+concerned (Fig. 2) and in bright, sunny weather there is an abundance of
+pollen, but sunlight and warmth are essential to its maturing into a
+condition in which it can easily reach the stigma. The structure and
+development of the flower are such that while occasionally, particularly
+in healthy plants out of doors, the stigma becomes receptive and takes
+the pollen as it is pushed out through the stamen tube by the elongating
+style, it is more often pushed beyond them before the pollen matures, so
+that the pollen has to reach the stigma through some other means.
+Usually this is accomplished by the wind, either directly or through the
+motion of the plants.</p>
+
+<p>Under glass it is generally necessary to assist the fertilization either
+directly by application or by motion of the plant, this latter only
+being effective in the middle of a bright sunny day. In the open ground<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>
+in cold, damp weather the flowers often fail of fertilization, in which
+case they drop, and this is often the first indication of a failing of
+the crop on large, strong vines. I have known of many cases where the
+yield of fruit from large and seemingly very healthy vines was very
+light because continual rains prevented the pollenization of the
+flowers. Such failures, however, do not always come from a want of
+pollen but may result from an over or irregular supply of water either
+at the root or in the air, imperfectly balanced food supply, a sapping
+of the vitality of the plants when young, or from other causes. Insects
+rarely visit tomato flowers and are seldom the means of their
+fertilization.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Characteristics of the fruit.</strong>&mdash;The fruit of the original species from
+which our cultivated tomatoes have developed was doubtless a
+comparatively small two to many-celled berry, with comparatively dry
+central placenta and thin walls. In some species the cells were
+indicated by distinct sutures, forming a rough or corrugated fruit. It
+has improved under cultivation by increase in size, the material
+thickening of the cell walls, the development of greater juiciness and
+richer flavor and a decrease in the size and dryness of the placenta, as
+well as the breaking up of the cells by fleshy partitions resulting in
+the disappearance of the deep sutures and an improvement in the
+smoothness and beauty of the fruit. (Fig. 11.)</p>
+
+<p>The quality of the fruit is largely dependent upon varietal differences,
+to be spoken of later, but it is also influenced by conditions of
+growth&mdash;such as the proportion of the nutritive elements found in the
+soil,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> the proper supply of moisture, the degree and uniformity of
+temperature and, most of all, the amount of sunlight. Sudden changes of
+temperature and moisture often result in cracks and fissures in the skin
+and flesh, which not only injure the appearance but affect the flavor of
+the fruit.<a name="fig11" id="fig11"></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;">
+<img src="images/i0036.png" width="300" height="359" alt="FIG. 11&mdash;TYPICAL BUNCH OF MODERN TOMATOES
+Contrast with Figs. 9 and 10" title="FIG. 11&mdash;TYPICAL BUNCH OF MODERN TOMATOES" />
+</div><p class="caption">FIG. 11&mdash;TYPICAL BUNCH OF MODERN TOMATOES<br />
+Contrast with Figs. 9 and 10</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2>
+
+<h3>Essentials for Development</h3>
+
+
+<p><strong>Sunlight.</strong>&mdash;Abundant and unobstructed sunlight is the most essential
+condition for the healthy growth of the tomato. It is a native of the
+sunny South and will not thrive except in full and abundant sunlight. I
+have never been able to grow good tomatoes in the shade even where it is
+only partial. The entire plant needs the sunlight. The blossoms often
+fail to set and the fruit is lacking in flavor because of shade, from
+excessive leaf growth, or other obstruction.</p>
+
+<p>The great difficulty in winter forcing tomatoes under glass in the North
+comes from the want of sunlight during the short days of the winter
+months. Were it not for the short winter days of the higher latitudes
+limiting the hours of sunshine, tomatoes could be grown under glass in
+the northern states to compete in price, when the better quality of
+vine-ripened fruits is considered, with those from the Gulf states.
+Growers are learning that tomatoes can be profitably grown under glass
+during the longer spring days, and consumers are beginning to appreciate
+the superior quality of fruit ripened on the vine over that picked green
+and ripened in transit. At no time is this need of abundance of light of
+greater importance than when the plants are young and, if they fail to
+receive it, no subsequent favorable conditions will enable them to
+recover fully from its ill effects. It is not so much<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> the want of room
+for the roots as of light for the leaves that makes the plants which
+have been crowded in the seed-beds so weak and unprofitable.</p>
+
+<p>I once divided 100 young tomato plants, about 2 inches high, into four
+lots of 25 each, numbering them 1, 2, 3 and 4. The plants of lots No. 1
+and 2 were set equal distance apart in box A, and those of lots No. 3
+and 4 in the same way in box B; both boxes being about 16 inches wide,
+40 inches long and 4 inches deep. The two boxes were set together across
+the side bench of a greenhouse with the outer edge against a board wall
+some 2&frac12; feet high, so that the plants at the end of the box near the
+wall received much less light than those at the other end. They remained
+there about five weeks and then were taken out and the plants set in the
+open ground. During the five weeks box A, containing lots No. 1 and 2,
+was changed, end for end, every day so that those two lots of plants
+received nearly an equal amount of sunlight, but box B was not changed
+so that lot No. 3, at one end of the box, was constantly near the walk
+and in the full light, while lot No. 4, at the other end of the box, was
+constantly near the wall and in partial shade. The effect on the growth
+of the plants was very marked. The plants of lot No. 4 were nearly twice
+as high, but with much softer stems and leaves than those of lot No. 3.
+The plants received equal care when set side by side in the open ground
+and at the time the first fruit was gathered seemed of equal size and
+vigor, but the total yield of fruit of lots No. 1, 2 and 3 was very
+nearly the same and in each case at the rate of over 100 bushels an acre
+more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> than that from lot No. 4. This is but one of the scores of
+experiences which have led me to appreciate, in some degree, the
+necessity of plenty of sunlight for the best development of the tomato.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Heat.</strong>&mdash;The plant thrives best out of doors in a dry temperature of 75 to
+85&deg; F., or even up to 95&deg; F., if the air is not too dry and is in gentle
+circulation. The rate of growth diminishes as the temperature falls
+below 75&deg; until at 50&deg; there is practically no growth; the plant is
+simply living at a poor dying rate and if the growth, particularly in
+young plants, is checked in this way for any considerable time they will
+never produce a full crop of fruit, even if the plants reach full size
+and are seemingly vigorous and healthy. The plant is generally killed by
+exposure for even a short time to freezing temperature, though young
+volunteer plants in the spring are frequently so hardened by exposure
+that they will survive a frost that crusts the ground they stand in; but
+such exposure affects the productiveness of the plant, even if it
+subsequently makes a seemingly vigorous and healthy growth. Under glass,
+plants usually do best in a temperature somewhat lower than is most
+desirable out of doors. I think this is due to the inevitable
+obstruction of the sunlight and the lack of perfect ventilation.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Moisture.</strong>&mdash;Although the tomato is not a desert plant and needs a
+plentiful supply of water, it suffers far more frequently, particularly
+when the plants are young, from an over-supply than from the want of
+water. Good drainage at the root and warm, dry, sunny air, in gentle
+motion, are what it delights in.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> Good drainage is essential not only to
+the best growth of the plant but to the production of any fruit of good
+quality. So important is this feature that though it can be readily
+proved that, other things being equal, the tomato will give larger yield
+and better fruit on well drained clay loam than on sandy soil, yet it is
+more generally and more successfully planted on sandy lands simply
+because they are usually better drained and on this account give better
+crops. While excess of water in the soil is most injurious to the young
+and growing plant, an abundance of it at the time the fruit swells and
+ripens is very essential, and a want of it at that time results in small
+and imperfect fruit of poor flavor. Excessive moisture in the air is
+just as injurious as at the root. In my personal experience I have known
+of more failures in tomato crops, at least in the northern states, to
+come from a season of persistent rains and damp atmosphere at the time
+when the plants should be in bloom and setting fruit than from any other
+climatic cause.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Food supply.</strong>&mdash;The tomato is not a gross feeder nor is the crop an
+exhaustive one, but the plant is very particular as to its food supply.
+It is an epicure among plants and demands that its food shall not only
+be to its taste in quality but that it be well served. In order for the
+plant to do its best, or even well, it is essential that the food
+elements be in the right proportions and readily available. If there is
+a deficiency of any single element there will be but a meager crop of
+fruit, no matter how abundant the supply of the others. An over-supply
+of an element, especially nitrogen, is hardly less injurious and will
+actually les<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>sen the yield of fruit though it may increase the size of
+the vine. Not only must the food be in right proportions but in such
+condition as to be readily available. Tomato roots have little power to
+wrest plant food from the soil. The use of coarse, unfermented manure is
+even more unsatisfactory with this than with other crops. The enormous
+yields sometimes obtained by English gardeners from plants grown under
+glass result from a supply of food of the right proportions and in
+solution, instead of incorporating it in a crude condition with the
+soil.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Cultivation.</strong>&mdash;The tomato is grown in all parts of the United States and
+under very different conditions, not only as to climate and soil but as
+to the facilities for growing and handling the crop and the way in which
+it is done. What would be ideal conditions of soil and the most
+advantageous methods under some conditions would not be at all desirable
+in others. In some cases the largest possible yield an acre, in others
+fruit at the lowest cost a bushel, or at the earliest possible date, or
+in a continuous supply and of the best quality, is the greatest
+desideratum. It is impossible to give specific instructions which would
+be applicable to all these varying conditions and requirements; so I
+give general cultural directions for maximum crops with variations
+suggested for special conditions and requirements, and then the reader
+may follow those which seem best suited to his individual conditions.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V</h2>
+
+<h3>Selection of Soil for Maximum Crop</h3>
+
+
+<p>Large yields of tomatoes have been, and can be, obtained from soils of
+varying composition, from a gumbo prairie, a black marsh muck, or a
+stiff, tenacious clay, to one of light drifting sand, provided other
+conditions, such as drainage, tilth and fertility are favorable. The
+Connecticut experiment station and others have secured good results from
+plants grown under glass in a soil of sifted coal ashes and muck, or
+even from coal ashes alone, the requisite plant food being supplied in
+solution. But a maximum crop could never, and a full one very seldom, be
+produced on a soil, no matter what its composition, which could not be,
+or was not put into and kept in a good state of tilth, or on one which
+was poorly drained, sodden or sour, or which was so leachy that it was
+impossible to retain a fair supply of moisture and of plant food.</p>
+
+<p>Of the 10 largest yields of which I have personal knowledge and which
+ran from 1,000 to 1,200 bushels of fruit (acceptable for canning and at
+least two-thirds of it of prime market quality) an acre, four were grown
+on soils classed as clay loam, two on heavy clay&mdash;one of which was so
+heavy that clay for making brick was subsequently taken from the very
+spot which yielded the most and best fruit&mdash;one on what had been a black
+ash swamp, one on a sandy muck, two on a sandy loam and one on a light
+sand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> made very rich by heavy, annual manuring for several years. They
+were all perfectly watered and drained, in good heart, liberally
+fertilized with manures of proved right proportions for each field, and
+above all, the fields were put into and kept in perfect tilth by methods
+suited to each case; while the plants used were of good stock and so
+grown, set and cultivated that their growth was never stopped or hardly
+checked for even a day. These conditions as to soil and culture,
+together with seasons of exceptionally favorable weather, resulted in
+uniformly large crops on these widely different soils.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>
+<img src="images/i0044.jpg" width="600" height="340" alt="FIG. 12&mdash;TOMATOES TRAINED TO STAKES ON A GEORGIA FARM"
+title="FIG. 12&mdash;TOMATOES TRAINED TO STAKES ON A GEORGIA FARM" />
+</div>
+<p class="caption">FIG. 12&mdash;TOMATOES TRAINED TO STAKES ON A GEORGIA FARM</p>
+
+
+<p>The composition of the soil, then, as to its proportions of sand or clay
+is of minor importance as regards a maximum yield or as to quality of
+the fruit, except as it affects our ability to put and keep the soil in
+good physical condition. The tomato crop, however, particularly when the
+plants are trimmed and trained to stakes, as is the usual practice in
+the South, as seen in Fig. 12, with crops grown for early shipment,
+necessitates in the trimming and training of the plants and the
+gathering of the fruit when it is in the right degree of maturity for
+shipment a great deal of trampling of the surface regardless of whether
+it is wet or dry. Consequently if the surface soil has any considerable
+proportion of clay there is danger of compacting and even puddling it by
+working when wet, to the great detriment of the crop. Again, a more or
+less sandy surface soil can be much more easily worked than one with a
+large proportion of clay. For these reasons our choice of a soil for the
+lowest cost a bushel and probably for a maximum yield should be a rich
+sandy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> or sandy loam surface soil overlying a well-drained clay
+sub-soil. I would prefer one which was originally covered with a heavy
+growth of beech and maple timber, though I should want it to be "old
+land" at the time. Tomatoes do not succeed as well on prairie soils,
+particularly if they are at all heavy, as they do on timbered lands, but
+one need not despair of a profitable crop of tomatoes on any soil which
+would give a fair crop of corn or of cotton.</p>
+
+<p><strong>For early-ripening fruit.</strong>&mdash;Sometimes the profit and satisfaction from a
+tomato crop depend more largely upon the earliness of ripening than upon
+the amount of yield or cost of growing. In such cases a warm, sandy
+loam, or even a distinctly sandy soil, is to be preferred, as this is
+apt to be warmer and the fruit will be matured much earlier on it than
+on a heavier soil. It is essential, however, that it be well drained and
+warm. Often lands classed as sandy are really colder than some of those
+classed as clay, and such soils should be carefully avoided if early
+maturity is important.</p>
+
+<p><strong>For the home garden.</strong>&mdash;Here we seldom have a choice, but no one need
+despair and abandon effort, no matter what the soil may be, for it is
+quite possible to raise an abundant home supply on any soil and that,
+too, without inordinate cost and labor. Some of the most prolific plants
+and the finest fruits I have ever seen were grown in a village lot which
+five years before had been filled in to a depth of 3 to 10 feet with
+clay, coal ashes and refuse from a brick and coal yard. In another
+instance magnificent fruit was grown in a garden where the soil was
+originally made up chiefly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> of sawdust mixed with sand, drawn on a
+foundation of sawmill edgings so as to raise it above the water of a
+swamp. Where one has to contend with such conditions he should make an
+effort to create a friable soil with a supply of humus by adding the
+material needed. A very few loads, sometimes even a single load, of clay
+or sand will greatly change the character of the soil of a sufficient
+area to grow the one or two dozen plants necessary for a family supply.
+In the two cases mentioned, the owner of the first named garden used
+both sand and sawdust to lighten his soil, while the second drew a great
+many loads of clay on his.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Growing under glass.</strong>&mdash;I would make up a soil composed of about three
+parts rotted sod, two or three parts of well-rotted stable manure (and
+it is very important that it be well decomposed) and one part either of
+coarse, sharp sand, sandy loam or clay loam, according as the sod soil
+is light or heavy, the aim being to form a rich, light, open soil rather
+than one which is as heavy and compact as desirable for some plants. If
+sod soil is not available, of course, garden loam can be substituted,
+but it is very important that the soil be thoroughly mixed, and
+desirable that it be prepared sometime before it is to be used. Some
+growers use the same soil for several crops, simply adding some fresh
+manure; but, if so used, it is important that it be stirred and
+thoroughly re-mixed and sterilized.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI</h2>
+
+<h3>Exposure and Location</h3>
+
+
+<p>In sections where there is danger of the plants being killed by early
+fall frosts before they have ripened their entire crop, exposure of the
+field is sometimes of importance in determining the marketable yield.</p>
+
+<p>A gentle inclination to the south, with a protection of higher land or
+timber on the sides from which frost or high winds are most likely to
+come, is the best. A steep descent to the south, shut in by high land to
+the east and west, so as to form a hot pocket, is not favorable for a
+maximum crop although it may give a smaller yield of early ripening
+fruit; nor is a small field entirely surrounded by forest desirable.</p>
+
+<p>I once knew of a field, of about two acres, sloping to the south and
+entirely surrounded by heavy timber, on which two or three tomato crops
+were failures when other fields on the same farm gave large yields, but
+after the timber on the south and east had been cut away this field
+generally gave the largest yield in the neighborhood.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Location.</strong>&mdash;While exposure is in some cases an important factor in
+determining the total yield an acre, and so the cost, the location of
+the field as regards distance from marketing point and the character of
+the roads between them is of far greater importance in determining the
+cost and profit of crop, but one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> which is very often disregarded. The
+marketable product of an acre of tomatoes weighs from 3 to 30 tons,
+which is not only more than that of most farm crops, but the product is
+of such character that its value is easily destroyed by long hauls over
+ordinary roads. It has to be marketed within a day or two of the time it
+is in prime condition, regardless of the conditions of the roads or
+weather; so that it is quite deceptive to estimate the cost of delivery
+at the same rate a ton, as for potatoes or wheat, for it always costs
+more, and sometimes several times more, to deliver tomatoes than it
+would to deliver the same weight of less perishable crops. In most cases
+the cost of picking and delivery is one of the most important factors in
+determining profit and loss, particularly when the crop is grown for
+canning factories, where one often has to wait for hours for his team to
+unload. These conditions make it very important that the field be
+located within a short distance of, and connected by good roads with the
+point of delivery.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Early maturing fruit.</strong>&mdash;Where early maturity is the great desideratum the
+exposure of the field is often very important. It should, first of all,
+be such as to secure comparative freedom from spring frosts so as to
+permit of early setting of the plants and the full benefit of the
+sunshine as well as protection from cold winds. There is often a great
+difference in these respects between fields quite near each other.
+Professor Rolfs, of Florida, mentions a case where the tomatoes in a
+field sloping to the southeast and protected on the north and west by a
+strip of oak timber were uninjured by a spring frost that killed not
+only all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> the plants in neighboring fields, but those in the same field
+farther away from the protecting timber. Such spots should be sought out
+and utilized, as often they can be used to great advantage. Immediate
+proximity to large bodies of water is sometimes advantageous in the
+South, but in the North it is often disadvantageous for early fruit
+because of the chilling of the air and the increased danger of spring
+frosts, although affording protection from those of early fall. Here,
+too, proximity of field to shipping point and distance and
+transportation rate to market are very important factors affecting
+profit on the crop.</p>
+
+<p><strong>The home garden.</strong>&mdash;The south side of buildings or of tight fences and
+walls often furnishes a most desirable place for garden tomatoes, but
+the plants should be set at least 6 to 10 feet from the protection and
+not so as to be trained upon or much shaded by them, as the disadvantage
+of shutting off the light and circulation of the air, even from the
+north, would more than overbalance anything gained by the protection.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Growing under glass.</strong>&mdash;In this country tomatoes are seldom grown under
+glass except during the darker winter months and the exposure of the
+house; the form of the roof and the method of glazing which will give
+the greatest possible light, are of importance, for tomatoes can not be
+profitably grown in a dark house. Just how the greatest amount of light
+may be made available in any particular case will depend upon local
+conditions, but every effort should be made to secure the most
+unobstructed sunlight possible and for the greatest number of hours each
+day.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span></p>
+
+<p><strong>Previous crop and condition.</strong>&mdash;In field culture tomatoes should not
+follow tomatoes or potatoes. Both of these crops make use of large
+quantities of potash, and although a small part of that used by the
+plants is taken from the field in the crop, they inevitably reduce the
+proportion of this element in the soil&mdash;that is, in such condition as to
+be readily available for the succeeding crop. It is true that the
+deficiency in potash may be supplied, but it is not so easy to supply it
+in a condition in which it is possible for the roots of the tomato to
+take it in. Unlike potatoes, tomatoes do not do well on new land,
+whether it be newly cleared timber lands or new breaking of prairie.
+Clover leaves the land in better condition for tomatoes than any other
+of the commonly grown farm crops, while for second choice I prefer one
+of peas, beans, corn, or wheat in the order named.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most successful tomato growers I know of, whose soil is a
+rich, dark clay loam, prepares for the crop, as follows: Very late in
+the fall or early in the spring he gives a clover sod a heavy dressing
+of manure and plows it under. In the spring he prepares the ground by
+frequent cultivation and plants it with early sweet corn or summer
+squash. At the time of the last cultivation of these crops he sows
+clover seed, covering it with a cultivator having many small teeth, and
+rarely fails to get a good stand and a good growth of young clover
+before the ground freezes. In the spring he plows this under, running
+the plow as deep as possible and following in the furrow with a
+sub-soiler which stirs, but does not bring the sub-soil to the surface.
+He then gives the field a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> heavy dressing with wood ashes and puts it
+into the best possible tilth before planting his tomatoes. This grown
+usually harvests at least 500 bushels to the acre and has made a crop of
+over 1,000 bushels.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Early market.</strong>&mdash;In some sections of the South where the soil is light and
+the growers depend almost wholly on the use of large quantities of
+commercial fertilizer, they seem to meet with the best success by using
+the same field for several successive crops, but in some places they
+succeed best with plantings following a crop of cowpeas or other green
+soiling crops plowed under, with a good dressing of lime.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII</h2>
+
+<h3>Fertilizers</h3>
+
+
+<p>The experiences and opinions of different gardeners and writers vary
+greatly as to the amount and kind of fertilizer necessary for the
+production of the maximum crop of tomatoes. If the question were as to
+the growth of vine all would agree that the more fertilizer used and the
+richer the soil, the better. Some growers act as if this were equally
+true as to fruit, while others declare that one can easily use too much
+fertilizer and get the ground too rich not only for a maximum but for a
+profitable crop of fruit. I find that the amount an acre recommended by
+successful growers varies from 40 tons of well-rotted stable manure,
+supplemented by 1,000 pounds of complete fertilizer and 1,000 pounds of
+unleached ashes, to one of only 300 pounds of potato fertilizer.</p>
+
+<p>In my own experience the largest yield that I can recall was produced on
+what would be called rich land, and the application of fertilizer for
+the tomato crop was not in excess (unless possibly of potash) of that of
+the usual annual dressing. I think that in preparing a soil for
+tomatoes, as in selecting social acquaintances, the "new rich" are to be
+avoided. A soil which is rich because of judicious manuring and careful
+cropping for many years can scarcely be too rich, while one that is made
+rich by a single application of fertilizer, no matter how well
+proportioned,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> may give even a smaller yield of fruit because of its
+excessive use. Again, the proportions of the various food elements vary
+greatly in different locations.</p>
+
+<p>Professor Halstead finds that in his section of New Jersey the liberal
+use of nitrate of soda increases the yield and improves the quality,
+while in some localities of New York, Ohio, and the West, growers find
+that the yield of first-class fruit was actually lessened by its use. In
+some sections of the South liberality in the use of phosphates
+determines the amount and the quality of the crop, while at other points
+it seems to be of little value. In my own experience the liberal
+application of potash, particularly in the form of wood ashes, has more
+often given good results than the application of any other special
+fertilizer.</p>
+
+<p>If called upon to name the exact quantity and kind of manure for
+tomatoes, without any knowledge of the soil or its previous condition, I
+would say 8 to 10 tons of good stable manure worked into the soil as
+late as possible in the fall or during the winter and early spring and
+300 to 600 pounds of commercial fertilizer, of such composition as to
+furnish 2 per cent. nitrogen, 6 per cent. phosphoric acid and 8 per
+cent. potash scattered and worked into the row about the time that the
+plants are set. The use of a large proportion of nitrogen tends to rank
+growth of vine and soft, watery fruit. The use of a large proportion of
+phosphoric acid tends to produce soft fruit with less distinctly acid
+flavor; of potash, to smaller growth of vine and firm but more acid
+fruit.</p>
+
+<p>I think that even more than with most crops it will be well for the
+farmer to experiment to determine the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> best and most economical
+fertilizer for his soil, setting aside five to ten plots of 1 to 4
+square rods each and apply nitrate of soda, muriate of potash, wood,
+ashes, and phosphate alone and in different combinations. The results
+will suggest the combination which he can use to best advantage. In the
+majority of cases, however, where the soil is reasonably rich,
+expenditures for putting the ground in the best possible state of tilth
+will give larger returns than those for manures in excess of that which
+the land has usually received in the regular rotation for ordinary farm
+crops.</p>
+
+<p><strong>For the home garden.</strong>&mdash;Usually a dressing of wood ashes up to a rate of 1
+bushel to the square rod, well worked into the soil before the plants
+are set, and occasionally watering with liquid manure, will generally
+give the best returns of any special fertilization, it being assumed
+that the garden has been well enriched with stable manure.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Tomatoes under glass.</strong>&mdash;Some growers recommend frequent waterings with
+liquid manure; others a surface dressing of sheep manure; still others a
+mulch of moderately well decayed stable manure. Plants growing under
+glass, particularly in pots or boxes, seem to be benefitted by so heavy
+a dressing that if applied to plants growing outside it would be likely
+to give excessive growth of vine with but little fruit.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h2>
+
+<h3>Preparation of the Soil</h3>
+
+
+<p>The proper preparation of the soil before setting the plants is one of
+the most essential points in successful tomato culture. The soil should
+be put into the best possible physical condition and to the greatest
+practicable depth. How this can be best accomplished will vary greatly
+with different soils and the facilities at the command of the planter.
+My practice on a heavy, dry soil is to plow shallow as early in the
+spring as the ground is fit to work, and then work and re-work the
+surface so as to make it as fine as possible.</p>
+
+<p>If I am to use any manure which is at all coarse, it is well worked in
+at this time. A week or 10 days before I expect to set the plants I
+again plow, and to as great a depth as practicable, without turning up
+much of the sub-soil, and if this has not been done within two years,
+follow in the furrows with a sub-soil plow which loosens, but does not
+bring the sub-soil to the surface. Then I work and re-work the surface,
+at the same time working in any dressing of well-rotted manure, ashes or
+commercial fertilizer that I want to use. I never regret going over the
+field again, if by so doing I can improve its condition in the least. On
+a lighter soil it might be better to compact rather than loosen as much
+as would give the best results with clay, but always and everywhere the
+soil should be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> made fine, friable and uniform in condition, to the
+greatest depth possible.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most successful growers has said that if he could afford to
+spend but two days' time on a patch of tomatoes he would use a day and a
+half of the two days in fitting the ground before he set the plants. It
+is my opinion that any working of the ground that serves to get it into
+better mechanical condition, if done economically, will not only
+increase the yield, but to such an extent as to lower the cost a bushel.
+T. B. Terry's teaching of the necessity for working and re-working the
+soil, if one would have the largest crops of potatoes of the best
+quality, is even more applicable to the culture of tomatoes.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Home garden.</strong>&mdash;Here there is no excuse for setting plants in hard, lumpy
+soil. It should be worked and re-worked, not simply once or twice, but
+once or twice after it has been thoroughly worked. In short, the tomato
+bed should be made as friable as it is possible to make it and to as
+great a depth as the character of the sub-soil will permit.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Under glass.</strong>&mdash;I would strongly advise that soil for tomatoes, whether it
+is to be used in solid beds or in pots or boxes, be thoroughly
+sterilized by piling it not over 15 inches deep or wide over iron pipes
+perforated with two lines of holes about one-sixteenth inch in diameter
+and 2 inches apart and filled with steam for at least a half hour. It
+can be sterilized, but far less effectively, by thorough wetting with
+boiling water. It should always be well stirred and aired before the
+plants are set in it.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Starting plants.</strong>&mdash;From about the latitude of New<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> York city southward,
+it is possible to secure large yields from plants grown from seed sown
+in place in the field, and one often sees volunteer plants which have
+sprung up as weeds carrying as much or more fruit than most carefully
+grown transplanted ones beside them. In many sections tomatoes are grown
+in large areas for canning factories, and as a farm rather than a market
+garden crop, individual farmers planting from 10 to 100 acres; and to
+start and transplant to the field the 25,000 to 30,000 plants necessary
+for a ten-acre field seems a great undertaking. Tomato plants, however,
+when young, are of rather weak and tender growth, and need more careful
+culture than can be readily given in the open field; and, again, the
+demand of the market, even at the canning factories, is for delivery of
+the crop earlier than it can be produced by sowing the seed in the
+field.</p>
+
+<p>For these reasons it is almost the universal custom of successful
+growers to use plants started under glass or in seed-beds where
+conditions of heat and moisture can be somewhat under control. I
+believe, however, that the failure to secure a maximum yield is more
+often due to defective methods of starting, handling and setting the
+plants than to any other single cause. In sections where tomatoes are
+largely grown there are usually men who make a business of starting
+plants and offering them for sale at prices running from $1 or even as
+low as 40 cents, up to $8 and $10 a 1,000, according to their age and
+the way they are grown; but generally, it will be found more
+advantageous for the planter to start his plants on or near the field
+where they are to be grown.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span></p>
+
+<p><strong>Tomato plants from cuttings</strong> may be easily grown, but such plants, when
+planted in the open ground, do not yield as much fruit as seedlings nor
+is this apt to be of so good quality; so that, in practice, seedlings
+only are used for outside crops. Under glass, plants from cuttings do
+relatively better and some growers prefer them, as they commence to
+fruit earlier and do not make so rank a growth.</p>
+
+<p>Seedlings can be most easily started and grown, at least up to the time
+of pricking out, in light, well-ventilated greenhouses, and many large
+growers have them for this specific purpose. Houses for starting tomato
+plants should be so situated as to be fully exposed to the sun and not
+shaded in any way; be provided with heating apparatus by which a night
+temperature of 60 and up to one of 80&deg; F. in the day can be maintained
+even in the coldest weather and darkest days likely to occur for 60 to
+90 days before the plants can be safely set out in the open field; and
+the houses should be well glazed and ventilated.</p>
+
+<p>Houses well suited for this purpose are often built of hotbed sash with
+no frame but a simple ridge-board and sides 1 or 2 feet high, head room
+being gained by a central sunken path and the sash so fastened in place
+that they may be easily lifted to give ventilation or entirely removed
+to give full exposure to sunshine, or for storing when the house is not
+needed. Hotbed sash 3x6 feet with side-bars projecting at the ends to
+facilitate fastening them in place are usually kept by dealers, who
+offer them at from $1.50 to $3 each, according to the quality of the
+material used.</p>
+
+<p>A hot water heating apparatus is the best, but often<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> one can use a
+brick furnace or an iron heating stove, connected with a flue of sewer
+or drain-pipe that will answer very well and cost much less. It requires
+but 6 to 10 square feet of bench to start plants enough for an acre, and
+a house costing only from $25 to $50 will enable one to grow plants
+enough for 20 acres up to the stage when they can be pricked out into
+sash or cloth-covered cold-frames in which they can be grown on to the
+size best suited for setting in the field. When a grower plants less
+than 5 acres it is often better for him to sow his seed in flats or
+shallow boxes and arrange to have these cared for in some neighboring
+greenhouse for the 10 to 20 days before they can be pricked out.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX</h2>
+
+<h3>Hotbeds and Cold-frames</h3>
+
+
+<p>Plants can be advantageously started and even grown on to the size for
+setting in open ground in hotbeds. In building these of manure it is
+important to select a spot where there is no danger of standing water,
+even after the heaviest rains, and it is well to remove the soil to a
+depth of 6 inches or 1 foot from a space about 2 feet larger each way
+than the bed and to build the manure up squarely to a hight of 2 to 3
+feet. It is also very important that the bed of manure be of uniform
+composition as regards mixture of straw and also as to age, density and
+moisture, so as to secure uniformity in heating. This can be
+accomplished by shaking out and evenly spreading each forkful and
+repeatedly and evenly tramping down as the bed is built up. Unless this
+work is well and carefully done the bed will heat and settle unevenly,
+making it impossible to secure uniformity of growth in different parts.</p>
+
+<p>Hotbed frames should be of a size to carry four to six 3x6-foot sash,
+and made of lumber so fastened together that they can be easily knocked
+apart and stored when not in use. They should be about 10 inches high in
+front and 16 or 18 inches at the back, care being taken that if the back
+is made of two boards one of them be narrow and at the bottom so that
+the crack between them can be covered by banking up<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> with manure or
+earth. In placing them on the manure short pieces of board should be
+laid under the corners to prevent their settling in the manure unevenly.
+I prefer to sow the seed in flats or shallow boxes filled with rich but
+sandy and very friable soil, and set these on a layer of sifted coal
+ashes covering the manure and made perfectly level, but many growers sow
+on soil resting directly on the manure; if this is done the soil should
+be light and friable and made perfectly level. A perspective view of a
+three-sash hotbed is given in Fig. 13, and of a cross-section in Fig.
+14.<a name="fig13" id="fig13"></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i0061.png" width="400" height="220" alt="FIG. 13&mdash;THREE-SASH HOTBED" title="FIG. 13&mdash;THREE-SASH HOTBED" />
+<span class="caption">FIG. 13&mdash;THREE-SASH HOTBED</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In some sections, particularly in the South, it is not always easy to
+procure suitable manure for making hotbeds, so these are built to be
+warmed by flues under ground, but I think it much better where a fire is
+to be used that the sash be built into the form of a house. A hotbed of
+manure is preferred to a house by some because of its supplying uniform
+and moist bottom heat&mdash;and one can easily give abundant air;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> but the
+sash can be built into the form of a house at but little more expense,
+and it has the great advantage of enabling one to work among the plants
+in any weather, while, if properly built, any desired degree of heat and
+ventilation can be easily secured. Except when very early ripening fruit
+is the desideratum, plants started with heat but pricked out and grown
+in cold-frames without it, but where they can be protected during cold
+nights and storms, will give better results than those grown to full
+size for the field in artificial heat.<a name="fig14" id="fig14"></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i0062.png" width="400" height="199" alt="FIG. 14&mdash;CROSS-SECTION OF HOTBED" title="FIG. 14&mdash;CROSS-SECTION OF HOTBED" />
+<span class="caption">FIG. 14&mdash;CROSS-SECTION OF HOTBED</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><strong>Cold-frames.</strong>&mdash;In locations where tomatoes are much grown large areas are
+devoted to cold-frames covered either by sash or cloth curtains. Sash
+give much better protection from cold and on this account are more
+desirable, particularly where very early fruiting is wanted, but their
+first cost is much greater and the labor of attending to beds covered by
+them is much more than where cloth is used. Sash-covered beds should be
+of single width and run east and west, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> if the beds are covered with
+cloth it is better that they be double width (12 feet) and run north and
+south. The front of the single and the sides of the double width beds
+should be 8 to 10 inches high, held firmly erect by stakes and perfectly
+parallel, both horizontally and vertically, with the back or with the
+central support. This should be 6 inches higher than the front. The
+cross strips, when sash are used, should be made of a 3-inch horizontal
+and a 1&frac12;-inch vertical strip of 1-inch lumber nailed together very
+firmly in the form of an inverted T, the vertical pieces projecting 1
+inch at each end and resting on the front and back of the bed and
+forming supports and guides for the sash. Some growers use vertical
+strips as heavy as 2&times;3 or 4 inches for stepping across the beds. When<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>
+the plants are to be taken to the field, the sash and guides can be
+easily removed. (Fig. 15.)<a name="fig15" id="fig15"></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i0063.png" width="400" height="294" alt="FIG. 15&mdash;COLD-FRAMES ON HILL-SIDE" title="FIG. 15&mdash;COLD-FRAMES ON HILL-SIDE" />
+<span class="caption">FIG. 15&mdash;COLD-FRAMES ON HILL-SIDE</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Ground to be covered with cold-frames should be made very friable and
+rich by repeated plowing and working in of a liberal dressing of
+well-rotted stable manure and wood ashes. In southwestern New Jersey,
+where immense areas of early tomatoes are grown, the soil of the beds
+for a depth of about 6 inches is removed and a layer 3 to 5 inches deep
+of well-rotted stable manure is placed in. That made of a mixture of
+manure from horses, cattle and hogs is preferred. It is important that
+the manure be so well rotted that it will not heat, and so dry that it
+will not become pasty when tramped into a firm, level layer. On this
+they place a layer of nearly 3 inches deep of rich, friable, moderately
+compact soil and prick out the plants into this. The roots soon bind the
+manure and soil together and by cutting through the manure so as to form
+blocks one can carry the plants to the fields with but very little
+disturbance of the root.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Cloth covers for beds</strong> should be made of heavy, unbleached sheeting or
+light duck, and it is better that the selvage run up and down the bed
+rather than lengthwise. The cloth is torn into lengths of about 13 feet
+and then sewn together with a narrow double-stitched flat seam so as to
+form a sheet 13 feet wide and about 8 inches longer than the bed. The
+edges are tacked every foot to the strips about 2 inches wide by 7/8
+inch thick with beveled outside edges and laid perfectly in line. A
+second line of strips is then nailed to the first so as to break joints
+with it and so that the two will form a continuous roller about a foot
+longer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> than the bed with the edge of the curtain firmly fastened in its
+center. The center of the curtain is secured to the central ridge of the
+bed by strips of lath. When rolled up, the rollers are held in place by
+loops of rope around their ends and when they are down they are held by
+similar loops to the notched tent-pins driven into the ground or to
+wooden buttons fastened to the sides and ends of the frame as shown in
+Fig. 16.<a name="fig16" id="fig16"></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i0065.png" width="400" height="332" alt="FIG. 16&mdash;TRANSPLANTING TOMATOES UNDER CLOTH-COVERED FRAMES (Photo by Prof. W. G. Johnson)" title="FIG. 16&mdash;TRANSPLANTING TOMATOES UNDER CLOTH-COVERED FRAMES" />
+</div><p class="caption">FIG. 16&mdash;TRANSPLANTING TOMATOES UNDER CLOTH-COVERED FRAMES <br />
+(Photo by Prof. W. G. Johnson)</p>
+
+
+<p>Cloth covers are sometimes dressed with oil, but this is not to be
+recommended, though it is an advantage to have them wet occasionally
+with a weak solution of copper sulphate or with sea water as a
+preser<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>vative and to prevent mildew. Such covers, well cared for, may
+last five years or be of little use after the first, depending upon the
+care given them. They can be made from 50 to 200 feet long and two men
+can roll them up or down very quickly.</p>
+
+<p>When cloth covers are used the supporting cross-strips should not be
+over 3 inches wide nor more than 3 feet apart; sometimes the strips are
+made to bind the sideboard and ridge together by means of short pieces
+of hoop iron or of barrel hoop. These are so placed and nailed as to
+hold the upper edge of sideboards and of the central ridge flush with
+the cross-strips, thus forming a smooth surface for cloth to rest on and
+enabling one easily to "knock down" and remove the frames to facilitate
+the taking of the plants from the bed to the field and the storing of
+the frames for another season.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Flats for starting seeds.</strong>&mdash;Any shallow box may be used or the plants
+sown directly in the beds without them, but flats of a uniform size are
+to be preferred&mdash;these will pack well on the greenhouse shelves; or in
+the hotbed we make them with 7/8 inch thick ends and &frac12; inch thick
+sides and bottom, the latter if of a single board having four half-inch
+holes for drainage and in any case having two narrow strips about &frac14;
+inch thick nailed across their bottoms so as to allow drainage water to
+escape freely when the boxes are set on hard, cool floors. Two or three
+such boxes, 35&frac12; inches long, 12 inches wide and 3 inches deep, will
+be sufficient to start plants enough for an acre. I like to use similar
+boxes only 4 inches deep for growing the plants after they are pricked
+out, particularly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> if this is to be done in a greenhouse, as by turning
+them we can equalize exposure to light and thus distribute the plants in
+the field where they are to be set with the least possible disturbance.
+One would need nearly 60 such boxes for plants enough for an acre. On
+account of the lessened necessity for watering when plants are set in
+beds rather than in boxes, many growers prefer to grow their plants in
+that way.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X</h2>
+
+<h3>Starting Plants</h3>
+
+
+<p>This has been the subject of a vast amount of horticultural writing, and
+the practice of different growers, and in different sections, varies
+greatly. I give the methods I have used successfully, together with
+reasons for following them, but it may be well for the reader to modify
+them to suit his own conditions and requirements.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Largest yield.</strong>&mdash;Some 45 to 50 days before plants can be safely set in
+the open field the flats in which the seed is to be sown should be
+filled with light, rich, friable soil, it being important that its
+surface be made perfectly level, and that it be compact and quite moist,
+but not so wet as to pack under pressure. Sow the seed in drills 3/8
+inch deep and 2 to 3 inches apart at the rate of 10 to 20 to the inch;
+press the soil evenly over them, water and place in the shade in an even
+temperature of 80 to 90&deg; F. As soon as the seeds begin to break soil,
+which they should do in three to four days, place in full light and
+temperature of 75 to 80&deg;, keeping the air rather close so as to avoid
+necessity of watering. After a few days reduce the temperature to about
+65&deg; and give as much air as possible. Some growers press a short piece
+of 2-inch joist into the soil of the benches, so as to form trenches 2
+inches wide and about 3/8 inch deep, and so spaced as to be under the
+center of each row of glass, their sash being<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> mostly made of five-inch
+glass. In this, by using a little tin box with holes in the top, like
+those of a pepper-box, they scatter seeds so that they will be nearly
+1/8 to &frac14; inch apart, over the bottom of the 2-inch wide trench, and
+then cover. This has the advantage of evenly spacing the plants and so
+locating the rows that the plants will be little liable to injury from
+drip.</p>
+
+<p>Young tomato plants are very sensitive to over-supply of water and some
+of the most successful growers do not water at all until the plants are
+quite large and then only when necessary to prevent wilting. In 10 to 15
+days, or as soon as the central bud is well started, the plants should
+be pricked out, setting them 3 to 6 inches apart, according to the size
+we expect them to reach before they go into the field; 5 inches is the
+most common distance used. I think it better to set the full distance
+apart at first, not to transplant a second time. It is very important
+that this pricking out should be done when the plants are young and
+small, though many successful growers wait until they are larger. The
+soil in which they are set, whether it be in boxes or beds, should be
+composed of about three parts garden loam, two parts well-rotted stable
+manure and one part of an equal mixture of sand and leaf mold, though
+the proportion of sand used should be increased if the garden loam is
+clayey. The soil in the seed-boxes or in the beds, when the seedlings
+are taken up, should be in such condition, and the plants be handled in
+such a way that nearly all the roots, carrying with them many particles
+of soil, are saved. The plants should be set a little, and but a little,
+deeper than they stood in the seed-box and the soil so pressed about
+the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> roots, particularly at their lower end, that the plants can not be
+easily pulled out.<a name="fig17" id="fig17"></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i0070.png" width="400" height="100" alt="FIG. 17&mdash;SPOTTING-BOARD FOR USE IN COLD-FRAMES" title="FIG. 17&mdash;SPOTTING-BOARD FOR USE IN COLD-FRAMES" />
+<span class="caption">FIG. 17&mdash;SPOTTING-BOARD FOR USE IN COLD-FRAMES</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Where plants are set in beds the work can be facilitated by the use of a
+"spotting-board" (Fig. 17). This should be about 1 foot in width, and
+have pegs about 3 inches long, &frac34; inch in diameter at the base and
+tapering to a point, fastened into the board the distance apart the
+plants are to be set. It should also have narrow projections carrying a
+single peg nailed to the top of board at each end, so that when these
+pegs are placed in the end holes of the last row the first row of pegs
+in the "spotting board" will be the right distance from the last row of
+holes or plants. By standing on this, while setting plants in one set of
+holes, holes for another set are formed. If the conditions of soil, air
+and plants are right and the work is well done, the plants will show
+little tendency to wilt, and it is better to prevent their doing so by
+shading, rather than by watering, though the latter should be resorted
+to if necessary. When <ins class="mycorr" title="Original: plans"><a id="corr1" name="corr1"></a>plants</ins> are set in beds, some growers remove the
+soil to a depth of about 6 inches and put in a layer of about 2 inches
+of sifted coal ashes, made perfectly level, and then replace the soil.
+This confines the roots to the surface and enables one to secure nearly
+all of them when transplanting. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> plants should be well established
+in 24 hours and after this the more light and air that can be given,
+without the temperature falling below 40&deg; F. or subjecting the plants to
+cold, dry wind, the better.<a name="fig18" id="fig18"></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i0071.png" width="400" height="227" alt="FIG. 18&mdash;SPOTTING-BOARD FOR USE ON FLAT (From W. G. Johnson)" title="" />
+<span class="caption">FIG. 18&mdash;SPOTTING-BOARD FOR USE ON FLAT<br />(From W. G. Johnson)</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>One can hardly overstate the importance to the healthy growth of the
+young tomato plant of abundant sunshine, a uniform day temperature of
+from 60 to 80&deg; F., or of the ill effects of a variable temperature,
+particularly if it be the result of cold, dry winds, or of a wet, soggy
+soil, the effect of over-watering. These points should be kept in mind
+in caring for the plants, and every effort made to secure, as far as
+possible, the first named conditions and to avoid the latter. The
+frames, whether they be covered with sash or cloth, but more
+particularly if with sash in sunshine and with curtains in dull days,
+should be opened so as to prevent their becoming too hot, and so as to
+admit air. And in a greenhouse full ventilation should<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> be given
+whenever it is possible to do so without exposure to too low a
+temperature. If the plants are in boxes and on greenhouse shelves, it is
+important that these be turned end for end every few days to equalize
+exposure to light and give full exposure to the sun. The plants should
+be watered only when necessary to prevent wilting, and the beds should
+be covered during heavy rains. A "spotting-board" for use on flats is
+seen in Fig. 18.</p>
+
+<p>The most unfavorable weather conditions are bright sun combined with a
+cold wind, and cold storms of drizzling rain and frosty nights. Loss
+from the latter cause may often be prevented by covering the beds with
+coarse straw, which should always be provided for use in an emergency.
+Many growers provide a second curtain&mdash;an old one answers very well&mdash;to
+throw over the straw-covered beds. Beds so covered will protect the
+plants from frost in quite severe weather. Watering should especially be
+avoided for nearly three days before setting in fields; but six to
+twelve hours before it is well to water thoroughly, though not so as to
+make the soil at all muddy. About five days after pricking out and again
+about five days before the plants are to go into the field and five days
+after they are set, they should be sprayed with Bordeaux mixture.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Early ripening fruit.</strong>&mdash;Here the aim is to secure, by the time they can
+be set in the field, plants which have come by an unchecked but
+comparatively slow rate of growth to the greatest size and maturity
+consistent with the transplanting to the field without too serious a
+check. The methods by which this is accomplished<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> vary greatly and
+generally differ materially from those given above. The seed is planted
+much earlier and 60 to 90 days before it is at all safe to set plants in
+the open field; while a steady rate of growth is desirable, it should be
+slow and the plants kept small by a second and even third and fourth
+transplanting, and especial care taken to avoid the soft and irregular
+growth resulting from over-watering or over-heating. Any side shoots
+which may appear should be pinched out and a full pollination of the
+first cluster of the blossoms secured, either by direct application of
+pollen or by staking or jarring the plants on bright days; and finally,
+special efforts made to set the plants in the field as early and with as
+little check as possible. Growers are often willing to run considerable
+risk of frost for the sake of early setting.</p>
+
+<p>When one has sandy land a very profitable crop can sometimes be secured
+by sowing the seed very early, and growing the plants on in beds until
+the first cluster of fruit is set, then heeling them in, much as nursery
+trees are, but so close that they can be quickly covered in case of
+frost. As soon as it is at all safe to do so, they are set in the open
+ground, very closely, on the south side of ridges, so that only the
+upper one-third of the plant is exposed, the remainder being laid nearly
+level and covered with earth.</p>
+
+<p>So treated the plants will ripen the upper one or two clusters very
+early but will yield little more until late in the season, and it is
+generally more profitable to plow them up and put in some other crop as
+soon as the first clusters of fruit have ripened. Others pinch out the
+central bud as soon as it is well formed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> usually within 10 days from
+the sowing of the seed. When this is done a great proportion of the
+plants will start branches from the axils of the cotyledons; these
+usually develop blossoms in the third to the fifth node and produce
+fruit much lower than in a normal plant. It is questionable if there is
+any gain in time from seed to fruit by this method, but it enables one
+to get older plants of a size which it is practicable to transplant to
+the field.</p>
+
+<p>In most cases it will be found more profitable and satisfactory so to
+grow the plants that by the time they can be safely set out of doors
+they will be in vigorous condition, about 6 to 10 inches tall, stout,
+healthy and well hardened off. Such plants will ripen fruit nearly, and
+often quite as early as older ones and will produce a constant
+succession of fruit, instead of ripening a single cluster or two and
+then no more until they have made a new growth.</p>
+
+<p><strong>For late summer and early fall.</strong>&mdash;It is generally true in the South and
+often equally so in the North, that there is a more eager local demand
+for tomatoes in the late summer and fall months, after most of the
+spring set plants have ceased bearing, than in early summer. In Michigan
+I have often been able to get more for choice fruit in late October and
+in November than the best Floridas were sold for in May or early June,
+and certainly in the South the home use of fresh tomatoes should not be
+confined to spring set plants. For the fall crop in the South seed may
+be sown in late spring or up to the middle of July, in beds shaded with
+frames, covered with lath nailed 3 to 4 inches apart and the plants set
+in the field about 40 days from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> sowing, the same care being taken to
+put the ground into good condition as is recommended for the spring
+planted crop.</p>
+
+<p>A second plan, which has sometimes given most excellent results, is to
+cut back spring set plants which have ripened some fruit but which are
+not completely exhausted, to mere stubs, and spade up the ground about
+them so as to cut most of the roots, water thoroughly and cover the
+ground with a mulch of straw. Most of the plants so treated will start a
+new and vigorous growth and give most satisfactory returns.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Fruit at least expenditure of labor.</strong>&mdash;When this is the great
+desideratum, many growers omit the hotbed and even the pricking out,
+sowing the seed as early as they judge the plants will be safe from
+frost, and broadcast, either in cold-frames or in uncovered beds, at the
+rate of 50 to 150 to the square foot and transplanting directly to the
+field. Or they may be advantageously sown in broad drills either by the
+use of the pepper-box arrangement suggested on page 60, or a garden
+drill adjusted to sow a broad row. In Maryland and the adjoining states,
+as well as in some places in the West, most of the plants for crops for
+the canners are grown in this way and at a cost of 40 cents or even less
+a 1,000. The seed should be sown so that it will be from &frac14; to &frac12; inch
+apart and the plants thinned as soon as they are up so that they will be
+at least &frac12; inch apart. Where seed is sown early with no provision for
+protection from the frost it is always well to make other sowings as
+soon as the last begins to break ground in order to furnish reserve
+plants, if the earlier sown lots be destroyed by frost. Others<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> even sow
+the seed in place in the field, thinning out to a single one in a hill
+when the plants are about 2 inches high. Some of the largest yields I
+have ever known have been raised in this way, but the fruit is late in
+maturing and generally the method is not so satisfactory as starting the
+plants where they can be given some protection, and transplanting them
+to the field.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Plants for the home garden.</strong>&mdash;These may be grown in pots or boxes set in
+the sunniest spot available and treated as has been described. In this
+way plants, equal to any, may be grown without the aid of either hotbed
+or greenhouse. It will generally be more satisfactory, however, to
+secure the dozen or two plants needed from some one who has grown them
+in quantity than to grow so small a lot by themselves. In selecting
+plants, take those which are short, stiff, hard, and dark green in
+color with some purple color on the lower part of the stem rather than
+those which are softer and of a brighter green, or those in which the
+foliage is of a yellowish green; but in selection it must be remembered
+that varieties differ as to the color of foliage, so that there may be a
+difference in shade which is not due to conditions.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Plants under glass.</strong>&mdash;If to be grown in pots or boxes, "prick out," when
+small, into three-inch pots and as they grow re-pot several times so
+that when set in the pots or beds in which they are to fruit, they are
+stout plants 12 to 16 inches high. Plants propagated from cuttings give
+much better returns relatively under glass than out of doors.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI</h2>
+
+<h3>Proper Distance for Planting</h3>
+
+
+<p>The best distance apart for the plants to be set in the field varies
+greatly with the soil, the variety, the methods of cultivation and other
+conditions. Plants set as close in rich clay soil as would give the best
+results in a warm, sandy one, or those of a strong growing sort, like
+Buckeye State, set as close as would be desirable for sorts, like
+Atlantic Prize or Dwarf Champion, would give little but leaves and
+inferior fruit. In field culture I like to space the plants so as to
+facilitate gathering the fruit, and recommend the following arrangement:
+Set the plants according to soil and the variety 2&frac12; to 4 feet apart
+in the row, omitting two or three in every 75 or 100 plants so as to
+form driveways across the rows. Set the first and second and the third
+and fourth rows, etc., 2&frac12; to 3&frac12; and the second and third and the
+fourth and fifth rows 5&frac12; to 6 feet apart. As the plants grow, those
+of the first and second and those of the third and fourth rows, etc.,
+are thrown together and in many cases it will pay to have a pair of
+narrow horizontal strips or wires nearly 18 inches from the ground upon
+which they can be thrown.</p>
+
+<p>This arrangement of the plants allows us to continue to cultivate the
+wider spaces between the second and third and fourth and fifth, etc.,
+rows, much longer, and tends to confine the necessary tramping and
+pack<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>ing of the soil when gathering the fruit chiefly to these rows&mdash;an
+important point in case the soil is wet. The rows can be marked out the
+day before, but it is better to set the plants in the cross-rows and
+that these be marked out just ahead of the setters. In this arrangement
+the distances are equivalent to from 2&frac12;&times;4 feet, requiring 4,300
+plants to the acre, to 4&times;5 feet, requiring but about 2,100 plants. The
+latter distance is that most commonly used by New Jersey growers.<a name="fig19" id="fig19"></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i0078.png" width="400" height="280" alt="FIG. 19&mdash;TOMATOES SOWN AND ALLOWED TO GROW IN HOTBEDS" title="FIG. 19&mdash;TOMATOES SOWN AND ALLOWED TO GROW IN HOTBEDS" />
+</div><p class="caption">FIG. 19&mdash;TOMATOES SOWN AND ALLOWED TO GROW IN HOTBEDS</p>
+
+
+<p><strong>In the home garden.</strong>&mdash;It will usually be more satisfactory to give each
+plant plenty of space, setting them 5 or 6 feet apart each way, except
+in the case of the dwarf sorts, which should be from 3&frac12; to 3 feet
+apart. A few plants at these distances will usually be much more
+satisfactory than more set nearer together, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> the larger growing
+sorts should have at least 3 feet and the dwarf sorts 2 feet. When one
+has a hotbed or cold-frame it is often an advantage to set a row of
+tomato plants nearly 18 inches apart at the back end much earlier than
+they could be safely set in the open ground, and if these are allowed to
+grow on in place, as shown in Fig. 19, being pruned and tied to stakes,
+they will give some very early fruit.</p>
+
+<p><strong>In the greenhouse.</strong>&mdash;Experience and practice differ as to the most
+desirable distance apart for plants under glass. But 2 feet apart, where
+quality is the main consideration, and 18 inches when quantity, if fair,
+is of more importance than extra quality.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Setting plants in the field.</strong>&mdash;The economical and successful setting of
+plants in the field is an important element of successful tomato culture
+and is very dependent upon soil and weather conditions. It is assumed
+that the soil of the field has been put into the best possible condition
+of tilth, but its condition as to moisture is also very important. The
+worst condition is when it is wet and muddy, especially if it is at all
+clayey&mdash;not only is the cost of setting greatly increased, but plants
+set in such soil can seldom, by any amount of care, be made to do well,
+especially if a heavy beating rain or dry windy weather follows
+immediately; the condition is less unfavorable if a warm gentle rain or
+still moist weather follows. A dry cold wind, even if the day is cloudy
+and the soil in good condition, is also unfavorable, particularly if the
+roots of the plants are exposed.</p>
+
+<p>Wet soil, cold, dry air and wind are the conditions to be avoided.
+Moist, not wet, soil and still, warm air<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> are to be desired; whether the
+day is sunny or not is less important. There is a certain definite time,
+which does not usually extend beyond a few days, when any lot of plants
+is in the best condition for setting in the field. It is hardly possible
+to describe this condition more than to say it is when the plants are as
+large as they can be without crowding and are in a state where they can
+best stand the shock of removal.</p>
+
+<p>It will always be a matter of judgment as to how long it is best to hold
+plants, which are in condition for setting, for favorable weather
+conditions. They can sometimes be held a few days, by scant watering and
+full exposure, or in some cases by taking from the bed and heeling in,
+as nurserymen do trees; but it is better to set when the weather is
+unfavorable or to run some risk from frost rather than to hold them in
+this way too long. The wise selection of time for setting is an
+important factor in securing a good and profitable crop.</p>
+
+<p>The South Jersey growers, to whom early ripening fruit is the great
+desideratum and who have a very warm soil, and grow plants so they are
+quite hardy and can be transplanted with little check, set them in the
+field very early, some seasons by the last of April; and if the plants
+can be got out so as to have two or three days of favorable weather to
+get established before it comes, they seem to be little hurt even by a
+quite severe frost. The first essential to successful transplanting is
+to have well-grown, healthy, hardy plants; the second is that they be in
+good condition for setting, which can be secured by giving them, for a
+few days before planting, a scant supply of water and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> fullest possible
+exposure to air and sun, and then a thorough wetting a few hours before
+they are to be set.</p>
+
+<p>The South Jersey plan of growing and setting plants gets them into the
+field in the best condition of any method I know. Two to five days
+before they expect to plant, the growers go over the beds and, by means
+of a hoe that has been straightened and sharpened to form a sort of
+spade, they cut through the soil and manure so as to divide the plants
+into blocks of six. A few hours before they are to plant, they saturate
+the bed with water. By means of a flattened shovel they can take up the
+blocks of plants and place them in a cart or low wagon so the soil is
+scarcely disturbed at all, the roots in the manure serving to bind the
+whole together. In the meantime furrows are opened along the rows and
+the cart driven to the field; the plants in the blocks are cut apart
+with a butcher knife placed in the furrow and the earth drawn about
+them.</p>
+
+<p>Plants set in this way often do not wilt at all, even in hot sunshine.
+When plants are grown in boxes these can be taken to the field and
+plants taken from them in much the same way and so that they will be
+disturbed but little. In setting the plants it should always be borne in
+mind that while sunshine on the leaves of a plant rarely does any
+injury, it is very injurious to the roots, and the exposure of the roots
+to the sun or to cold, dry wind, should be avoided in every practicable
+way, such as by carrying the plants to the field laid on the sides of a
+box, which is then carried with its bottom toward the sun so as to have
+the plants in the shade, always handling the plant in the shade of one's
+body, etc. It is well worth while<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> to walk to the end of the row to
+commence work in order to secure this. It is attention to such details
+that distinguishes one whose plants nearly always do well from one who
+loses a large proportion of those he handles.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Fruit at the least expenditure of labor.</strong>&mdash;The plants are prepared for
+setting by scant watering, and are taken up so as to secure as much root
+as possible with little soil adhering to them. Great care should be
+taken in taking the plants from the bed, and in handling them, <em>to avoid
+twisting the stems</em>, as to do so very seriously injures the plants,
+often to such an extent that they will fail to grow, no matter how
+carefully set out. Some growers dip the roots in a very thin clay mud,
+hardly thicker than thin cream, but I have not found this of advantage
+except, sometimes, when the roots are to be exposed for a longer period
+than usual and I do not recommend it for general use. In setting, holes
+are made either with a long dibble, in the hands of the one who
+distributes the plants, or by a short one, in the hands of the setter;
+the plants are dropped into them a little deeper than they had stood in
+the bed, the earth closed about the roots, by pressure from the side.
+Especial care should be taken that this is well done, particularly at
+the bottom; the earth should be so firmly pressed to the root that the
+plant cannot be easily pulled from the soil. In some sections
+transplanting machines (Fig. 20) are used and liked, but most planters
+prefer to set by hand and the additional cost is not great. An expert
+with one or two boys to assist in handling the plants can put out as
+many as 5,000 plants in a day. A machine re<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>quiring more help to run it
+can set from 15,000 to 20,000.</p>
+
+<p><strong>In the home garden</strong>, when but a few plants are to be set, it will be
+better to put them in after 4 P. M. and use water in setting, but the
+wet soil should be covered with some dry earth to prevent its caking.</p>
+
+<p><strong>In the greenhouse.</strong>&mdash;Plants are better set in the places where they are
+to fruit just before their first blossoms open and should be set in
+accordance with the suggestions given for transplanting to the field.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>
+<img src="images/i0084.jpg" width="600" height="329" alt="FIG. 20&mdash;PLANTING TOMATOES ON A DELAWARE FARM Photo by courtesy of American Agriculturist)" title="FIG. 20&mdash;PLANTING TOMATOES ON A DELAWARE FARM" />
+<span class="caption">FIG. 20&mdash;PLANTING TOMATOES ON A DELAWARE FARM<br />(Photo by courtesy of <cite>American Agriculturist</cite>)</span>
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII</h2>
+
+<h3>Cultivation</h3>
+
+<p><strong>For maximum crop.</strong>&mdash;As soon as plants are set the ground should be well
+cultivated to the greatest depth practicable. We should remember that
+the tomato needs for its best development a very friable soil, while the
+tramping necessary in setting out the plants and gathering the fruit
+tends to compact and harden the soil. Often transplanting has to be done
+when the soil is wet, and we need to counteract the injury from tramping
+by immediate cultivation; but, at the same time, we must avoid the
+disturbing of the plants any more than is necessary, and all of our
+cultivation should be done with these points in mind. Just how it can be
+done best will vary not only with the location and the facilities
+available, but with the weather conditions, so that it is not well to
+attempt to give explicit directions any further than that one can hardly
+cultivate too deeply for the first seven days nor too often for the
+first 30 days after the plants are set, provided he avoids turning the
+soil when it is too wet. Even walking through the field when the soil is
+wet is injurious and should be avoided, in proportion as the soil is a
+clayey one.</p>
+
+<p><strong>At least expenditure of labor.</strong>&mdash;I hardly need add to or change the
+suggestions given above for tomatoes at least cost, for any cultivation
+wisely given will probably do as much to reduce cost per bushel by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span>
+increasing the yield per acre as any other expenditure. <em>In the garden</em>
+it is advisable that from the time the plants are set until the fruit
+ripens, the surface soil about them be stirred every evening when it is
+not actually wet.</p>
+
+<p><strong>In the greenhouse.</strong>&mdash;The surface of the soil should be kept open by
+frequent stirring or, as is the practice of some successful growers, it
+may be covered with a mulch of partially rotted manure. The plants
+should be watered only as needed to prevent wilt, and special pains
+taken to guard against too much moisture either in the soil or in the
+air, particularly on dark days. The night temperature should be
+uniformly about 60&deg; F. while in the day it should be 75&deg;, and if it be
+bright and sunny it may go to 90&deg; or even higher. Air should be given
+freely whenever feasible to do so without too greatly reducing
+temperature. A moderate degree of moisture should be maintained in the
+air, care being taken that it does not become too moist, especially
+during dark days. There is more danger from the air becoming too moist
+than from its becoming too dry, though either extreme is injurious.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Pollinating.</strong>&mdash;The structure and relations of the parts of the tomato
+flower are such that while perfect pollination is possible, and in
+plants grown in the open air usually takes place without artificial
+assistance, it is not so likely to occur when plants are grown under
+glass, particularly in the winter months, and it is usually necessary to
+secure it by artificial means. With vigorous, healthy plants and on
+light, sunny days, it can be accomplished by jarring the plants near
+midday. This generally throws enough pollen into the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> air so that an
+abundance of it reaches each receptive stigma. With less vigorous plants
+and on dark days it is necessary to hand pollinate the flowers. This is
+done by gathering the pollen by means of jarring the plants, so that it
+falls into a watch crystal or other receptacle secured at the end of a
+wand, and then pressing the projecting pistils of other flowers into it
+so that they may become covered with the pollen.</p>
+
+<p>Some growers transfer the pollen with a camel's-hair-brush; others by
+pulling off the corolla and adhering anthers and rubbing them over the
+stigma of other flowers. Fruit rarely follows flowers that are not
+pollinated, and if it is incomplete the fruit will be unsymmetrical and
+imperfectly developed. As tomato flowers secrete but very little, if
+any, honey and are not attractive to insects, it is of no advantage to
+confine a hive of bees in the tomato house in the way which is so useful
+in one where cucumbers or melons are growing.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII</h2>
+
+<h3>Staking, Training and Pruning</h3>
+
+
+<p>Under favorable conditions of soil and climate, plants of most varieties
+of tomatoes will, in field culture, yield as much fruit if allowed to
+grow naturally and unpruned as if trained and pruned. This is especially
+true of the sorts of the Earliana type and on warm, sandy soils, while
+it may not be true of the stronger growing sorts, or on rich clay lands
+or where the fertilizer used contains an excess of nitrogen. In any case
+more fruit can be grown to the acre on pruned and staked plants because
+more of them can be gotten on an acre; and it is an advantage to grow
+them in that way because it enables us, by later cultivation, to keep
+the ground in good tilth longer; also it facilitates the gathering of
+the fruit; and last, but not least, it generally enables us to produce
+better ripened and flavored fruit.</p>
+
+<p>Staking and pruning used to be the almost universal practice in the
+South, but in many sections growers have abandoned it, claiming that
+they get as good or better results without it. In the North it is rarely
+used in field culture, though often used in private gardens and by some
+market gardeners, and both staking or tying up and pruning are essential
+to the profitable growing of tomatoes under glass. In the South, stout
+stakes from 1 to 2 inches in diameter and 4 to 5 feet long are driven
+into the ground so that they can be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> depended upon to hold the plants
+erect through the heaviest storms, as seen in Fig. 21. This is generally
+and wisely done as soon as the plant is set, though some growers delay
+doing so until the fruit is well set, claiming that the disturbance of
+staking, tying and pruning tends to hasten the ripening of the fruit.
+The plant is then tied up, the tying material being wrapped once about
+the stake and then looped about the plant so as to prevent slipping on
+the stake or choking the stem of the plant as it enlarges. Raffia is
+largely used and is one of the best tying materials, but short pieces of
+any soft, cheap string can be used. The tying up will need to be
+repeated as the stem elongates, which it will do very rapidly.</p>
+
+<p>In pruning the tomato we should allow the central shoot of the young
+plant to grow, and remove all of the side shoots which spring from the
+axils of the leaves and sometimes even from the fruit clusters, as seen
+in Fig. 22. It is very desirable that this be done when the branches are
+small, as there is then less danger of seriously disturbing the balance
+of the growing forces of the plant, and also because there is less
+danger of careless workmen cutting off the main shoot in place of a
+lateral, which would seriously check the ripening of the fruit. It is
+especially important that any shoots springing from the fruit cluster be
+removed as early as possible. For these reasons it is important that, if
+the plants are to be pruned at all, the field be gone over every few
+days. If the pruning is not well done it is a disadvantage rather than a
+help.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span>
+<img src="images/i0090.jpg" width="600" height="339" alt="FIG. 21&mdash;TRAINING TOMATOES IN FLORIDA TO SINGLE STAKE
+ (Photo by courtesy of Prof. P. H. Rolfs, Director Florida Experiment
+Station)" title="FIG. 21&mdash;TRAINING TOMATOES IN FLORIDA TO SINGLE STAKE" /></div>
+<p class="caption">FIG. 21&mdash;TRAINING TOMATOES IN FLORIDA TO SINGLE STAKE
+<br/>(Photo by courtesy of Prof. P. H. Rolfs, Director Florida Experiment Station)</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>
+<img src="images/i0091.png" width="300" height="457" alt="FIG. 22&mdash;TOMATO PLANT TRAINED TO SINGLE STAKE" title="FIG. 22&mdash;TOMATO PLANT TRAINED TO SINGLE STAKE" />
+</div><p class="caption">FIG. 22&mdash;TOMATO PLANT TRAINED TO SINGLE STAKE</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>
+
+<img src="images/i0092.png" width="300" height="511" alt="FIG. 23&mdash;METHOD OF TRAINING TO THREE STEMS IN FORCING-HOUSE AND OUT OF DOORS"
+title="FIG. 23&mdash;METHOD OF TRAINING TO THREE STEMS IN FORCING-HOUSE AND OUT OF DOORS" />
+</div><p class="caption">FIG. 23&mdash;METHOD OF TRAINING TO THREE STEMS IN FORCING-HOUSE AND OUT OF DOORS</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>Some growers allow two or three (Fig. 23) instead of one shoot to grow,
+selecting for the second the most vigorous of the shoots starting from
+below the first cluster of fruit. In some locations they stop or pinch
+out the main shoot just above the first leaf above the third or fourth
+cluster; in some soils it is an advantage and in others rather a
+disadvantage to do this. I have seldom practiced it. When fruit at the
+lowest cost a bushel is the desideratum, neither pruning nor staking is
+desirable.<a name="fig24" id="fig24"></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 396px;">
+  <img src="images/i0093.png" width="396" height="435" alt="FIG. 24&mdash;METHOD OF TRAINING ON LINE IN GREENHOUSE" title="FIG. 24&mdash;METHOD OF TRAINING ON LINE IN GREENHOUSE" />
+</div>
+<p class="caption">FIG. 24&mdash;METHOD OF TRAINING ON LINE IN GREENHOUSE<br /></p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span>
+  <img src="images/i0094.png" width="400" height="434" alt="FIG. 25&mdash;READY TO TRANSPLANT IN GREENHOUSE (Redrawn from
+  photo by New York Experiment Station)" title="FIG. 25&mdash;READY TO TRANSPLANT IN GREENHOUSE " />
+</div>
+<p class="caption">FIG. 25&mdash;READY TO TRANSPLANT IN GREENHOUSE<br />
+(Redrawn from photo by New York Experiment Station)</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>
+<img src="images/i0095.jpg" width="600" height="343" alt="FIG. 26&mdash;TRAINING YOUNG TOMATOES IN GREENHOUSE AT NEW
+YORK EXPERIMENT STATION (Photo by courtesy Prof. U. P. Hedrick)"
+title="FIG. 26&mdash;TRAINING YOUNG TOMATOES IN GREENHOUSE AT NEW YORK EXPERIMENT STATION" />
+</div>
+<p class="caption">FIG. 26&mdash;TRAINING YOUNG TOMATOES IN GREENHOUSE AT NEW YORK EXPERIMENT STATION<br />
+(Photo by courtesy Prof. U. P. Hedrick)</p>
+
+<p><strong>For home gardens.</strong>&mdash;In the home
+garden trellising and pruning are often very desirable, as they enable
+us not only to produce more fruit in a given area but of better quality.
+Many forms of trellis, have been recommended. Where the plants are to be
+pruned as well as supported, as they should always be in gardens, there
+is nothing better than the single stake, as described above. For a
+trellis without pruning, one to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> three stout hoops supported by three
+stakes so as to surround the plant which is allowed to grow through and
+fall over them, or two or more parallel strips supported about a foot
+from the ground on each side of a row of plants answer the purpose,
+which is simply to keep the plant up from the ground and facilitate the
+free circulation of the air among leaves and fruit.<a name="fig27" id="fig27"></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i0096.png" width="400" height="296" alt="FIG. 27&mdash;TOMATOES IN GREENHOUSE AT OHIO EXPERIMENT STATION (Photo by courtesy of C. W. Waid)" title="FIG. 27&mdash;TOMATOES IN GREENHOUSE AT OHIO EXPERIMENT STATION" />
+</div>
+<p class="caption">FIG. 27&mdash;TOMATOES IN GREENHOUSE AT OHIO EXPERIMENT STATION<br />
+(Photo by courtesy of C. W. Waid)</p>
+
+<p>I have seen tomatoes grown very successfully by the side of an open
+fence. Two stakes were driven into the ground about 6 inches from the
+fence and the plant, but slanting outward and away from each other. The
+tops of the stakes were fastened to the fence by wooden braces, and then
+heavy strings fastened to the fence around the stakes and back to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span>
+fence, the whole with the fence forming a sort of inverted pyramidal
+vase about 3 feet across at the top. In this the plant was allowed to
+grow, but it would be essential to success that the fence be an open
+one.<a name="fig28" id="fig28"></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i0097.png" width="400" height="326" alt="FIG. 28&mdash;FORCING TOMATOES IN GREENHOUSE AT NEW HAMPSHIRE
+EXPERIMENT STATION" title="FIG. 28&mdash;FORCING TOMATOES IN GREENHOUSE AT NEW HAMPSHIRE EXPERIMENT STATION" />
+</div><p class="caption">FIG. 28&mdash;FORCING TOMATOES IN GREENHOUSE AT NEW HAMPSHIRE
+EXPERIMENT STATION. NOTE CHARACTER OF BED ON THE GROUND FLOOR.<br />
+(Photo by courtesy of Prof. H. F. Hall)</p>
+
+
+<p><strong>In the greenhouse.</strong>&mdash;Here pruning and training are essential. The plants
+may be supported by wires or strings (a coarse wool twine will answer),
+twisting the string about the plant as it grows. The growth is usually
+confined to a single shoot, though some growers allow two (Fig. 24); the
+method of pruning does not differ from that given for field cul<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span>ture,
+but it is more important that the plants be gone over often and the
+branches removed when small. If allowed to do so, branches would spring
+from the axil of each leaf and the plant would become a perfect thicket
+of slender branches and leaves and produce but little fruit. The main
+stem is sometimes pinched out after three or four clusters of fruit are
+set and the branch from the axil of the first leaf above is allowed to
+take its place. This tends to hasten the maturing of the fruit clusters
+already set. After several clusters have matured, or the main stem
+reaches the top of the house, some growers allow a shoot from the bottom
+to grow and as soon as fruit sets on it the first stem is cut away and
+this takes its place. Others prefer to remove the old plant entirely and
+set in young ones. A plant ready for transplanting is shown in Fig. 25.
+In figures 26, 27 and 28 are shown interior views of greenhouses at the
+New York station at Geneva, the Ohio station at Wooster, and the New
+Hampshire station at Durham. Note the strong, vigorous plants in Fig.
+26; the method of utilizing tile for watering in Fig. 27; and the
+ground-floor bedding in Fig. 28.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV</h2>
+
+<h3>Ripening, Gathering, Handling and Marketing the Fruit</h3>
+
+
+<p>Tomatoes ripen and color from within outward and they will acquire full
+and often superior color, particularly about the stems, if, as soon as
+they have acquired full size and the ripening process has fairly
+commenced, they are picked and spread out in the sunshine. The point of
+ripeness when they can be safely picked is indicated by the surface
+color changing from a dark green to one of distinctly lighter shade with
+a very light tinge of pink. Fruit picked in this stage of maturity may
+be wrapped in paper and shipped 1,000 or 2,000 miles and when unwrapped
+after two or ten days' journey will be found to have acquired a
+beautiful color, often even more brilliant than that of a companion
+fruit left on the vine. Enclosing the fruit while on the vine and about
+half grown in paper bags has been recommended, and it often results in
+deeper and more even coloring and prevents injury from cracking, but the
+fruit so ripened, while more beautiful, is not so well flavored as that
+ripened in the sun. But Americans are said to taste with their eyes, so
+that in this country, fruit of this beautiful color will often out-sell
+that which is of better flavor though of duller color.</p>
+
+<p>The tomato never acquires its full and most perfect flavor except when
+ripened on the vine and in full<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> sunlight. Vine and sun-ripened
+tomatoes, like tree-ripened peaches, are vastly better flavored than
+those artificially ripened. This is the chief reason why tomatoes grown
+in hothouses in the vicinity are so much superior to those shipped in
+from farther south. After it has come to its most perfect condition on
+the plant the fruit deteriorates steadily, whether gathered or allowed
+to remain on the vine, and the more rapidly in proportion as the air is
+hot and moist. That it be fresh is hardly less essential to the first
+quality in a tomato than it is to such things as lettuce and cucumbers.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Gathering.</strong>&mdash;As is the case with most horticultural products, the best
+methods of gathering, handling and marketing the fruit vary greatly with
+the conditions under which the fruit was grown and how it is to be used,
+and it requires the best of judgment to gather it in the stage of
+maturity in which it will give the best satisfaction, under the
+conditions and for the purposes for which it is to be used. It is
+impossible to give exact rules for determining when the fruit is in the
+best condition. This can only be learned by experience, guided by a
+knowledge of the ripening habit of the fruit, which not only varies
+somewhat in different localities, but with different varieties. In the
+extreme South, fruit is picked for shipment before it shows more than
+the slightest tint of color at the blossom end; the depth of color which
+is considered as indicating shipping condition deepens as we go north
+and nearer market.</p>
+
+<p>Generally the fruit should be left on the vine no longer than will
+permit of its becoming fully ripe<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> by the time it reaches its
+destination and is exposed for sale. When the fruit is to be shipped any
+distance the field should be gone over frequently, as often as every
+second or third day or even every day in the hight of the season, and
+care taken to pick every fruit as soon as it is in proper condition.
+When it is to be sold in nearby markets or to a cannery the exact stage
+of maturity, when picked, is not so important, although it is always an
+advantage not to gather until the fruit is well colored and before it
+begins to soften. Some growers for canneries make but three or four
+pickings, but in this case it is well to gather the ripest fruit
+separately.</p>
+
+<p>In picking and handling great care should be taken not to mar or bruise
+the fruit, and the stems should be removed as the fruit is picked to
+prevent bruising in handling. A bruise or mar may not be as conspicuous
+in a tomato as in a peach, but it is quite as injurious. It is a great
+deal better for pickers to use light pails rather than baskets, the
+flexibility of the latter often resulting in bruises. It is an advantage
+to have enough of these so that the sorting can be from the pail, but if
+this is not practical the fruit should be carefully emptied on a sorting
+table for grading. It should first of all be separated with regard to
+its maturity. A single fruit which is a little riper or greener than the
+remainder may make the entire package unsalable. It should also be
+graded as to freedom from blemishes or cracks, and as to size, form and
+color. It is assumed that the fruit for each package is to be of the
+same variety, but often there is quite a variation in different fruits
+from even the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> same vine; the more uniform in all respects the fruit in
+a package is the more attractive and salable it becomes. There is no
+fruit where careful grading and packing have more influence on the price
+it will command.<a name="fig29" id="fig29"></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i0102.png" width="400" height="357" alt="FIG. 29&mdash;FLORIDA TOMATOES PROPERLY
+WRAPPED FOR LONG SHIPMENT (Photo by courtesy of American Agriculturist)"
+title="FIG. 29&mdash;FLORIDA TOMATOES PROPERLY WRAPPED FOR LONG SHIPMENT" />
+</div>
+<p class="caption">FIG. 29&mdash;FLORIDA TOMATOES PROPERLY WRAPPED FOR LONG
+SHIPMENT <br />(Photo by courtesy of <cite>American Agriculturist</cite>)</p>
+
+
+<p>I know of a certain noted peach-grower in northern Michigan who grew,
+each year, some 2 to 5 acres of tomatoes for the Chicago market. It was
+his custom to pick out about one-tenth of the best of the fruit, putting
+it into small and attractively labeled<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> packages; the remainder of the
+crop was sorted over and from one-tenth to one-fifth of it rejected and
+fed to stock or sold to a local cannery. The remainder was sent to
+Chicago with his selects, but as common stock, and usually brought more
+than his neighbors received for unsorted fruit; but the check he
+received for his selects was usually as large as that for his commons,
+thus giving him about 33-1/3 per cent. more for his crop than his
+neighbors received for their equally good, but unsorted, fruit&mdash;to say
+nothing of what he received for the rejected fruit and the saving of
+freight which, he said, was usually enough to pay the actual cost of
+sorting.</p>
+
+<p>Tomatoes are usually classed as vegetables but, when ripe, they require
+as careful handling as the most delicate fruits and are as easily and
+seriously injured by bruising and jarring. Just how this can be avoided
+and the fruit gotten from the vine to the possibly distant consumer in
+the best condition will vary in different cases. Tomatoes from the South
+(Fig. 29) are generally marketed in carriers which, though varying
+somewhat, are essentially alike and consist of an open basket or boxes
+of veneer holding about 10 pounds of fruit. When shipped, two, four or
+six of these are packed in crates made of thin boards, so as to protect
+the fruits but give them plenty of air.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Packing.</strong>&mdash;Most of the fruit sent to New York and Philadelphia markets
+from New Jersey and other northern states is in boxes or crates holding
+about 5/8 of a bushel and so made as to facilitate ventilation when
+piled in cars or warehouses. Fruit for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> canneries is usually picked
+and handled in bushel crates of lath. These various packages are usually
+sold in the flat and the grower puts them together as is convenient
+before the crop comes on; but in many sections where there are large
+shipments they are often put together by the package dealers. Fig. 30
+shows tomatoes as packed by the Ohio experiment station.<a name="fig30" id="fig30"></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i0104.png" width="400" height="254" alt="FIG. 30&mdash;GREENHOUSE TOMATOES PACKED FOR MARKET (By courtesy Ohio Experiment Station)" title="FIG. 30&mdash;GREENHOUSE TOMATOES PACKED FOR MARKET" />
+</div>
+<p class="caption">FIG. 30&mdash;GREENHOUSE TOMATOES PACKED FOR MARKET<br />
+(By courtesy Ohio Experiment Station)</p>
+
+
+<p><strong>Fruits after frost.</strong>&mdash;Sometimes when there is a great quantity of
+partially ripe and full grown green fruit on the vines which is liable
+to be spoiled by an early fall frost, it can be saved by pulling the
+vines and placing them in windrows and covering them with straw. Of
+course the vines should be handled carefully to shake off as little
+fruit as possible. If the freeze is followed by a spell of warm, dry
+weather<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> the fruit will ripen up so as to be quite equal to that shipped
+in from a distance. A second plan is to pull the vines and hang them up
+in a dry cellar or out-house, or lay them on the ground in an open grove
+of trees, or beneath the trees of an adjoining orchard.</p>
+
+<p>Still another plan is to gather the green fruit and spread it not more
+than two to four fruits deep in hotbed frames, which are then covered
+with sash. Local grocers are usually glad to pay good prices for this
+late fruit, and in seasons of scarcity I have known canners to buy
+thousands of bushels so ripened at better prices than they paid for the
+main crop.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV</h2>
+
+<h3>Adaptation of Varieties</h3>
+
+
+<p>Whatever may be their botanical origin, the modern varieties of
+cultivated tomatoes vary greatly in many respects, and while these
+differences are always of importance their relative importance differs
+with conditions. When the great desideratum is the largest possible
+yield of salable fruit at the least expenditure of labor, the qualities
+of the vine may be the most important ones to be considered, while in
+private gardens and for a critical home market and where closer
+attention and better cultivation can be given, they may be of far less
+importance than qualities of fruit.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Habits of growth.</strong>&mdash;Whether it be standard or dwarf, compact or
+spreading, is sometimes of great importance as fitting the sorts for
+certain soils and methods of culture. On heavy, moist, rich land, where
+staking and pruning are essential to the production of fruit of the best
+quality, it is of importance that we use sorts whose habits of growth
+fit them for it; while on warm, sandy, well-drained land, staking and
+pruning may be of little value, and a different habit of growth more
+desirable. We have sorts in which the vine is relatively strong growing
+with few branches, upright, with long nodes and small fruit clusters
+well scattered over the vine. They are usually very productive through a
+long season but generally late in maturing. Stocks of this type are
+sometimes sold,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> I think improperly, as giant climbing, or Tree tomato.
+The Buckeye State is a good type of these sorts. (Fig. 31.)<a name="fig31" id="fig31"></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i0107.jpg" width="400" height="314" alt="FIG. 31&mdash;BUCKEYE STATE, SHOWING LONG NODES AND DISTANCE BETWEEN FRUIT CLUSTERS" title="FIG. 31&mdash;BUCKEYE STATE, SHOWING LONG NODES AND DISTANCE BETWEEN FRUIT CLUSTERS" />
+</div><p class="caption">FIG. 31&mdash;BUCKEYE STATE, SHOWING LONG NODES AND DISTANCE BETWEEN FRUIT CLUSTERS</p>
+
+
+<p>Other varieties make a stout and vigorous but shorter growth, with more
+and heavier branches, shorter nodes and many small medium-sized clusters
+of fruit well distributed over the plant and which mature through a
+fairly long season. These sorts are usually very productive and our most
+popular varieties generally belong to this type, of which the Stone
+(Fig. 32) is a good representative of the more compact and the Beauty of
+the more open growing.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span>
+<img src="images/i0108.jpg" width="400" height="600" alt="FIG. 32&mdash;STONE, AND CHARACTERISTIC FOLIAGE" title="FIG. 32&mdash;STONE, AND CHARACTERISTIC FOLIAGE" />
+</div><p class="caption">FIG. 32&mdash;STONE, AND CHARACTERISTIC FOLIAGE</p>
+
+
+<p>Other varieties form many short, weak, sprawling<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> branches,
+with usually large and sometimes very large clusters of fruit produced
+chiefly near the center of the plant and which mature early and all
+together. Plants of this type will often mature their entire crop and
+die by the time those of the first type have come into full crop. The
+Atlantic Prize (Fig. 33) and Sparks Earliana are examples of this type.</p>
+
+<p>In sharp contrast with the above is the tomato De Laye, often called
+Tree tomato. This originated about 1862 in a garden at Chateau de Laye,
+France. In this the plant rarely exceeds 18 inches in hight, is
+single-stemmed or with few very short branches, the nodes very short,
+the fruit clusters few and small. From this, by crossing with other
+types, there has been developed a distinct class of dwarf tomatoes which
+are of intermediate form and character and are well represented by the
+Dwarf Champion (Fig. 34). Early maturity is sometimes the most important
+consideration of all, though, because of increasing facilities for
+shipping from the South, it is less commonly so than formerly. For
+shipping and canning it is generally, though not always, desirable that
+the crop mature as nearly together as possible, that it may be gathered
+with the fewest number of pickings and advantage taken of a favorable
+market; while for the home garden and market a longer season is
+desirable.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>
+<img src="images/i0110.jpg" width="400" height="601" alt="FIG. 33&mdash;ATLANTIC PRIZE, AND ITS NORMAL FOLIAGE" title="FIG. 33&mdash;ATLANTIC PRIZE, AND ITS NORMAL FOLIAGE" />
+</div><p class="caption">FIG. 33&mdash;ATLANTIC PRIZE, AND ITS NORMAL FOLIAGE</p>
+
+
+<p><strong>Foliage.</strong>&mdash;Abundant, broad and close, or scanty cut and open foliage is
+sometimes of importance, according to whether the location, season and
+other conditions make it desirable that the foliage protect the fruit
+from the sun or admit the sunlight, with as little obstruction as
+possible, to the center of the plant.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> In different sorts, we have
+gradations from those in which the leaves are so deeply cut as to have a
+fern-like appearance, to those like the Magnus, or potato-leaved, in
+which the margin of each leaflet is entire, and from those in which the
+leaflets are so few and small as to scarcely shut out the light at all
+to those in which they are so numerous that the light can hardly
+penetrate to the center of the plant. The Atlantic Prize is an
+illustration of the scanty foliaged sorts, and the Royal Red or Buckeye
+State of those in which it is more abundant. As to color, the foliage
+varies from the dark blue-green of the Buckeye State to the light,
+distinctly yellowish-green of the Honor Bright.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Varietal differences as to fruit.</strong>&mdash;These are often more important than
+those of vine. For canning, for forcing, and some other uses and for
+certain markets, a medium and uniform size is a very important quality,
+while in other cases uniformity is not important and the larger the
+individual fruits, provided they be well formed, the better. We have
+different sorts in which the size of the fruit varies from that of the
+Currant, which is scarcely 1 inch in circumference, to that of
+Ponderosa, of which well-formed specimens over 20 inches in
+circumference have been grown.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span>
+<img src="images/i0112.jpg" width="400" height="631" alt="FIG. 34&mdash;DWARF CHAMPION. NOTE CHARACTER OF FOLIAGE" title="FIG. 34&mdash;DWARF CHAMPION. NOTE CHARACTER OF FOLIAGE" />
+</div><p class="caption">FIG. 34&mdash;DWARF CHAMPION. NOTE CHARACTER OF FOLIAGE</p>
+
+
+<p><strong>Shape.</strong>&mdash;It is always desirable that the outline of the vertical section
+shall be a flowing line with a broad and shallow, or no depression at
+the stem end and as little as possible at the opposite point; but the
+relative importance of this, or whether the general outline shall be
+round or oval, either vertically or horizontally, forming a round, long
+or flat fruit, is largely determined by how the fruit is to be used, and
+by in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>dividual taste. A round fruit is best for canning; a long one is
+the most economical for slicing, though some prefer a flat one for this
+purpose. It is always desirable that the outline of the horizontal
+section shall be smooth, flowing and symmetrical, and if there be any
+distinct sutures that they shall be shallow and broad; but the relative
+importance of this, and whether the outline be round or oval, is wholly
+a matter of individual taste. Some people and markets prefer one shape
+and others a very different one. Size and smoothness of fruit are the
+factors which control price in some markets, while in others these
+points are quite secondary to color and character of flesh.</p>
+
+<p>We have sorts which vary from the perfectly spherical ones of the grape
+and cherry, to those in which the vertical diameter is less than a third
+of that of the horizontal section; and the pear-shaped in which the
+vertical diameter is twice or thrice that of the longest horizontal
+section, and from those in which the outline of both the vertical and
+horizontal sections is smooth and flowing to those in which the vertical
+section has a deep indentation at both the stem and opposite ends, and
+those in which the horizontal section is broken by deep indentures and
+sutures often disposed with great irregularity.</p>
+
+<p>For shipping long distances, for the rough handling, and for the easy
+preparation for the fruit for canning, a thick, tough skin is desirable,
+while for home use it is objectionable. Freedom from blemish or skin
+crack is also often an important quality, and we have sorts which vary
+greatly in these respects. The color of the skin, whether purple, red,
+yellow or white, is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> a matter of taste. In some markets the choice is
+given to purple fruit, like the Beauty, while in others it can only be
+sold at a reduced price. There are few who would care to use either
+yellow or white fruit for canning or cooking in any way, but many prefer
+them for slicing, or like to use them with the red for this purpose; we
+have sorts showing every gradation from white or light yellow in color
+through shades of red to dark purple-red, and still others which show
+distinct colors in splashings and shadings.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Character of flesh.</strong>&mdash;Many consider that the greater the number of cells
+and the larger the proportion of flesh to that of pulp and seed the
+better. This may be true of itself, but the fruit-like acid tomato
+flavor which most people value is found chiefly in the pulp, and the
+fruit which has not a due proportion of pulp and flesh seems to be
+insipid and tasteless. Again, the division into many small cells is
+often connected with a large and pithy placenta and unevenness in
+maturity and coloring, which faults often more than overbalance any
+advantage from small cells and thick flesh. The size and character of
+the placenta are important qualities.</p>
+
+<p>In some sorts it is large, dry, pithy and hard, extending far into the
+fruit even to below the center; and sometimes seems to divide into
+secondary or branch placentas or masses of hard cellular matter, while
+in other varieties it is small and so soft and juicy as scarcely to be
+distinguished from the flesh. Usually, but not invariably, the large and
+pithy placenta is correlated with large-sized fruit having many cells;
+where this is the case it practically necessitates the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> cutting away and
+wasting of a large proportion of the fruit in preparing it for canning,
+so that the canners usually prefer round, medium-sized fruits.</p>
+
+<p>The character of the interior of the fruit varies greatly in different
+varieties. Both the exterior and divisional walls vary in thickness and
+in consistency. In some varieties they are comparatively thin, hard and
+dry; in others, thicker, softer and more juicy. In some cases there is
+but little interior wall, the fruit being divided into but few&mdash;even but
+two&mdash;cells of even size and shape, while in others there are many cells
+of varying size and shape. Varieties also differ greatly as to the
+amount, consistency and flavor of the pulp and the number of seeds. It
+requires from 300 to 500 pounds of ripe fruit to furnish a pound of seed
+of Ponderosa, while with some of the smaller, earlier sorts one can get
+a pound of seed from 100 to 200 pounds of fruit.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Coloring and ripening.</strong>&mdash;Uniformity and evenness in coloring and ripening
+are an important quality. Tomatoes generally color and ripen from within
+outward, and from the point opposite the stem upward, but varieties
+differ in the evenness and rapidity with which this takes place. It is
+always desirable that the ripening be as even as possible and that there
+be no green and hard spots either at the surface or in the flesh, but
+often perfection in this respect is correlated with such lack of size
+and solidity as to counterbalance it. Rapidity in ripening, in a general
+way, is desirable for fruit to be used at home, and undesirable in that
+which is to be shipped.</p>
+
+<p>The time a tomato fruit will remain in usable con<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>dition and the amount
+of rough handling it will endure without becoming unsalable are most
+important commercial qualities depending largely upon the combined
+effects of the form and structure of the fruit, solidity and firmness of
+the flesh and ripening habit. In all these <ins class="mycorr" title="Original: resepcts"><a id="corr2" name="corr2"></a>respects</ins> we have varieties
+which differ greatly, from the Honor Bright, which requires as much time
+to ripen, and when ripe is firm-fleshed and will remain usable as long
+as a peach, to those which 24 hours after reaching their full size are
+fully colored and ripe, and in 24 hours more are so over-ripe and soft
+that they will break open of their own weight.</p>
+
+<p>These are only some of the varietal differences of the tomato. Are such
+differences of practical importance? I think they are, and that a wise
+selection of the type best suited to one's own particular conditions and
+requirements is one of the most essential requisites of satisfactory
+tomato culture. How important it seems to practical tomato growers may
+be illustrated by an actual case.</p>
+
+<p>In a certain section of New Jersey the money-making crop is early
+tomatoes, and they are grown to such an extent that from an area with a
+radius of not exceeding 5 miles they have shipped as much as 15,000
+bushels in one day, and the shipments will often average 8,000 bushels
+for days together. They have tried a great number of sorts, but have
+settled upon a certain type of a well-known variety as that best suited
+to their conditions and needs. Seeds of this variety which are supposed
+to produce plants of the exact type wanted can be bought from seedsmen
+for 10 cents an ounce and at much lower rates for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> larger quantities,
+but when one of the most successful growers of that locality, because of
+change of occupation, offered seed selected by him for his own use for
+sale at auction, it brought $3 an ounce. This price was paid because of
+the confidence of the bidders that the seed could be depended upon to
+produce plants of the exact type wanted for their conditions; and I was
+assured that the use of this high-priced seed actually added very
+largely to the profits from every field in that vicinity in which it was
+used, but the use of some of the same lot of seed by planters in Florida
+resulted in financial loss because the type of plant produced was not
+suited to their conditions and requirements.</p>
+
+<p>A wise answer can only be given after a study of each case, and no one
+can do this so well as the planter himself. He should know, as no one
+else can know, his own conditions and requirements, and should be able
+to form very exact ideas of just what he wants, and the doing so is, in
+my opinion, one of the most important requisites for satisfactory tomato
+growing. I also believe that it is as impossible for a man to answer
+offhand the <ins class="mycorr" title="Original: queston"><a id="corr3" name="corr3"></a>question</ins>, "What is the best variety of tomato?" as for a
+wise physician to answer the question, "What is the best medicine?"</p>
+
+<p><strong>Varietal names</strong> and descriptions mean something quite different in the
+case of plants like the tomato, which are propagated by seed, from what
+they do with plants like the apple and strawberry, which are propagated
+by division. In the latter case all the plants of the variety are but
+parts of the primal origination, and so are alike. A description is
+simply a more or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> less complete and accurate definition of what a
+certain immutable thing really is, but in the case of plants propagated
+by seed the variety is made up of all the plants which accord with a
+certain ideal. Bailey says, "Of all those which have more points of
+resemblance than of difference," and a description of the variety is of
+that ideal which in common practice is not fixed, but may and generally
+does vary not only with different people but from time to time. The only
+foundation for varietal names in plants of this class is an agreement as
+to the ideal the name shall stand for. Under modern horticultural
+practice when anyone has been able to secure seed most of which he is
+reasonably sure will develop into plants of a distinct type different
+from that of any sort known to him, he has a distinct variety, so that
+it is not surprising that we should find that American seedsmen offer
+tomato seed under more than 300 different names, and those of Europe
+under more than 200 additional, so that we have more than 500 varietal
+names, each claiming to stand for a distinct sort. Now it is quite
+possible&mdash;indeed, it is certain&mdash;that we might have 500 tomato plants
+each different in some respect, either of vine, leaf, habit of growth,
+or character of fruit, from any of the others and that these differences
+might make plants of one type better suited to certain conditions and
+uses than any other; but it is very certain that these 500 names do not
+stand for such differences. It is doubtless true that a portion&mdash;though
+I think but a small portion&mdash;of these different sorts exist simply as a
+matter of commercial expediency; but by far a greater part of them exist
+because one has found that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> plants of a certain character were better
+suited to some set of conditions and requirements than any sort with
+which he was acquainted, and having secured seed which he thought would
+produce plants of that character, has offered it as of a distinct sort.</p>
+
+<p>It is probable that a better acquaintance with sorts already in
+cultivation would have prevented the naming of many of these stocks as
+distinct varieties. What is of far more practical importance, the same
+name does not always stand for precisely the same type with different
+seedsmen, or even with the same seedsmen in different years; nor are the
+seedsmen's published descriptions such as would enable any one to learn
+from them just what type he will receive under any particular name, or
+which sort he should buy in order to get plants of any desired type.
+Seedsmen's catalogs are published and distributed gratuitously at great
+expense, and are issued, primarily, for the sake of selling the seeds
+they offer. They answer the purpose for which they are designed, in
+proportion as they secure orders for seeds. Will this be measured by the
+accuracy and completeness of their descriptions? I think that it needs
+but slight acquaintance with the actual results of advertising to answer
+in the negative, and whatever your answer may be, the answer given by
+the catalogs themselves is an emphatic no.</p>
+
+<p>In a recent case I looked very carefully through the catalogs of 125
+American seedsmen who listed a certain variety which is very markedly
+deficient in a certain desirable quality, and found that but 37 of the
+125 mentioned the quality in connection with the variety at all and of
+these but 7 admitted the defi<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>ciency, while 30 told the opposite of the
+truth. Even if a complete, exact and reliable description of a variety
+was published by disinterested persons, one could not be sure of getting
+seed from seedsmen which would produce plants of that exact type, since
+there is no agreement or uniformity among them as to the exact type any
+varietal name shall stand for.</p>
+
+<p>One way of getting seed of the exact type wanted is to do as the South
+Jersey growers did: go to work and breed up a stock which is uniformly
+of the type wanted; but this involves more painstaking care than many
+are willing to give, though I think not more than it would be most
+profitable for them to expend for the sake of getting seed just suited
+to their needs.</p>
+
+<p>A second and easier way is to secure samples of the most promising sorts
+and from the most reliable sources and grow them on one's own farm;
+select the stock which seems best for him and buy enough of that exact
+stock for several years' planting, and in the meantime be looking for a
+still better one. Tomato seed stored in a cool, dry place will retain
+its vitality for from three to seven years.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI</h2>
+
+<h3>Seed Breeding and Growing</h3>
+
+
+<p>The potentialities of every plant and its limitations are inherent,
+fixed and immutable in the seed from which it is developed and are made
+up of the balanced sum of the different tendencies it receives in
+varying degree from each of its ancestors back for an indefinite number
+of generations. A very slight difference in the character or the degree
+of any one of the tendencies which go to make up this sum may make a
+most material difference in the balance and so in the resulting
+character of the plant produced. Different plants, even of the same
+ancestry, vary greatly in prepotency or in the relative dominance of the
+influence they have over descendants raised from seed produced by them.</p>
+
+<p>In some cases all the plants raised from seed produced by a certain
+plant will be essentially alike and closely resemble the seed-bearing
+plant, while seed from another plant of the same parentage will develop
+into plants differing from each other and seemingly more influenced by
+some distant ancestor or by varying combinations of such influences than
+of those of the plant which actually produced the seed from which they
+were developed. Successful seed breeding can only be accomplished by
+taking advantage of these principles of heredity and variation, and by a
+wise use of them it is possible to produce seed which can<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> be depended
+upon to produce plants of any type possible to the species.</p>
+
+<p><strong>The first essential for breeding</strong> is to have a clear and exact conception
+of precisely what, in all respects, the type shall be and then the
+securing of seed which has come from plants of that exact character for
+the greatest possible number of generations, carefully avoiding the
+introduction by cross-pollination of tendencies from plants differing in
+any degree from the desired type. Secondly, seed should be used from
+plants which have been proven to produce seed, which will develop into
+plants like themselves or are strongly prepotent. A practical way to
+accomplish this in the tomato is as follows:</p>
+
+<p>By experiment and observation form a very clear conception of precisely
+the type of plant and fruits which is best suited to your needs. This
+may be done by the study of available descriptions of sorts, by
+conference with those who have had experience in your own or similar
+climatic and soil conditions and in raising fruit for the same purposes
+and, best of all, by trials of samples of different sorts and stocks on
+your own grounds. Having formed such a conception, write out the
+clearest possible description of exactly what you want and the ideal
+plant you are aiming at, stating as fully and minutely as possible every
+desirable quality and also those to be avoided. I consider not only the
+formation of an exact ideal, but the writing out of a most minute and
+exact description of precisely what in every particular the ideal plant
+should be and the rigid adherence to that exact ideal in selection, as
+the most important ele<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>ments of successful seed breeding. Without it one
+is certain to vary from year to year in the type selected and in just so
+far as he does this, even if it be toward what might be called
+improvements or in regard to an unimportant quality, he undermines all
+his work and makes it impossible to establish a strain which can be
+relied upon to produce an exact type.</p>
+
+<p>With this description in hand, search out one or more plants which seem
+the nearest to the ideal. In doing this it should be kept in mind that
+the character of the seed is determined by the plant rather than by the
+individual fruit. Therefore, a plant whose fruit is most uniformly of
+the desired type should be chosen over one having a small proportion of
+its fruits of very perfect type, the others being different and
+variable. Save seed from one or more fruits from each of the selected
+plants, keeping that from each fruit, or at least each plant, separate.
+Give it a number and make a record of how nearly, in each particular,
+the plant and fruit of each number come to the desired ideal. I regard
+the saving of each lot separately and recording its characters as very
+important, even when all have been selected to and come equally close to
+precisely the same ideal. Quite often the seed of one plant will produce
+plants precisely like it, while that of another, equal or superior, will
+produce plants of which no two are alike and none like that which
+produced the seed, so that often the mixing of seed from different
+plants of the same general type, and seemingly of equal quality,
+prevents the establishment of a uniform type.</p>
+
+<p>The next year from 10 to 100 plants raised from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> each lot are set in
+blocks and labeled. As they develop the blocks are studied and compared
+with the original description of the desired type and that of each plant
+from which seed was saved, and the block selected in which all the
+plants come the nearest to the desired type, and which show the least
+variation. From it plants are selected in the same way and to the same
+type as the previous year. It is better to make selections from such a
+block than to take the most superior plants from all of the blocks, or
+from one which produced but one or but a few superlative ones, the rest
+being variable.</p>
+
+<p>It is also well to consider the relative importance of different
+qualities in connection with the degree to which the different lots
+approach the ideal in these respects. Such a course of selection
+intelligently and carefully carried out will give, in from three to five
+years, strains of seed greatly superior and better adapted to one's own
+conditions than any which it is possible to purchase. A single or but a
+very few selections may be made each year, and the superior value of the
+seed of the remainder of the seed blocks for use in the field will be
+far more than the cost of the whole work.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Growing and saving commercial seed.</strong>&mdash;The ideal way is for the seedsman
+to grow and select seed as described above and give this stock seed to
+farmers who plant in fields and cultivate it, much as is recommended for
+canning, and save seed from the entire crop, the pulp being thrown away.
+Only a few pickings are necessary and the seed is separated by machines
+worked by horse power at small cost, often not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> exceeding 10 cents a
+pound. They secure from 75 to 250 pounds per acre, according to the
+variety and crop, and the seedsmen pay them 40 cents to $1 a pound for
+it. Some of our more careful seedsmen produce all the seed they use in
+this way; others buy of professional seed growers, who use more or less
+carefully grown stock seed. In other cases when the fruit is fully ripe
+it is gathered, and the seeds, pulp and skins, are separated by
+machinery; the seed is sold to seedsmen, the pulp made into catsup, and
+only the skins are thrown away. Still others get their supply by washing
+out and saving the seed from the waste of canneries. Such seed is just
+as good as seed saved <em>from the same grade of tomatoes</em> in any other
+way, but the fruit used by the canneries is, usually, a mixture of
+different crops and grades, and even of different varieties, and
+consequently the seed is mixed and entirely lacking in uniformity and
+distinctness of type.</p>
+
+<p>Generally from 5 to 20 per cent. of the plants produced by seed as
+commonly grown either by the farmer himself or the seedsmen, though they
+may be alike in more conspicuous characteristics, will show varietal
+differences of such importance as to affect more or less materially the
+value of the plant for the conditions and the purposes for which it is
+grown. In a book like this it is useless to attempt to give long
+varietal descriptions even of the sorts commonly listed by seedsmen,
+since such descriptions would be more a statement of what the writer
+thought seed of that variety should be rather than of what one would be
+likely to receive under that name.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII</h2>
+
+<h3>Production for Canning</h3>
+
+
+<p><strong>Growing for canning</strong> has many advantages over growing for market. Some of
+these are that it is not necessary to start the plants so early, that
+they can be grown at less cost, and set in the field when smaller and
+with less check, and on this latter account are apt to give a large
+yield. It is not necessary to gather the fruit so often, nor to handle
+it so carefully, while practically all of it is saleable. For these
+reasons the cost of production is lower and it is less variable than
+with crops grown for market. Still farmers and writers do not agree at
+all as to the actual cost. It is claimed by some that where the factory
+is within easy reach of the field the cost of growing, gathering and
+delivering a full yield of tomatoes need not exceed $12 to $18 an acre,
+while others declare they cannot be grown for less than $40. Nearly
+one-third of this cost is for picking and delivering, and varies more
+with the facilities for doing this easily and promptly and with the
+yield than with crops grown for market. A large proportion of the crops
+grown for canning are poorly cultivated and unwisely handled, so that
+the average yield throughout the entire country is very low, hardly
+exceeding 100 bushels an acre. But where weather and other conditions
+are favorable, and with judicious cultivation, a yield of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> 300 to 800
+bushels an acre can be expected. I have known of many larger ones.</p>
+
+<p>A large proportion of the tomatoes grown for canning are planted under
+contract, by which the farmer agrees to deliver the entire yield of
+fruit fit for canning, which may be produced on a given area, at the
+contract price per bushel or ton. The canner is to judge what fruit is
+fit for canning and this often results in great dissatisfaction. To the
+grower it seems in many cases as though the quantity of acceptable fruit
+paid for was determined quite as much by the abundance or scarcity of
+the general crop as by the weight hauled to the factory. The prices paid
+by the factories for the past 10 years run from 10 to 25 cents a bushel,
+while canning tomatoes in the open market for the same period have
+brought from 8 to 50 cents a bushel, which, however, are exceptional
+prices. In all but two of the past 10 years uncontracted tomatoes could
+generally be sold, in most sections, for more than was paid on contract.
+I have given the price a bushel, though canning tomatoes are usually
+sold by the ton. The cost of the product of a well-equipped cannery is
+divided about as follows: fruit, 30 per cent.; handling, preparing and
+processing the fruit, 18 per cent.; cost of cans, labels, cases, etc.,
+43 per cent.; labeling, packing and selling, 0.035 per cent.;
+incidentals, 0.055 per cent.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Canning on the farm.</strong>&mdash;While as a general proposition such work as
+canning tomatoes can usually be done at less cost in a central plant,
+yet in many cases the grower can profitably do this on the farm, thus
+saving not only the expense of delivery at the factory,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> but the
+dissatisfaction with weights credited and delays in receiving the fruit.
+But very little special apparatus or machinery (more than some form of
+boiler for supplying steam) is needed, and this and the cans can be
+readily obtained of dealers in canners' supplies. In Maryland and
+neighboring states many dealers furnish all necessary machinery, cans
+and other requisites and contract for the crop delivered in cans.</p>
+
+<p>Canning on the farm where the fruit is grown would be more generally
+practiced except for the popular demand that the canned product shall be
+brighter colored than it is possible to produce from fruit alone, and
+the necessary dyeing and other doctoring can be more easily and
+skilfully done at a central factory, though it is always at the
+sacrifice of flavor and healthfulness for the sake of appearance.
+Another advantage of canning on the farm is that it can be done with
+less waste of fruit. The hauling to the factory and delay in working the
+fruit result in a great deal of waste. The average cannery does not
+obtain more than 1,200 pounds of product from a ton of fruit, there
+being 800 pounds of waste, while with sound, ripe, perfectly fresh
+fruit, it is entirely practical to secure from 1,600 to 1,800 pounds of
+canned goods from a ton, and this saving in waste would more than
+counterbalance the gain from the use of the better machinery possible in
+the factory.</p>
+
+<p><strong>The process of canning</strong> is simple and consists first of rinsing off the
+fruit, then in wire baskets or pails dipping it into boiling hot water
+to start the skins, which will require but two to four minutes. While
+they are still hot they should be peeled and imperfec<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span>tions cut out,
+then promptly placed in the cans, which should be fully filled; it is
+well to do this by adding the juice which has escaped while peeling,
+instead of water, as is done in the larger factories. This will give the
+canned fruit better color and lessen the need of dye. Place in a hot box
+for three to five minutes until heated through, wipe top of can clean
+and drop perforated cap in place, add flux and solder, seal cap in place
+with round capper, close perforation in cap with drop of solder. Place
+in box or kettle and steam or boil for 20 to 40 minutes. If the tomatoes
+were all ripe and none over-ripe, and have been kept hot from the time
+they went into the scalding kettle until the sealed cans are in the
+kettle, 20 minutes' cooking will make them surer to keep than 40 minutes
+would with fruit such as is commonly received at factories, or that
+which has been allowed to cool once or twice while in process.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII</h2>
+
+<h3>Cost of Production</h3>
+
+<p>There are a few vegetables or fruits where the cost of production and
+the price received are more variable than with the tomato. The cost per
+acre for raising the fruit varies with the conditions of soil,
+facilities for doing the work economically and with the season, while
+that of marketing the product varies still more. Under usual conditions,
+the growing of an acre of tomatoes and the gathering and marketing of
+the fruit will cost from $18 to $90, of which from 15 to 40 per cent. is
+spent in fertilizing and preparing the ground, 5 to 10 per cent. for
+plants, 20 to 30 per cent. for cultivation, and 25 to 40 per cent. for
+gathering and handling the fruit. The last item, of course, varies
+somewhat with, but not in proportion to, the amount of the crop, as it
+costs proportionately less to gather a large than a small crop, and for
+canners' use than for market.</p>
+
+<p>The expense of shipping and marketing the crop varies so greatly
+according to the conditions and methods that I do not attempt to state
+the amount. The total yield of fruit runs from 200 to 600 or 700 bushels
+to the acre, a 200-bushel crop of tomatoes comparing as to amount with
+one of 25 bushels of wheat and a 700-bushel crop of tomatoes with one of
+60 bushels of wheat; with the best and wisest cultivation and under the
+most favorable conditions one can as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> reasonably hope for one as for the
+other. Of this total yield, from 10 to 25 per cent. of the fruit should
+be such as, because of earliness and quality, can be sold as extras, and
+there is usually from 5 to 10 per cent., and sometimes a much larger per
+cent., which should be rejected as unsalable. The selected fruit should
+net from $1 to $5 a bushel, the common from 30 to 75 cents&mdash;making the
+returns for a 200-bushel yield well sold in a nearby market $70 to $350,
+and proportionately larger, for a better yield. In practice I have known
+of crops which gave a profit above expenses of over $1,000 an acre. This
+came, however, from exceptionally favorable conditions and skilled
+marketing, and I have known of many more crops where, though the fruit
+was equally large and well grown, the profit was less than $100.</p>
+
+<p>In this country a greenhouse is seldom used solely for the growing of
+tomatoes, but other crops&mdash;such as lettuce&mdash;are grown in connection with
+the tomatoes, so that it is impracticable to give the cost of
+production. As grown at the Ohio state experiment station&mdash;and the crop
+ripened in late spring or early summer and sold on the market of smaller
+cities&mdash;greenhouse tomatoes have yielded about two pounds a square foot
+of glass and brought an average price of 12 cents per pound. In other
+cases yields as high as 10 pounds a foot of glass and an average price
+of 40 cents a pound have been reported.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX</h2>
+
+<h3>Insects Injurious to the Tomato</h3>
+
+<p class="center">By <span class="smcap">Dr. F. H. Chittenden</span><br />Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Department
+of Agriculture</p>
+
+
+<p>From the time tomato plants are set in the field until the fruit has
+ripened they are subject to the attacks of insects which frequently
+cause serious injury. On the whole, however, the tomato is not so
+susceptible to damage as are some related crops&mdash;such as the potato.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Cutworms.</strong>&mdash;Of insects most to be feared and of those which attack the
+plants when they are first set out are cutworms of various species. The
+grower is as a rule quite too familiar with these insects, and no
+description of their methods is necessary, beyond the statement that
+they cut off and destroy more than they eat and re-setting is frequently
+necessary. The best remedy is a poisoned bait, prepared by dipping
+bunches of clover, weeds, or other vegetation in a solution of Paris
+green or other arsenical, 1 pound to 100 gallons of water. These baits
+are distributed in small lots over the ground <em>before</em> the plants are
+set, the precaution being observed that the land is free for two or
+three weeks from any form of vegetation. This will force the hungry
+"worms" to feed on the baits, to their prompt destruction. A bran-mash
+is also used instead of weeds or clover, and is prepared<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> by combining
+one part by weight of arsenic, one of sugar, and six of sweetened bran,
+with enough water added to make a mash. The baits are renewed if they
+become too dry, or they can be kept moist by placing them under shingles
+or pieces of board.<a name="fig35" id="fig35"></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i0133.png" width="400" height="221" alt="FIG. 35&mdash;CUTWORM AND PARENT MOTH (Feltia subgothica)
+(From Chittenden, U. S. Department of Agriculture)" title="FIG. 35&mdash;CUTWORM AND PARENT MOTH (Feltia subgothica)" />
+</div><p class="caption">FIG. 35&mdash;CUTWORM AND PARENT MOTH (<em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">Feltia subgothica</em>)
+<br />(From Chittenden, U. S. Department of Agriculture)</p>
+
+
+<p><strong>Flea-beetles</strong> attack the plants soon after they are set, and their
+injuries can be prevented by dipping the young plants before setting in
+a solution of arsenate of lead, about 1 pound to 50 gallons of water, or
+Paris green, 1 pound to 100 gallons. If this precaution has not been
+observed a spray of either of these arsenicals used in the proportion
+specified will suffice, repeating if the insects continue on the plants.
+In the preparation of the spray a pound of fresh lime to each pound of
+the arsenical should be added; or, better yet, Bordeaux mixture should
+be employed as a diluent instead of water. This mixture has some
+insecticidal value, is a most valuable fungicide, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> is also a
+powerful deterrent of flea-beetle attack, acting to a less degree
+against other insects which are apt to be found on the tomato. In
+applying any spray a sprayer costing not less than $7 is a positive
+necessity.<a name="fig36_37" id="fig36_37"></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width:600px;">
+<div class="figleft" style="width:280px;">
+<img src="images/i0134a.png" alt="FIG. 36&mdash;FLEA-BEETLE" title="FIG. 36&mdash;FLEA-BEETLE" />
+<br /><span class="caption">FIG. 36&mdash;FLEA-BEETLE<br />
+Does great injury to young plants. Much enlarged. Actual size shown by
+line at right. (From Chittenden)</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 280px;">
+<img src="images/i0134b.png" alt="FIG. 37&mdash;MARGINED BLISTER BEETLE" title="FIG. 37&mdash;MARGINED BLISTER BEETLE" />
+<br /><span class="caption">FIG. 37&mdash;MARGINED BLISTER BEETLE</span>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<p style="clear:both;"><strong>The Colorado potato beetle</strong>, or "potato bug," sometimes injures tomatoes,
+but not as a rule when potatoes are available. This suggests the use of
+potatoes as a trap crop, planted in about three rows completely around
+the field of tomatoes. The arsenicals used in the same proportion as for
+flea-beetles will destroy the potato beetle. It is necessary to keep the
+trap potatoes well sprayed to prevent them from breeding on these plants
+and migrating to the tomatoes. Potato beetles can also be controlled by
+jarring them from the affected plants into large pans containing a
+little water on which a thin scum of kerosene is floating.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Blister beetles</strong> may be controlled, under ordinary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> circumstances, by the
+same method employed against the Colorado beetle. When they are present
+in great numbers a good remedy consists in driving them with the wind
+from the cultivated fields into windrows of straw or similar dry
+material previously prepared along the leeward side of the field, where
+they will congregate and can be burned.<a name="fig38" id="fig38"></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i0135.png" width="400" height="319" alt="FIG. 38&mdash;TOMATO WORM (Protoparce sexta) " title="FIG. 38&mdash;TOMATO WORM (Protoparce sexta)" />
+</div>
+<p class="caption">FIG. 38&mdash;TOMATO WORM (<em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">Protoparce sexta</em>)<br/>
+(<em>a</em>) Adult moth; (<em>b</em>) full-grown larva; (<em>c</em>) pupa&mdash;all reduced. (After Howard, U. S. Dept. Agr.)</p>
+
+<p><strong>The tomato worms</strong>, of which there are two common species closely
+resembling each other, are often abundant and destructive on tomato
+foliage, particularly southward. The arsenicals will kill them, or they
+can be held in check by hand-picking, a little<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> experience enabling one
+to detect their presence readily. Turkeys are utilized in destroying
+these worms in the South.<a name="fig39" id="fig39"></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i0136.png" width="400" height="330" alt="FIG. 39&mdash;TOMATO STALK-BORER (Papaipema nitela)" title="" />
+</div>
+<p class="caption">FIG. 39&mdash;TOMATO STALK-BORER (<em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">Papaipema nitela</em>)<br />
+(<em>a</em>) Female moth; (<em>b</em>) half-grown larva; (<em>c</em>) mature larva in injured
+stalk; (<em>d</em>) lateral view of abdominal segment; (<em>e</em>) pupa&mdash;all somewhat
+enlarged. (From Chittenden, U. S. Dept. Agr.)</p>
+
+<p><strong>The stalk-borer</strong>, as its name implies, attacks the stalk, and is an
+intermittent pest, though quite annoying at times. It is difficult to
+combat, but its injuries may be prevented by care in keeping down, and
+by <em>promptly</em> destroying, the weeds after they are pulled or hoed out
+during the growing season. If weeds are left to dry the striped
+caterpillar of this species<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> will desert them and enter cultivated
+plants. Ragweed and burdock are the principal foods of this insect, and
+special attention should be given to eradicate them where tomatoes are
+planted. Crop rotation is advisable where this can be conveniently
+practiced, and such plants as cabbage, radish and the like, onions,
+beets, asparagus and celery are suggested as alternates. When the plants
+are sprayed with arsenicals for other insects this will operate to a
+certain extent against the stalk-borer.<a name="fig40" id="fig40"></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i0137.png" width="400" height="250" alt="FIG. 40&mdash;CHARACTERISTIC WORK OF THE TOMATO FRUIT WORM" title="FIG. 40&mdash;CHARACTERISTIC WORK OF THE TOMATO FRUIT WORM" />
+</div>
+<p class="caption">FIG. 40&mdash;CHARACTERISTIC WORK OF THE TOMATO FRUIT WORM
+(<em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">Heliothis obsoleta</em>)<br />(Redrawn by Johnson from C. V. Riley)<a name="fig41" id="fig41"></a></p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;">
+<img src="images/i0138.png" width="300" height="163" alt="FIG. 41&mdash;ADULT MOTH, OR PARENT OF TOMATO FRUIT WORM
+(From Chittenden, U. S. Department of Agriculture)" title="FIG. 41&mdash;ADULT MOTH, OR PARENT OF TOMATO FRUIT WORM" />
+</div><p class="caption">FIG. 41&mdash;ADULT MOTH, OR PARENT OF TOMATO FRUIT WORM
+<br />(From Chittenden, U. S. Department of Agriculture)</p>
+
+
+<p><strong>The tomato fruit worm</strong> (Fig. 40) known as the bollworm of cotton and the
+ear worm of corn, is frequently the cause of serious trouble to tomato
+growers, especially in the southern states, due to its pernicious habit
+of eating into and destroying the green and ripening fruit. For its
+control it is advisable not to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> plant tomatoes in proximity to old corn
+or cotton fields, nor should land be used in regions where this species
+is abundant until it has been fall or winter plowed. Sweet corn planted
+about the field before the tomatoes are set will serve as a lure for the
+parent moths to deposit their eggs, corn and cotton being favorite foods
+of this species and preferred to tomatoes. The fruit worm feeds to a
+certain extent on the foliage before penetrating the fruit, and it is
+possible to keep it in subjection by spraying with arsenicals as advised
+for the flea-beetles. It is suggested that arsenate of lead, being more
+adhesive than other arsenicals, should be used for the first sprayings,
+beginning when the fruit commences to form, repeating once or twice as
+found necessary, and making a last spraying with Paris green within a
+few days of ripening. This last poison will readily wash off and there
+is no danger whatever of poisoning to human beings, as has been
+conclusively proved in numerous similar cases. For the perfect success
+of this remedy the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> last spraying is essential, as those who have
+sprayed with an arsenical and have reported only partial good results
+have discontinued within about two weeks of the time of the ripening of
+the first fruit.</p>
+
+<p><strong>White fly or aleyrodes.</strong>&mdash;These minute insects are familiar to most
+growers who raise tomatoes under glass. They can be held in control by
+vaporization or fumigation with tobacco or nicotine extracts, or by
+spraying with kerosene emulsion or the so-called whale-oil (fish-oil)
+soap. Care is necessary in using the extracts that the smudge does not
+become too dense and injure the plants. Before applying this remedy on a
+large scale a preliminary trial should be made following the directions
+on the packages, and reducing the amount if any ill results follow.
+Hydrocyanic acid gas, properly used, is also an excellent remedy for
+aleyrodes, aphides, "mealy-bug," and other soft-bodied insects which are
+sometimes troublesome on greenhouse tomatoes.</p>
+
+<div class="ad"><p>For a complete account of the methods of making and handling
+hydrocyanic acid gas, see Professor Johnson's book entitled
+"Fumigation Methods," published by Orange Judd Company, of New
+York. Sent postpaid for $1.&mdash;[<span class="smcap">Author</span>.</p></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX</h2>
+
+<h3>Tomato Diseases</h3>
+
+<p class="center">By <span class="smcap">W. A. Orton</span><br />U. S. Department of Agriculture</p>
+
+<h4>DISEASES NOT CAUSED BY FUNGI OR INSECTS</h4>
+
+
+<p>The health of tomato plants is to a large extent dependent on the
+conditions under which they are being grown. The character and physical
+condition of the soil, the supply of water and plant food, the
+temperature and amount of sunlight, are all factors of the greatest
+importance in the growth and development of the crop. When there are
+variations from the normal in the case of any of these the plant adapts
+itself to the change as far as possible, but its functions may be so
+disturbed as to result in ill health or disease. It is in many cases
+difficult to draw a line between a natural re-action of the plant to its
+environment and a state of disease. For example, the trouble described
+in the next paragraph seems to fall into the first class.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Shedding of blossoms.</strong>&mdash;The tomato is very liable to drop its buds and
+blossoms and in some instances partial or total crop failures have
+resulted. The principal causes are an over-rapid growth, due in many
+cases to an excess of nitrogenous fertilizers, unfavorable weather
+conditions, especially cold winds, continued rainy or moist weather,
+which hinders pollina<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span>tion, lack of sunlight, or extremely hot weather.
+Such shedding can be partially controlled by pruning away the lateral
+branches as soon as formed and topping the plants after the third
+cluster of fruit has set, and by a reduction in the use of nitrogenous
+fertilizers. A failure to set fruit in the greenhouse is often due to
+lack of pollination, which must be remedied by hand pollination.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Cracking of the fruit.</strong>&mdash;The formation of cracks or fissures in the
+nearly mature fruit is due to variations in the water supply and other
+conditions affecting growth at this stage. If after the development of
+the outer portion of the fruit has been checked by drought there follows
+a period of abundant water supply and rapid growth, the fruit expands
+more rapidly than its epidermis and the latter is ruptured. Some
+varieties of tomatoes are much less subject to this trouble than others
+and should be given preference on this account. The grower, so far as
+lies in his power, should seek to maintain an uninterrupted growth by
+thorough preparation of the land, by cultivation or by mulching. If the
+half-grown fruits are enclosed in paper bags, cracking may be prevented,
+but at the risk of loss of flavor in the ripened fruit.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Leaf curl.</strong>&mdash;The effect of pruning is to stimulate growth and to increase
+the size of the leaves, the effort of the plant being to maintain a
+balance between roots and foliage. With rapidly growing plants,
+especially in the greenhouse and garden where both high manuring and
+pruning have been practiced, more or less curling and distortion of the
+leaves may result without developing into serious trouble if the grower<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span>
+takes the hint and modifies his methods so as to permit a more balanced
+growth. On the other hand, the ill effects of over-feeding and pruning
+may reach a point where the plant is seriously crippled.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Edema.</strong>&mdash;Under certain conditions plants in greenhouses or even in the
+open field, may absorb water through the roots faster than it can be
+transpired through the leaves, with the result that dropsical swellings
+or blisters occur on the leaves and more succulent stems. There is also
+a deformation of the foliage, much like the leaf-curl produced by
+over-feeding. This trouble, known as edema, occurs when the soil is
+warmer than the air, or during periods of moist, warm, cloudy weather,
+which checks transpiration. The grower should cease pruning, and
+withhold water, and in the field cultivate deeply. In the greenhouse,
+adequate ventilation should be given, keeping the house dry rather than
+moist.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Mosaic disease.</strong>&mdash;The tomato is occasionally subject to a trouble allied
+to the mosaic disease of tobacco. It is characterized by a variegation
+of the leaves into light and dark green areas, usually accompanied by
+distortion and reduction in size. In severe cases a whole field may
+become worthless. While the nature of this malady is not fully
+understood, it is known to be due to a disordered nutrition of the young
+leaf-cells. It can be produced by severe pruning or by mutilation of the
+roots in transplanting, both of which should be carefully avoided. It is
+more likely to occur in seedlings that have made a soft, rapid growth on
+account of an excess of nitrogenous fertilizer or too high temperature.
+Close, clayey soils, on account of their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> poor physical condition, also
+favor the development of the disease after transplanting.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Western blight (Yellows).</strong>&mdash;In the North Pacific and Rocky Mountain
+states, serious losses are annually caused by a disease apparently
+unlike any eastern trouble. It is marked by a gradual yellowing of the
+foliage and fruit. Development is checked, the leaves curl upward and
+the plant dies without wilting. The nature and cause of this disease is
+as yet unknown. It appears to be worst on new land. Experiments that
+have been made indicate that in older cultivated fields thorough
+preparation of the soil, manuring and cultivation, combined with care in
+transplanting to avoid injuring the roots and checking growth, will
+greatly restrict the spread of this blight.</p>
+
+
+<h4>DISEASES CAUSED BY PARASITES</h4>
+
+<p>There are several fungous parasites of tomatoes, which, for the readers
+convenience, may be briefly mentioned and the treatment of all discussed
+together. The first three are indeed somewhat difficult to tell apart
+without a microscope, as they produce a similar effect on the leaves and
+all yield to the same treatment&mdash;thorough spraying with Bordeaux
+mixture.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Leaf spot</strong> (<em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">Septoria lycopersici</em> Speg.) has been widely prevalent and
+injurious during recent years. It produces small, roundish dark-brown
+spots on leaves and stems. The lower leaves are attacked first and
+gradually curl up, die and fall off. The vitality of the plant is
+reduced and it is only kept alive by the young leaves formed at the
+top.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The fungus that causes early blight of potatoes (<em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">Alternaria solani</em> (E.
+&amp; M.) J. &amp; G.) occurs on tomatoes also, sometimes doing much injury. The
+spots formed are at first small and black, later enlarging and
+exhibiting fine concentric rings.</p>
+
+<p>A somewhat similar leaf-blight results from a species of
+<em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">Cylindrosporium</em>, and other fungi may occur on diseased leaves.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Leaf mold</strong> (<em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">Cladosporium fulvum</em> Cke.) is quite distinct from the
+foregoing in appearance. It does not cause such distinct spots but
+occurs in greenish brown, velvety patches of irregular outline on the
+under side of the leaves. The lower leaves are first attacked, and as
+the disease progresses they turn yellow and drop off. This is the
+principal fungous enemy of greenhouse tomatoes, but also does injury in
+gardens, particularly in Florida and the Gulf region. It is readily
+controlled by spraying. In the greenhouse care should be taken to
+ventilate well, without, however, allowing cold drafts to strike the
+plants.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Downy mildew</strong> (<em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">Phytopthora infestans</em> DeBy.), the cause of the late
+blight of potatoes, will attack tomatoes during cool and very moist
+weather, which greatly favors its development. Such outbreaks sometimes
+occur to a limited extent in New England and serious losses are reported
+on the winter crop in southern California, but the disease has never
+been troublesome in other sections of the country, as it cannot develop
+in dry or hot weather. It affects the tomato as it does the potato,
+forming on the leaves dark, discolored spots, which spread rapidly under
+favorable conditions, killing the foliage in a few days. The fruit is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>
+also attacked and becomes covered with the mildew-like spore-bearing
+threads of the fungus. Bordeaux mixture properly applied is an efficient
+preventive.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Spraying tomatoes.</strong>&mdash;It should be the invariable practice of the tomato
+grower to spray with Bordeaux mixture to prevent injury from any of
+these leaf-blights. This should be done while the plants are still
+healthy, as if put off until the disease appears the battle is half
+lost. Make the first application to the young plants in the seed-bed a
+few days before transplanting. Spray again within a week after the
+plants are set in the field, and repeat at intervals of ten days or two
+weeks until the fruit is full grown. Success in spraying depends mainly
+on the thoroughness of the work. The aim should be to cover every leaf
+with a fine mist. Do not drench the foliage but pass to the next plant
+before the drops run together and off the leaf. Use a nozzle that gives
+a fine spray and maintain a high pressure at the pump.</p>
+
+<p><em>Preparation of Bordeaux mixture.</em>&mdash;Formula: Copper sulphate
+(bluestone), 5 pounds; lime, 5 pounds; and water, 50 gallons. The copper
+sulphate may be either in crystals or pulverized. Dissolve by suspending
+the required amount in a coarse sack near the top of the water a few
+hours before it will be needed. The lime must be fresh stone lime of
+good quality. Slake thoroughly by the addition of small quantities of
+water at a time as needed, stirring until all small lumps are slaked.
+Strain both the lime milk and the copper sulphate or bluestone solution
+through a brass strainer of 18 meshes per inch and dilute each with half
+the water before mixing together. Do not use<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> Bordeaux left over from
+the previous day. An old mixture or one made from the concentrated
+solutions has a poor physical condition. It settles more quickly, tends
+to clog the nozzle and does not adhere so well to the foliage. Failure
+to use the strainer results in endless trouble in the field from clogged
+nozzles.<a name="fig42" id="fig42"></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i0146.png" width="400" height="274" alt="FIG. 42&mdash;PROPER WAY TO MAKE BORDEAUX (From W. G.
+Johnson)" title="FIG. 42&mdash;PROPER WAY TO MAKE BORDEAUX" />
+</div><p class="caption">FIG. 42&mdash;PROPER WAY TO MAKE BORDEAUX<br />(From W. G.
+Johnson)</p>
+
+
+<p>When much spraying is to be done it is more convenient to keep the
+bluestone and lime in separate permanent stock solutions, as shown in
+Fig. 42, containing 2 pounds to the gallon of their respective
+ingredients. These will keep indefinitely, if the water evaporated is
+replaced, and may be used from as needed.</p>
+
+<p><em>Spraying apparatus.</em>&mdash;Tomato growers having only a small area to spray
+may use one of the numerous forms of hand-pumps or bucket sprayers now
+on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> market. For larger fields it will be necessary to employ a
+barrel sprayer. This consists of a hand-pump mounted in a barrel or tank
+and equipped with two leads of 3/8 inch hose 25 feet long, each with a
+four-foot, extension made from &frac14; inch gas pipe, and a double Vermorel
+nozzle. The barrel should be carried in an ordinary farm wagon. Three
+men do the work. One is expected to drive and pump, while the other two
+manipulate the nozzles. The outfit is stopped while the plants within
+reach are sprayed, then driven forward about 30 feet and stopped again.
+On an average in actual field practice 3 to 4 acres a day can be sprayed
+in this way, applying 100 to 200 gallons of Bordeaux per acre. To keep
+the long hose off the plants two poles about 10 feet long may be pivoted
+to the bed of the wagon so as to swing at an angle over the wheel and
+carry the hose. The pump for this outfit should be of good capacity,
+with brass valves. A "Y" shut-off discharge connection on the pump is a
+convenience for stopping the spray at any time. The most satisfactory
+nozzles are those of the Vermorel type. It is cheapest in the long run
+to buy the best grades of pumps on the market. This outfit is
+excellently adapted for spraying small fields of potatoes and for
+general orchard work, and is invaluable on the average farm.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Phytoptosis.</strong>&mdash;This disease is known to occur only in Florida, where it
+is sometimes common enough to require remedial treatment. The affected
+portions of the foliage are more or less distorted and covered with an
+ashy white fuzz. The general vigor and fruitfulness of the plants are
+greatly reduced. The name<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> applied to this trouble denotes its cause, an
+extremely small mite (<em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">Phytoptus calacladophora</em> Nal.), which by its
+presence on the leaves or stems so irritates them as to result in the
+abundant development of modified plant hairs, which shelter the mites
+and form the fuzzy covering characteristic of the disease. A remedy for
+phytoptosis is available in the sulphur compounds. The following one is
+particularly recommended by Prof. P. H. Rolfs, to whom our knowledge of
+the disease is due:</p>
+
+<p><em>Preparation of sulphur spray.</em>&mdash;Place 30 pounds of flowers of sulphur
+in a wooden tub large enough to hold 25 gallons. Wet the sulphur with 3
+gallons of water, stir it to form a paste. Then add 20 pounds of 98 per
+cent. caustic soda (28 pounds should be used if the caustic soda is 70
+per cent.) and mix it with the sulphur paste. In a few minutes it
+becomes very hot, turns brown, and becomes a liquid. Stir thoroughly and
+add enough water to make 20 gallons. Pour off from the sediment and keep
+the liquid as a stock solution in a tight barrel or keg. Of this
+solution use 4 quarts to 50 gallons of water. Apply with a spray pump
+whenever the disease appears, and repeat if required by its later
+reappearance. The use of dry sulphur is also recommended.</p>
+
+
+<h4>DISEASES OF THE FRUIT<a name="fig43" id="fig43"></a></h4>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 370px;">
+<img src="images/i0149.png" width="370" height="342" alt="FIG. 43&mdash;POINT-ROT DISEASE OF THE TOMATO (Redrawn from N. Y. Expr. Sta. No. 125)" title="FIG. 43&mdash;POINT-ROT DISEASE OF THE TOMATO" />
+</div><p class="caption">FIG. 43&mdash;POINT-ROT DISEASE OF THE TOMATO<br />(Redrawn from N. Y. Expr. Sta. No. 125)</p>
+
+
+<p><strong>Point-rot.</strong>&mdash;This trouble, called also "blossom-end rot," and
+"black-rot," occurs on the green fruit at various stages of development,
+as shown in Fig. 43. It begins at the blossom end as a sunken brown
+spot,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> which gradually enlarges until the fruit is rendered worthless.
+The decayed spot is often covered in its later stages by a dense black
+fungous growth (<em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">Alternaria fasciculata</em> (C. &amp; E.) J. &amp; G. syn.
+<em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">Macrosporium tomato</em> Cke.), formerly thought to be the cause of the
+rot, but now known to be merely a saprophyte. Point-rot sometimes occurs
+in greenhouses, but is more common in field culture. It is one of the
+most destructive diseases of the tomato, but its nature is not fully
+worked out, and a uniformly successful treatment is unknown. It has been
+thought to be due to bacterial invasion, but complete demonstrations of
+that fact<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> have not yet been published. The physiological conditions of
+the plant appear to be important. The disease is worst in dry weather
+and light soils, where the moisture supply is insufficient, and
+irrigation is beneficial in such cases. Spraying does not control
+point-rot so far as present evidence goes.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Anthracnose&mdash;ripe-rot</strong>&mdash;(<em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">Colletotrichum phomoides</em> (Sacc.) Chest.), is
+distinguished from the point-rot by the fact that it occurs mainly on
+ripe or nearly ripe fruits, producing a soft and rapid decay. Widespread
+losses from this cause are not common, but when a field becomes infected
+a considerable proportion of the crop within a limited area may be
+destroyed if humid or rainy weather prevails. Preventive measures only
+can be employed. These should consist in collecting and destroying
+diseased fruit and in staking and trimming the vines to admit light and
+air to dry out the foliage. Bordeaux mixture applied after the
+development of the disease would be of doubtful efficiency and would be
+objectionable on account of the sediment left on the ripe fruit.</p>
+
+
+<h4>DISEASES OF THE ROOT OR STEM</h4>
+
+<p><strong>Damping off.</strong>&mdash;Young plants in seed-beds often perish suddenly from a rot
+of the stem at the surface of the ground. This occurs as a rule in dull,
+cloudy weather among plants kept at too high a temperature, crowded too
+closely in the beds or not sufficiently ventilated. Several kinds of
+fungi are capable of causing damping off, under such conditions.</p>
+
+<p><em>Preventive measures</em> are of the first importance.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> Since old soil is
+often full of fungous spores left by previous crops, it is the wisest
+plan to use sterilized soil for the seed-bed. When the young plants are
+growing, constant watchfulness is required to avoid conditions that will
+weaken the seedlings and favor the damping off fungi.</p>
+
+<p><em>Watering and ventilation</em> are the two points that require especial
+skill. Watering should be done at midday, to allow the beds to drain
+before night, and only enough water for the thorough moistening of the
+soil should be applied. Ventilation should be given every warm day as
+the temperature and sunshine will permit, but the plants must be
+protected from rain and cold winds. Work the surface of the soil to
+permit aeration and do not crowd the plants too closely in the beds. If
+damping off develops something can be done to check it by scattering a
+layer of dry, warm sand over the surface, and by spraying the bed
+thoroughly with weak Bordeaux or by applying dry sulphur and air-slaked
+lime.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Bacterial wilt</strong> (<em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">Bacterium solanacearum</em> Erw. Sm.).&mdash;This disease, which
+also attacks potatoes and eggplants and some related weeds, is one of
+the most serious enemies of the tomato. It is known to occur from
+Connecticut southward to Florida and westward to Colorado, but is most
+prevalent in the Gulf States, where it has greatly discouraged many
+growers.</p>
+
+<p><em>Its most prominent symptoms</em> are the wilting of the foliage and a
+browning of the wood inside the recently wilted stems. An affected plant
+wilts first at the top, or a single branch wilts, but later the entire
+plant yellows, wilts and dies. Young plants wilt more sud<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span>denly and dry
+up. The disease progresses more rapidly in plants that have made a
+succulent, luxurious growth, while those with hard, woody stems resist
+it somewhat.</p>
+
+<p><em>The disease is due</em> to the invasion of bacteria, which enter the leaves
+through the aid of leaf-eating insects, or through the roots. They plug
+the water-carrying vessels of the stem, shutting off the water and food
+supply of the plant. If the stem of a plant freshly wilted from this
+disease be severed, the bacteria will ooze out in dirty white drops on
+the cut surface.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Remedial measures</strong> entirely satisfactory for the control of bacterial
+wilt have not yet been worked out. The best methods to adopt at present
+are the following:</p>
+
+<p>(1) <em>Rotation of crops.</em>&mdash;The field evidence is that this disease is in
+many cases localized in old gardens or in definite spots in the field.
+It appears also that the infection left by a diseased crop can remain in
+the soil for some time. It is therefore advised that tomato growers
+should always practice a rotation of crops, whether any disease has
+appeared or not, and that in case bacterial wilt develops they should
+not plant that land in tomatoes, potatoes, or eggplants for three or
+four years. The length of rotation necessary to free the soil is not
+known, but will have to be worked out by the individual grower.</p>
+
+<p>(2) <em>Destruction of diseased plants.</em>&mdash;The bacteria causing wilt not
+only spread through the soil but are carried by insects from freshly
+wilted to healthy plants. Diseased plants thus become dangerous sources
+of infection, and it is evident that all such should be pulled out and
+burned. This is particularly important at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> beginning of the trouble
+when the eradication of a few wilting plants may save the remainder.</p>
+
+<p>(3) <em>Control of insects.</em>&mdash;To lessen the danger from spread of wilt by
+insects, the measures advised in the next chapter for the control of
+leaf-eating insects should be adopted. In this connection it should be
+mentioned that the use of Bordeaux mixture for leaf blights, as
+previously recommended, has an additional value in that the coating on
+the leaves is distasteful to insects and helps to keep them away.</p>
+
+<p>(4) <em>Seed selection.</em>&mdash;Work done at the Florida experiment station
+indicates that resistant varieties may be secured, but there are as yet
+none in commercial use. This is an important line for experimenters to
+follow up. There is no proof that the disease is spread through seed
+from diseased plants.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Fusarium wilt.</strong>&mdash;This disease and the one following resemble the
+bacterial wilt so closely, as far as external characters go, that they
+are difficult to tell apart. The parasites, however, differ so
+materially in their nature and life history that the field treatment is
+quite different. There are also differences in geographical distribution
+that are important, for while the Fusarium wilt occurs occasionally
+throughout the southern states, it is known to be of general commercial
+importance only in southern Florida and southern California.</p>
+
+<p><em>The symptoms of the disease</em> are a gradual wilting and dying of the
+plants, usually in the later stages of their development. Young plants
+die, however, when the soil infection is severe. There is a browning of
+the woody portions of the stem, and when a section of this is examined
+under a compound microscope the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> vessels are found to be filled with
+fungous threads, which shut off the water supply.</p>
+
+<p><em>The infection</em> in the Fusarium wilt appears to come entirely from the
+soil. Little is known of its manner of spread, except that the
+cultivation of a tomato crop in certain districts appears to leave the
+soil infected so that a crop planted the next year will be injured or
+destroyed. The fungus does not remain in the soil for a very long time
+in sufficient abundance to cause serious harm. A rotation of crops that
+will bring tomatoes on the land once in three years has been found in
+Florida to prevent loss from Fusarium wilt.</p>
+
+<p><em>This fungus does not attack any other crop</em> than tomatoes, so far as
+known, though it is very closely related to species of Fusarium
+producing similar diseases in cotton, melon, cowpea, flax, etc. Fusarium
+wilt has not been found in fields and gardens in the northern states,
+but tomatoes in greenhouses there are sometimes attacked by it or a
+related Fusarium, which also occurs in England. When greenhouse beds are
+infected the soil for the next crop should be thoroughly sterilized by
+steam under pressure.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Sclerotium wilt.</strong>&mdash;This disease resembles the two preceding in its effect
+on the plant, which wilts at the tip first, and gradually dies. Its
+geographical range is more restricted. It seems to be confined to
+northern Florida and the southern part of Georgia and Alabama, where it
+occurs in gardens and old cultivated fields. The fungus causing this
+wilt attacks the root and the stem near the ground, working in from the
+outside. There is not the browning of the wood vessels characteristic of
+the two preceding diseases. If an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> affected stem is put in a moist
+chamber made from a covered or inverted dish, there will develop an
+exceedingly vigorous growth of snow-white fungous mycelium which, after
+a few days, bears numerous round shot-like bodies, at first
+light-colored, then becoming smaller and dark-brown. These are the
+sclerotia or resting bodies of the fungus. This fungus, called
+<em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">Sclerotium</em> sp., or "Rolf's Sclerotium," is noteworthy because it
+attacks potatoes, squash, cowpea, and a long list of other garden
+vegetables and ornamental plants. The only satisfactory means of control
+is rotation of crops, using corn, small grain, and the Iron cowpea, a
+variety immune to this and other diseases. Susceptible crops should be
+kept from infected fields for two or three years.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Root-knot</strong> (<em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">Heterodera radicicola</em> (Greef) M&uuml;l.) attacks tomatoes in
+greenhouses and is in some cases an important factor in southern field
+culture. It is caused by a parasitic eelworm or nematode, of minute
+size, which penetrates the roots and induces the formation of numerous
+irregular swellings or galls, in which are bred great numbers of young
+worms. The effect on the plant is to check growth and diminish
+fruitfulness, in advanced cases even resulting in death.</p>
+
+<p><em>The remedy in greenhouse culture</em> is thorough soil sterilization. In
+the open field this is impracticable and recourse must be had to a
+rotation with immune crops, which will starve out the root-knot. It must
+now be borne in mind that the root-knot worm can attack cotton, cowpea,
+okra, melons and a very large number of other plants. The only common
+crops safe to use in such a rotation in the South are corn, oats,
+velvet<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> beans, beggar weed, peanuts, and the Iron cowpea. The use of
+other varieties of cowpea than the Iron is particularly to be avoided,
+on account of the danger of stocking the land with root-knot.
+Fortunately, the disease is serious only in sandy or light soils.</p>
+
+<p><strong>Rosette</strong> (<em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">Corticium vagum</em> (B. &amp; C.) var. <i>solani</i> Burt.) is a disease
+of minor importance, which occurs in Ohio, Michigan, and scatteringly in
+other states. The fungus causing it (<em lang="lat" xml:lang="lat">Rhizoctonia</em>) attacks the roots
+and base of the stem, forming dark cankers. The effect on the plant is
+to dwarf and curl the leaves and to restrict productiveness. The potato
+suffers more severely from the same trouble. Rotation of crops and
+liberal application of lime to the soil are advised for the control of
+rosette in tomatoes.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>INDEX</h2>
+
+<p><span style="margin-left: 10em;">PAGE</span></p>
+<p>Adaptations of varieties,&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_97">97</a><br />
+<span class="indent1">as to habit, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_97">97</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">as to foliage, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_100">100</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">as to fruit, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_102">102</a></span><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Botany, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_1">1</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Canning, cost of, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_118">118</a><br />
+<span class="indent1">on the farm, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_118">118</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Essentials for successful, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_119">119</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Catalog descriptions incomplete, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_110">110</a><br />
+<br />
+Characteristics of blossom, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_25">25</a><br />
+<br />
+Characteristics of fruit, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_26">26</a><br />
+<span class="indent1">Development from original form, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_26">26</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Effect of conditions on, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_26">26</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Quality, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_26">26</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Characteristics of plant, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_20">20</a><br />
+<span class="indent1">Checking of growth, effect upon, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_20">20</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Natural environment, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_20">20</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Uniform growth, importance of, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_21">21</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Characteristics of root, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_23">23</a><br />
+<br />
+Characteristics of stem and leaves, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_24">24</a><br />
+<br />
+Classification, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_4">4</a><br />
+<span class="indent1">Cherry, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_5">5</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Cultivated varieties, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_10">10</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Currant, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_4">4</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Pear, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_7">7</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Cold-frames, construction, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_53">53</a><br />
+<br />
+Commercial importance of crop, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_18">18</a><br />
+<br />
+Cost of crop, per acre, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_121">121</a><br />
+<span class="indent1">as grown for canners, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_117">117</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Covers for plant beds, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_55">55</a><br />
+<br />
+Cultivation, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_76">76</a><br />
+<br />
+Care and thoroughness necessary, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_76">76</a><br />
+<span class="indent1">in greenhouse, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_77">77</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">in home garden, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_77">77</a></span><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Diseases, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_131">131</a><br />
+<span class="indent1">Bacterial wilt, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_142">142</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Blight, early, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_135">135</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Blight, leaf, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_134">134</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Blight, Western, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_134">134</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Cracking of fruit, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_132">132</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Damping off, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_141">141</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Edema, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_133">133</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Fusarium wilt, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_144">144</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Leaf curl, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_132">132</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Leaf mold, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_135">135</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Leaf spot, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_134">134</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Mildew, <ins class="mycorr" title="Original: downey"><a name="corr4" id="corr4"></a>downy</ins>, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_135">135</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Mosaic disease, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_133">133</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Phytoptosis, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_138">138</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Point rot, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_139">139</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Root knot, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_146">146</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Sclerotium wilt, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_145">145</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Yellows, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_134">134</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Diseases, remedies for, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_131">131</a><br />
+<span class="indent1">Bordeaux mixture, preparation of, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_136">136</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Preventatives of, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_143">143</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Spraying apparatus, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_137">137</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Spraying, importance of, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_136">136</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Sulphur spraying, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_139">139</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Distances for setting plants, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_68">68</a><br />
+<span class="indent1">in field, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_68">68</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">in greenhouse, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_70">70</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">in home garden, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_69">69</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Drainage, importance of, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_31">31</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Essentials for best development, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_28">28</a><br />
+<span class="indent1">Cultivation, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Effect of shade, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_28">28</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Food supply, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Heat, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_30">30</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Moisture, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_30">30</a></span><br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span><span class="indent1">Sunlight, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_28">28</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Exposure, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_38">38</a><br />
+<span class="indent1">for early crop, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_39">39</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">for greenhouse, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_40">40</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">for home garden, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_40">40</a></span><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Fertilizers, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_43">43</a><br />
+<span class="indent1">Amounts, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_43">43</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Character, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_44">44</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Experiments with, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_45">45</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">for general application, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_44">44</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">for greenhouse, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_45">45</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">for home garden, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_45">45</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Flats, construction, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_57">57</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Gathering fruit, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_91">91</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Habit, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_22">22</a><br />
+<br />
+Handling fruit, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_92">92</a><br />
+<br />
+History, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_14">14</a><br />
+<br />
+Hotbeds, construction, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_51">51</a><br />
+<br />
+Hotbeds, growing fruit in, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_70">70</a><br />
+<br />
+House, construction, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_49">49</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Insects injurious to tomatoes, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_123">123</a><br />
+<span class="indent1">Blister beetle, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_125">125</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Colorado potato beetle, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_125">125</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Cut worm, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_123">123</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Flea-beetle, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_124">124</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Stalk-borer, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_127">127</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Tomato fruit worm, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_128">128</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Tomato worm, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_126">126</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">White fly, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_130">130</a></span><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Location of field as determining profit, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_38">38</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Manure<br />
+<span class="indent1">Fall dressing, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_41">41</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">for cold-frames, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_55">55</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">for greenhouse soil, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_37">37</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">for hotbeds, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_51">51</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">in preparing ground, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_46">46</a></span><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Origin, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_10">10</a><br />
+<br />
+Origin of name, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_14">14</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Packing, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_94">94</a><br />
+<br />
+<ins class="mycorr" title="Original: Pollenating"><a id="corr5" name="corr5"></a>Pollinating</ins>, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_77">77</a><br />
+<br />
+<ins class="mycorr" title="Original: Pollenation"><a id="corr6" name="corr6"></a>Pollination</ins>, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_25">25</a><br />
+<br />
+Prices obtained<br />
+<span class="indent1">at canneries, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_118">118</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">for hothouse fruit, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_122">122</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">for select field grown fruit, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_122">122</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Profits on crop, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_122">122</a><br />
+<br />
+Propagation of plants, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_48">48</a><br />
+<span class="indent1">from cuttings, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_49">49</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">from seed, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">in cold-frames, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_53">53</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">in hotbeds, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_51">51</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">in temporary greenhouses, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_49">49</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Pruning, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_80">80</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Ripening on the vines, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_90">90</a><br />
+<br />
+Ripening after frost, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_95">95</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Sash, cost, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_49">49</a><br />
+<span class="indent1">for hotbeds, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_52">52</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">for cold-frames, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_53">53</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Seed breeding, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_112">112</a><br />
+<span class="indent1">Essentials to success, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_113">113</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Growing and saving commercial seed, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_115">115</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent2">Methods followed, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_115">115</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent2">Prices received, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_116">116</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent2">Yields obtained, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_116">116</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Importance of breeding from individual plants, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_114">114</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Importance of exact ideals, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_113">113</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Methods recommended, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_113">113</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Principles underlying, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_112">112</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Setting plants, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_70">70</a><br />
+<span class="indent1">Conditions favorable and unfavorable, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">in field, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_70">70</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">in greenhouse, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_74">74</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">in home garden, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_74">74</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">New Jersey method, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_71">71</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Other methods, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_73">73</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Soil<br />
+<span class="indent1">Composition, importance of, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_24">24</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Conditions essential, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_41">41</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Preparation, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent2">for greenhouse, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_47">47</a></span><br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span><span class="indent2">for home garden, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_47">47</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Soil Preparation,<br />
+<span class="indent2">for main crop, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_46">46</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent2">Importance of, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_46">46</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Selection, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_33">33</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent2">for early crop, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_36">36</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent2">for greenhouse, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_37">37</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent2">for home garden, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_36">36</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent2">for main crop, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_34">34</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent2">Previous crop, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_41">41</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Sorting, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_92">92</a><br />
+<br />
+Staking, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_79">79</a><br />
+<br />
+Starting plants, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_59">59</a><br />
+<span class="indent1">Effect of shade, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_29">29</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">for early fruit, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_63">63</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">for forcing, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_67">67</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">for home garden, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_67">67</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">for late crop, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_65">65</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">in flats, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_59">59</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">in greenhouse, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_59">59</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Pricking out, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_60">60</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Right conditions, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_62">62</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Spotting boards, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_61">61</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Unfavorable conditions, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_63">63</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Watering, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_60">60</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">With least labor, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_66">66</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Succession, practice in the South, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_42">42</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Training, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_79">79</a><br />
+<span class="indent1">for greenhouse, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_88">88</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">for home garden, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_85">85</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Types, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_14">14</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Value, development of, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_16">16</a><br />
+<br />
+Variations,<br />
+<span class="indent1">in foliage, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_100">100</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">in fruit, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_102">102</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent2">Coloring, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_106">106</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent2">Flesh, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_105">105</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent2">Ripening, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_106">106</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent2">Shape, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_102">102</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">in habit,      97</span><br />
+<br />
+Varietal differences,<br />
+<span class="indent1">as to foliage, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_100">100</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">as to fruit, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_102">102</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">as to growth, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_97">97</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Variety names, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_108">108</a><br />
+<span class="indent1">Sources, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_109">109</a></span><br />
+<span class="indent1">Varying application, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_110">110</a></span><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Watering, danger in, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Yielding capacity, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_22">22</a><br />
+<br />
+Yield per acre, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a><br />
+<br />
+Yield per foot of greenhouse bench, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#Page_122">122</a><br />
+</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="tnote">
+<h2><a name="Transcribers_Notes" id="Transcribers_Notes"></a>Transcriber's Notes</h2>
+
+<p>Illustrations have been moved from their original locations so that the flow of paragraphs is not
+broken. Missing page numbers may occur where full-page illustrations have been moved. The quality of the
+illustrations is limited due to the low resolution of the source material.</p>
+<p>The following typographical errors have been corrected:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p>Page <a href="#corr1">61</a>: "... necessary. When plants are set in ..." (had 'plans')</p>
+<p>Page <a href="#corr2">107</a>: "... these respects we have varieties ..." (had 'resepcts')</p>
+<p>Page <a href="#corr3">117</a>: "... the question, "What is the best ..." (had 'queston')</p>
+<p>Page <a href="#corr4">148</a>: "Mildew, downy" (had 'downey')</p>
+<p>Page <a href="#corr5">149</a>: "Pollinating," (had 'Pollenating')</p>
+<p>Page <a href="#corr6">149</a>: "Pollination," (had 'Pollenation')</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Corrections are highlighted <ins class="mycorr" title="Original: like thsi">like this</ins>. Mouse over to see the original text.</p>
+
+<p>The archaic spelling of "hight" is as used throughout the original.</p>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Tomato Culture: A Practical Treatise
+on the Tomato, by William Warner Tracy
+
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+</body>
+</html>
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@@ -0,0 +1,4177 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Tomato Culture: A Practical Treatise on the
+Tomato, by William Warner Tracy
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Tomato Culture: A Practical Treatise on the Tomato
+
+Author: William Warner Tracy
+
+Release Date: February 6, 2009 [EBook #28011]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TOMATO CULTURE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Tom Roch, Louise Pattison and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images produced by Core Historical
+Literature in Agriculture (CHLA), Cornell University)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                 TOMATO CULTURE
+
+
+  A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE TOMATO, ITS HISTORY,
+  CHARACTERISTICS, PLANTING, FERTILIZATION,
+  CULTIVATION IN FIELD, GARDEN, AND GREENHOUSE,
+  HARVESTING, PACKING, STORING, MARKETING, INSECT
+  ENEMIES AND DISEASES, WITH METHODS OF CONTROL AND
+  REMEDIES, ETC., ETC.
+
+
+                     By
+
+                WILL W. TRACY
+
+            _Bureau of Plant Industry,
+     United States Department of Agriculture_
+
+
+               _ILLUSTRATED_
+
+
+                  NEW YORK
+
+             ORANGE JUDD COMPANY
+
+                    1907
+
+
+                     To
+
+              Dr. F. M. Hexamer
+
+    IN HONOR OF HIS LIFELONG EFFORTS FOR THE
+      BETTERMENT OF AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL
+                   PRACTICE
+
+
+             Copyright, 1907, by
+             ORANGE JUDD COMPANY
+            _All rights reserved_
+
+[Illustration: WHERE NEW VARIETIES OF TOMATOES ARE DEVELOPED AND TESTED
+(By courtesy _American Agriculturist_. Photo by Prof. W. G. Johnson)]
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+This little book has been written in fulfilment of a promise made many
+years ago. Again and again I have undertaken the work, only to lay it
+aside because I felt the need of greater experience and wider knowledge.
+I do not now feel that this deficiency has been by any means fully
+supplied, but in some directions it has been removed through the
+kindness of Dr. F. H. Chittenden of the Bureau of Entomology, who wrote
+the chapter on insect enemies, and of W. A. Orton of the Bureau of Plant
+Industry, United States Department of Agriculture, who wrote the chapter
+on diseases of tomatoes.
+
+I have made free use of, without special credit, and am largely indebted
+to, the writings of Doctor Sturtevant and Professor Goff, Professor
+Munson of Maine, Professor Halsted of New Jersey, Professor Corbett of
+Washington, Professor Rolfs of Florida, Professor Bailey of New York,
+Professor Green of Ohio, and many others. I have also found a vast
+amount of valuable information in the agricultural press of this country
+in general. I am also indebted to L. B. Coulter and Prof. W. G. Johnson
+for many photographs. My thanks are also due B. F. Williamson, who made
+the excellent drawings for this book under Professor Johnson's
+direction.
+
+Tomatoes are among the most generally used and popular vegetables. They
+are grown not only in gardens, but in large areas in every state from
+Maine to California and Washington to Florida, and under very different
+conditions of climate, soil and cultural facilities, as well as of
+requirements as to character of fruit. The methods which will give the
+best results under one set of conditions are entirely unsuited to
+others.
+
+I have tried to give the nature and requirements of the plant and the
+effect of conditions as seen in my own experience, a knowledge of which
+may enable the reader to follow the methods most suited to his own
+conditions and requirements, rather than to recommend the exact methods
+which have given me the best results.
+
+WILL W. TRACY.
+
+_Washington, April, 1907._
+
+
+
+
+  CONTENTS
+
+                                                    PAGE
+
+  PREFACE                                             v
+
+  CHAPTER I
+
+    BOTANY OF THE TOMATO                              1
+
+  CHAPTER II
+
+    HISTORY                                          14
+
+  CHAPTER III
+
+    GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PLANT             20
+
+  CHAPTER IV
+
+    ESSENTIALS FOR DEVELOPMENT                       28
+
+  CHAPTER V
+
+    SELECTION OF SOIL FOR MAXIMUM CROP               33
+
+  CHAPTER VI
+
+    EXPOSURE AND LOCATION                            38
+
+  CHAPTER VII
+
+    FERTILIZERS                                      43
+
+  CHAPTER VIII
+
+    PREPARATION OF THE SOIL                          46
+
+  CHAPTER IX
+
+    HOTBEDS AND COLD-FRAMES                          51
+
+  CHAPTER X
+
+    STARTING PLANTS                                  59
+
+  CHAPTER XI
+
+    PROPER DISTANCE FOR PLANTING                     68
+
+  CHAPTER XII
+
+    CULTIVATION                                      76
+
+  CHAPTER XIII
+
+    STAKING, TRAINING AND PRUNING                    79
+
+  CHAPTER XIV
+
+    RIPENING, GATHERING, HANDLING AND MARKETING      90
+    THE FRUIT
+
+  CHAPTER XV
+
+    ADAPTATION OF VARIETIES                          97
+
+  CHAPTER XVI
+
+    SEED BREEDING AND GROWING                       112
+
+  CHAPTER XVII
+
+    PRODUCTION FOR CANNING                          117
+
+  CHAPTER XVIII
+
+    COST OF PRODUCTION                              121
+
+  CHAPTER XIX
+
+    INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE TOMATO                 123
+
+  CHAPTER XX
+
+    TOMATO DISEASES                                 131
+
+  INDEX                                             148
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+  FIGURE                                            PAGE
+
+   1. Where new varieties of tomatoes are developed
+         and tested                             _Frontispiece_
+
+   2. Tomato flowers                                  2
+
+   3. Two-celled tomato                               3
+
+   4. Three-celled tomato                             3
+
+   5. Currant tomato and characteristic clusters      5
+
+   6. Red cherry tomato                               6
+
+   7. Pear-shaped tomato                              8
+
+   8. Yellow plum tomato                              9
+
+   9. One of the first illustrations of the tomato   11
+
+  10. An early illustration of the tomato            12
+
+  11. Typical bunch of modern tomatoes               27
+
+  12. Tomatoes trained to stakes in the South        35
+
+  13. Three-sash hotbed                              52
+
+  14. Cross-section of hotbed                        53
+
+  15. Cold-frames on hill-side                       54
+
+  16. Transplanting tomatoes under cloth-covered
+         frames                                      56
+
+  17. Spotting-board for use in cold-frames          61
+
+  18. Spotting-board for use on flat                 62
+
+  19. Tomatoes sown and allowed to grow in hotbeds   69
+
+  20. Planting tomatoes on a Delaware farm           75
+
+  21. Training tomatoes in Florida to single stake   81
+
+  22. Tomato plant trained to single stake           82
+
+  23. Method of training to three stems in
+         forcing-house and out of doors              83
+
+  24. Training on line in greenhouse                 84
+
+  25. Ready to transplant in greenhouse              85
+
+  26. Training young tomatoes in greenhouse at New
+         York experiment station                     86
+
+  27. Tomatoes in greenhouse at the Ohio
+         experiment station                          87
+
+  28. Forcing tomatoes in greenhouse at New Hampshire
+         experiment station                          88
+
+  29. Florida tomatoes properly wrapped for long
+         shipment                                    93
+
+  30. Greenhouse tomatoes packed for market          95
+
+  31. Buckeye State, showing long nodes and distance
+         between fruit clusters                      98
+
+  32. Stone, and characteristic foliage              99
+
+  33. Atlantic Prize, and its normal foliage        101
+
+  34. Dwarf Champion                                103
+
+  35. A cutworm and parent moth                     124
+
+  36. Flea-beetle                                   125
+
+  37. Margined blister beetle                       125
+
+  38. Tomato worm                                   126
+
+  39. Tomato stalk-borer                            127
+
+  40. Characteristic work of the tomato fruit worm  128
+
+  41. Adult moth, or parent of tomato fruit worm    129
+
+  42. Proper way to make Bordeaux                   137
+
+  43. Point-rot disease of the tomato               140
+
+
+
+
+TOMATO CULTURE
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+Botany of the Tomato
+
+
+=The common tomato= of our gardens belongs to the natural order
+_Solanaceae_ and the genus _Lycopersicum_. The name from _lykos_, a
+wolf, and _persica_, a peach, is given it because of the supposed
+aphrodisiacal qualities, and the beauty of the fruit. The genus
+comprises a few species of South American annual or short-lived
+perennial, herbaceous, rank-smelling plants in which the many branches
+are spreading, procumbent, or feebly ascendent and commonly 2 to 6 feet
+in length, though under some conditions, particularly in the South and
+in California, they grow much longer. They are covered with resinous
+viscid secretions and are round, soft, brittle and hairy, when young,
+but become furrowed, angular, hard and almost woody with enlarged
+joints, when old. The leaves are irregularly alternate, 5 to 15 inches
+long, petioled, odd pinnate, with seven to nine short-stemmed leaflets,
+often with much smaller and stemless ones between them. The larger
+leaflets are sometimes entire, but more generally notched, cut, or even
+divided, particularly at the base.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 2--TOMATO FLOWERS ENLARGED ABOUT 2-1/2 TIMES.
+SECTION OF FLOWER SHOWN AT RIGHT (Drawn from a photograph by courtesy of
+Prof. L. C. Corbett)]
+
+=The flowers= are pendant and borne in more or less branched clusters,
+located on the stem on the opposite side and usually a little below the
+leaves; the first cluster on the sixth to twelfth internode from the
+ground, with one on each second to sixth succeeding one. The flowers
+(Fig. 2) are small, consisting of a yellow, deeply five-cleft,
+wheel-shaped corolla, with a very short tube and broadly lanceolate,
+recurving petals. The calyx consists of five long linear or lanceolate
+sepals, which are shorter than the petals at first, but are persistent,
+and increase in size as the fruits mature. The stamens, five in number,
+are borne on the throat of the corolla, and consist of long, large
+anthers, borne on short filaments, loosely joined into a tube and
+opening by a longitudinal slit on the inside, and this is the chief
+botanical distinction between this genus and _Solanum_ to which the
+potato, pepper, night shade and tobacco belong. The anthers in the
+latter genus open at the tip only. The two genera, however, are closely
+related and plants belonging to them are readily united by grafting. The
+Physalis, Husk tomato or Ground cherry is quite distinct, botanically.
+The pistils of the true tomato are short at first, but the style
+elongates so as to push the capitate stigma through the tube formed by
+the anthers, this usually occurring before the anthers open for the
+discharge of the pollen. The fruit is a two to many-celled berry with
+central fleshy placenta and many small kidney-shaped seeds which are
+densely covered with short, stiff hairs, as seen in Figs. 3 and 4.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 3--TWO-CELLED TOMATO]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 4--THREE-CELLED TOMATO]
+
+It is comparatively easy to define the genus with which the tomato
+should be classed botanically, but it is by no means so easy to classify
+our cultivated varieties into botanical species. We have in cultivation
+varieties which are known to have originated in gardens and from the
+same parentage, but which differ from each other so much in habit of
+growth, character of leaf and fruit and other respects, that if they had
+been found growing wild they would unhesitatingly be pronounced
+different species, and botanists are not agreed as to how our many and
+very different garden varieties should be classified botanically. Some
+contend that all of our cultivated sorts are varieties of but two
+distinct species, while others think they have originated from several.
+
+=Classification.=--The author suggests the following classification,
+differing somewhat from that sometimes given, as he believes that the
+large, deep-sutured fruit of our cultivated varieties and the distinct
+pear-shaped sorts come from original species rather than from variations
+of _Lycopersicum cerasiforme_:
+
+=Currant tomato, Grape tomato, German or Raisin tomato= (_Lycopersicum
+pimpinellifolium_, _L. racemiforme_) (Fig. 5).--Universally regarded as
+a distinct species. Plant strong, growing with many long, slender, weak
+branches which are not so hairy, viscid, or ill-smelling, and never
+become so hard or woody as those of the other species. The numerous
+leaves are very bright green in color, leaflets small, nearly entire,
+with many small stemless ones between the others. Fruit produced
+continuously and in great quantity on long racemes like those of the
+currant, though they are often branched. They continue to elongate and
+blossom until the fruit at the upper end is fully ripened. Fruit small,
+less than 1/2 inch in diameter, spherical, smooth and of a particularly
+bright, beautiful red color which contrasts well with the bright green
+leaves, and this abundance of beautifully colored and gracefully poised
+fruit makes the plant worthy of more general cultivation as an ornament,
+though the fruit is of little value for culinary use. This species, when
+pure, has not varied under cultivation, but it readily crosses with
+other species and with our garden varieties, and many of these owe their
+bright red color to the influence of crosses with the above species.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 5--CURRANT TOMATO AND CHARACTERISTIC CLUSTERS]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 6--RED CHERRY TOMATO]
+
+=Cherry tomato= (_L. cerasiforme_) (Fig. 6).--Plant vigorous, with stout
+branches which are distinctly trailing in habit. Leaves flat or but
+slightly curled. Fruit very abundant, borne in short, branched
+clusters, globular, perfectly smooth, with no apparent sutures. From 1/2
+to 3/4 inch in diameter and either red or yellow in color, two-celled
+with numerous comparatively small, kidney-shaped seeds. Many of our
+garden varieties show evidence of crosses with this species, and by many
+it is regarded as the original wild form of all of our cultivated sorts.
+These, when they escape from cultivation and become wild plants, as they
+often do, from New Jersey southward, produce fruit which, in many
+respects, resembles that of this species in size and form; but they are
+generally more flattened, globe-shaped, with more or less distinct
+sutures on the upper side, and I have never seen any fruit of these wild
+plants which could not be readily distinguished from that of the true
+Cherry tomato.
+
+Prof. P. H. Rolfs, Director of the Florida experiment station, reports
+that among the millions of volunteer, or wild, tomatoes he has seen
+growing in the abandoned tomato fields in Florida, he has never seen a
+plant with fruit which could not be easily distinguished from that of
+the true Cherry tomato. Again, one can, by selection and cultivation,
+easily develop from these wild forms plants producing fruit as large and
+often practically identical with that of our cultivated varieties, while
+I have given a true stock of Cherry tomato most careful cultivation on
+the best of soil for 20 consecutive generations without any increase in
+size or change in character of the fruit.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 7--PEAR-SHAPED TOMATO]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 8--YELLOW PLUM TOMATO, SHOWING MOST USUAL FORM OF
+CLUSTER]
+
+=Pear (not Plum) tomato= (_L. pyriforme_) (Fig. 7).--Plant exceptionally
+vigorous, with comparatively few long, stout stems inclined to ascend.
+Leaves numerous, broad, flat, with a distinct bluish-green color
+noticeable, even in the cotyledons. Fruit abundant, borne in short
+branched or straight clusters of five to ten fruits. It is perfectly
+smooth, without sutures, and of the shape of a long, slender-necked
+pear, not over an inch in transverse by 1-1/2 inches in longitudinal
+diameter. When the stock is pure the fruit retains this form very
+persistently. The production of egg-shaped or other forms is a sure
+indication of impure stock. They are bright red, dark yellow, or light
+yellowish white in color, two-celled, with very distinct central
+placenta and comparatively few and large seeds. The fruit is inclined to
+ripen unevenly, the neck remaining green when the rest of the fruit is
+quite ripe. It is less juicy than that of most of our garden sorts but
+of a mild and pleasant flavor. This is considered, by many, to be
+simply a garden variety, but I am inclined to the belief that it is a
+distinct species and that the contrary view comes from the study of the
+impure and crossed stocks resulting from crosses between the true Pear
+tomato and garden sorts which are frequently sold by seedsmen as
+pear-shaped. Many garden sorts--like the Plum (Fig. 8), the Egg, the
+Golden Nugget, Vick's Criterion, etc.--are known to have originated from
+crosses of the Pear and I think that most, if not all, the garden sorts
+in which the longitudinal diameter of the fruit is greater than its
+transverse diameter owe this form to crosses with _L. pyriforme_.
+
+=Cultivated varieties= (_L. esculentum_).--This is commonly used as the
+botanical name of our cultivated varieties, rather than as the name of a
+distinct species. In western South America, however, there is found
+growing a wild plant of Lycopersicum which differs from the other
+recognized species in being more compact in growth, with fewer branches
+and larger leaves, and carrying an immense burden of fruit borne in
+large clusters. The fruit is larger than that of the other species but
+much smaller than that of our cultivated sorts; is very irregular in
+shape, always with distinct sutures, and often deeply corrugated and
+bright red in color. The walls are thin; the flesh is soft, with a
+distinct sharp, acid flavor much less agreeable than that of our
+cultivated forms of garden tomatoes.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 9--ONE OF THE FIRST ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE TOMATO
+_Poma amoris_, (_Pomum aureum_), (_Lycopersicum_), 1581]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 10--AN EARLY ILLUSTRATION OF THE TOMATO (From
+Morrison's "Historia Universalis," 1680)]
+
+This has commonly been regarded by botanists as a degenerate form of our
+garden tomatoes, rather than as an original species, but I find that,
+like _L. cerasiforme_ and _L. pyriforme_, it is quite fixed under
+cultivation, except as crossed with other species or with our garden
+varieties, and I believe it to be the original species from which our
+cultured sorts have been developed, by crossing and selection. Such
+crosses probably were made either naturally or by natives before the
+tomato was discovered by Europeans. The earliest prints we have of the
+tomato (Figs. 9 and 10) are far more like the fruit of this plant than
+that of _L. cerasiforme_, and the prints of many of the earliest garden
+varieties and of some sorts which are still cultivated in southern
+Europe, for use in soups, are like it not only in size and form, but in
+flavor. These facts make it seem far more probable that our cultivated
+sorts have come, by crossing, between this and other species rather than
+by simple development from _L. cerasiforme_.
+
+Prof. E. S. Goff, of Wisconsin, who has made a most careful study of the
+tomato, expressed the same opinion, writing that it seemed to him that
+our cultivated sorts must have come from the crossing of a small, round,
+smooth, sutureless type, with a larger, deep-sutured, corrugated fruit,
+like that of the Mammoth Chihuahua, but smaller. However this may be, I
+think that it is wise to throw all of our cultivated garden sorts,
+except the Pear, the Cherry, and the Grape--which I regard as distinct
+species--together under the name of _L. esculentum_, even when we know
+they have originated by direct crosses with the other species; and it is
+well to classify the upright growing sorts under the varietal names, _L.
+validum_, and the larger, heavier sorts, as _L. grandifolium_, as has
+been done by Bailey. (Cyclopedia of Horticulture.)
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+History
+
+
+The garden vegetable known in this country as tomato and generally as
+tomate in continental Europe, is also known as Wolf-peach and Love Apple
+in England and America, and Liebesapfel in Germany, Pomme d'Amour in
+France, Pomo d'oro in Italy, Pomidor in Poland.
+
+=Origin of name.=--The name tomato is of South American origin, and is
+derived from the Aztec word _xitomate_, or _zitotomate_, which is given
+the fruit of both the Common tomato and that of the Husk or Strawberry
+tomato or Physalis. Both vegetables were highly prized and extensively
+cultivated by the natives long before the discovery of the country by
+Europeans, and there is little doubt that many of the plants first seen
+and described by Europeans as wild species were really garden varieties
+originated with the native Americans by the variation or crossing of the
+original wild species.
+
+=Different types now common=, according to Sturtevant, have become known
+to, and been described by Europeans in about the following order:
+
+     1. Large yellow, described by Matthiolus in 1554 and called
+        Golden apple.
+
+     2. Large red, described by Matthiolus in 1554 and called Love
+        apple.
+
+     3. Purple red, described by D'el Obel in 1570.
+
+     4. White-fleshed, described by Dodoens in 1586.
+
+     5. Red cherry, described by Bauhin in 1620.
+
+     6. Yellow cherry, described by Bauhin in 1620.
+
+     7. Ochre yellow, described by Bauhin in 1651.
+
+     8. Striped, blotched or visi-colored, described by Bauhin in
+        1651.
+
+     9. Pale red, described by Tournefort in 1700.
+
+    10. Large smooth, or ribless red, described by Tournefort in
+        1700.
+
+    11. Bronzed-leaved, described by Blacknell in 1750.
+
+    12. Deep orange, described by Bryant in 1783.
+
+    13. Pear-shaped, described by Dunal in 1805.
+
+    14. Tree tomato, described by Vilmorin in 1855.
+
+    15. Broad-leaved, introduced about 1860.
+
+The special description of No. 10 by Tournefort in 1700 would indicate
+that large smooth sorts, like Livingston's Stone, were in existence
+fully 200 years ago, instead of being modern improvements, as is
+sometimes claimed; and a careful study of old descriptions and cuts and
+comparing them with the best examples of modern varieties led Doctor
+Sturtevant in 1889 to express the opinion that they had fruit as large
+and smooth as those we now grow, before the tomato came into general use
+in America, and possibly before the fruit was generally known to
+Europeans. Even the production of fine fruit under glass is not so
+modern as many suppose. In transactions of the London Horticultural
+Society for 1820, John Wilmot is reported to have cultivated under glass
+in 1818 some 600 plants and gathered from his entire plantings under
+glass and in borders some 130 bushels of ripe fruit. It is stated that
+the growth that year exceeded the demand, and that the fruit obtained
+was of extraordinary size, some exceeding 12 inches in circumference and
+weighing 12 ounces each. Thomas Meehan states in _Gardeners' Monthly_
+for February, 1880, that on January 8, of that year, he saw growing in
+the greenhouses on Senator Cannon's place near Harrisburg, Pa., at
+least 1 bushel of ripe fruits, none of which were less than 10 inches in
+circumference,--a showing which compares with the best to be seen
+to-day.
+
+Throughout southern Europe the value of the fruit for use in soups and
+as a salad seems to have been at once recognized, and it came into quite
+general use, especially in Spain and Italy, during the 17th century; but
+in northern Europe and England, though the plant was grown in botanical
+gardens and in a few private places as a curiosity and for the beauty of
+its fruit, this was seldom eaten, being commonly regarded as unhealthy
+and even poisonous, and on this account, and probably because of its
+supposed aphrodisiacal qualities, it did not come into general use in
+those northern countries until early in the 19th century.
+
+=First mention= in America, I find of its being grown for culinary use,
+was in Virginia in 1781. In 1788 a Frenchman in Philadelphia made most
+earnest efforts to get people to use the fruit, but with little success,
+and similar efforts by an Italian in Salem, Mass., in 1802, were no more
+successful. The first record I can find of the fruit being regularly
+quoted in the market was in New Orleans in 1812, and the earliest
+records I have been able to find of the seed being offered by seedsmen,
+as that of an edible vegetable, was by Gardener and Hipburn in 1818, and
+by Landreth in 1820. Buist's "Kitchen Gardener" says: "In 1828-9 it (the
+tomato) was almost detested and commonly considered poisonous. Ten years
+later every variety of pill and panacea was 'extract of tomatoes,' and
+now (1847) almost as much ground is devoted to its culture as to the
+cabbage." In 1834 Professor Dunglison, of the University of Virginia,
+said: "The tomato may be looked upon as one of the most wholesome and
+valuable esculents of the garden."
+
+Yet, though the fruit has always received similar commendation from
+medical men, there has been constant recurring superstition that it is
+unhealthy. Only a few years ago there was in general circulation a
+statement that an eminent physician had discovered that eating tomatoes
+tended to develop cancer. This has been definitely traced to the playful
+question, asked as a joke by Dr. Dio Lewis, "Didn't you know that eating
+bright red tomatoes caused cancer?" In more recent years an equally
+unfounded claim has been made that tomato seeds were responsible for
+many cases of appendicitis and that it was consequently dangerous to eat
+the fruit.
+
+I give some quotations for tomatoes in Quincy Hall Market, Boston, with
+some for other vegetables, for comparison. The records show that during
+the week ending July 22, 1835, tomatoes were quoted at 50 cents per
+dozen, cabbage at 50 cents per dozen. For the week ending September 22,
+1835, tomatoes were quoted at 25 cents per peck, lima beans, 12-1/2
+cents per quart shelled, with comment that tomatoes are in much demand
+and a far greater quantity has been sold than in previous years. During
+the week ending July 22, 1837, tomatoes were quoted at 25 and 50 cents
+per peck, and the note that they are of good size and were well ripened
+and came from gardens in the vicinity would indicate that they had at
+that time early maturing varieties and knew how to grow them. From about
+1835 till the present time the cultivation and use of tomatoes have
+constantly increased both in this country and in Europe, so that now
+they are one of the most largely grown of our garden vegetables.
+
+A suggestion as to the extent they are now grown in America is the fact
+that a single seed grower saved in 1903 over 20,000 pounds of tomato
+seed--an amount sufficient to furnish plants for from 80,000 to 320,000
+acres, according to the care used in raising them, the larger quantity
+not requiring more care than the best growers commonly use. A careful
+estimate made by the _American Grocer_ shows that in 1903 the packing of
+tomatoes by canners in the United States amounted to 246,775,426
+three-pound cans. In addition to the canned tomato, between 200,000 and
+250,000 barrels of catsup stock is put up annually, requiring the
+product of at least 20,000 acres.
+
+It is probable that the area required to produce the fruit that is used
+fresh at least equals that devoted to the production for preserving,
+which give us from 400,000 to 500,000 acres devoted to this crop each
+year in America alone. The fruit is perhaps in more general use in
+America than elsewhere, but its cultivation and use have increased
+rapidly in other countries, particularly with the English speaking
+races. Large quantities are grown in Australia, and immense and
+constantly increasing quantities are grown under glass in England and
+adjacent islands, while _The Gardeners' Chronicle_ states that in 1903
+between 600,000 and 800,000 pounds of fresh fruit were imported into
+England from other countries.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+General Characteristics of the Plant
+
+
+=In the native home= of the tomato, in South America, the conditions of
+the soil, both as regards composition and mechanical condition, of the
+moisture both in soil and air, and those of temperature and sunlight,
+are throughout the growing season not only very favorable for rapid
+growth, but are uniformly and constantly so. Under such conditions there
+has been developed a plant which, while vigorous, tenacious of life,
+capable of rapid growth and enormously productive, is not at all hardy
+in the sense of ability to endure untoward conditions either in the
+character of soil, of water supply, or of temperature. A check in the
+development because of any unfavorable condition is never fully
+recovered from, but will inevitably affect the total quantity and
+quality of the fruit produced, even if subsequent favorable conditions
+result in the rapid and vigorous growth of the plant.
+
+I know of an instance where two adjoining fields belonging to A and B
+were set with tomatoes, using plants started in the same hotbed from the
+same lot of seed. The soil was of equal natural fertility and each field
+received about the same quantity of manure, though that given A's was
+all well decomposed and worked into the soil, while that given B's was
+fresh and raw and simply plowed in. A's field was put into the best
+possible tilth before setting the plants, and the management of the
+plants and their cultivation were such as to secure unchecked growth
+from the time they were pricked out into cold-frames and set in the
+field until the crop was matured. As long as the plants would permit,
+the soil was cultivated every few days and kept in a state of perfect
+tilth.
+
+B's field when the plants were set out was a mass of clods, as it had
+been plowed, when wet, some time before and never harrowed but once.
+The plants had been crowded forward as rapidly as possible in the
+cold-frame, and when set in the field were much higher than A's, but so
+soft that they were badly checked in transplanting and a great many of
+them died and had to be reset. The field received but one or two
+cultivations during the entire season. The growth of the plants in B's
+field was irregular and uneven instead of steady and uniform as in A's,
+and though some of the fruits were quite as large, they were not as
+uniform as A's while the yield per acre was not more than half as much
+nor the fruit of as good general quality. B had difficulty in disposing
+of his crop and often had to sell below the market, while A had no
+trouble in disposing of his at the highest prices for the day. B's crop
+was a financial loss, while A's returned a most satisfactory profit.
+
+The key to the most successful culture of the tomato is the securing,
+from the start to finish, of an unchecked uniform growth, though it need
+not necessarily be a rapid one. The failure to do this is, in my
+opinion, the principal reason for the comparatively small yield usually
+obtained, which is very much less than it would be with better cultural
+management. The tomato under conditions which I have repeatedly found it
+practicable to secure, not only in small plantings but in large fields,
+has proved capable of producing from 1,000 to 1,200 or even more bushels
+to the acre, and the possible yield per plant is enormous.
+
+As early as 1818 the Royal Horticultural Society of London reports the
+obtaining of over 40 pounds of fruit of marketable character from a
+single vine. An acre of such plants would give a yield of over 1,800
+bushels of fruit, and many similar yields, and even greater ones, have
+been recorded for single plants. The yield commonly obtained, even in
+favorable locations, and by men who have grown tomatoes all their lives,
+is more often less than 200 bushels to the acre than more. The way to
+secure a better yield is to study carefully the nature and requirements
+of the plants and the adaptation of our cultural practice to them.
+
+=Life habit of the plant.=--The tomato could be described as a
+short-lived perennial, but its span of life is somewhat variable. Under
+favorable conditions it will develop from starting seed to first ripe
+fruit in from 85 to 120 days of full sunshine with a constant day
+temperature of from 75 to 90 deg. F., and with one from 15 to 20 deg. F. lower
+at night. The plants will ordinarily continue in full fruit for about 50
+to 60 days, after which they generally become so exhausted by excessive
+production of fruit and the effects of diseases to which they are
+usually subject that their root action and sap circulation become weaker
+and weaker until they die from starvation. From Philadelphia southward
+gardeners expect that spring set plants will thus exhaust themselves and
+die by late summer, and they sow seed in late spring or early summer for
+plants on which they depend for late summer and fall crops.
+
+Under some conditions, particularly in the Gulf states and in
+California, tomato plants will not only grow to a much greater size than
+normal, but will continue to thrive and bear fruit for a longer time.
+Such a plant grown in Pasadena, Cal., was said to have been in constant
+bearing for over 10 months. Again, sometimes plants that have produced a
+full crop of fruits will start new sets of roots and leaves and produce
+a second and even a third crop, each, however, being produced on new
+branches and as a result of a fresh set of roots, those which produced
+the preceding crop having died and disappeared. The period of
+development, 85 to 120 days of full sunshine at a temperature above 75 deg.
+F., has been given. The full sunshine and high temperature are essential
+to such rapid development, and in so far as there is a lack of sunshine
+from clouds or shade, or the day temperature falls below 75 deg. F. the
+period will be lengthened, so that in the greater part of the United
+States the elapsed time between starting seed to ripened fruit is
+usually as much as from 120 to 150 days and often even longer.
+
+=Characteristics of the root.=--The roots of the tomato plant, while
+abundant in number, are short and can only gather food and water from a
+limited area. A plant of garden bean, for instance, is not more than
+half the size of one of the tomato, but its roots extend through the
+soil to a greater distance, gather plant food from a greater bulk of
+soil, seem better able to search out and gather the particular food
+element which the plant needs than do those of the tomato. This
+characteristic of the latter plant makes the composition of the soil as
+to the proportion of easily available food elements of great importance.
+Tomato roots are also exceedingly tender and incapable of penetrating a
+hard and compact soil, so that the condition of the soil as to tilth is
+of greater importance with regard to tomatoes than with most garden
+vegetables.
+
+Another characteristic of the tomato roots is that the period of their
+active life is short. When young they are capable of transmitting water
+and nutritive material very rapidly, but they soon become clogged and
+inefficient to such an extent as to result in the starvation and death
+of the plant. If the branches of such an exhausted plant be bent over
+and covered with earth they will frequently start new roots and produce
+a fresh crop of fruit, or if plants which have made a crop in the
+greenhouse be transplanted to the garden and cut back, a new set of
+roots will often develop and the plant will produce a second crop of
+fruit which, in amount, often equals or exceeds the first one. But such
+growths come only from new roots springing from the stem--never from an
+extension of the old root system.
+
+=Characteristics of the stem and leaves.=--The growth of the stem, and
+leaves of the young tomato plant is very rapid and, the cellular
+structure coarse, loose and open. A young branch is easily broken and
+when this is done it shows scarcely any fibrous structure--simply a mass
+of coarse cellular matter which while capable, when young, of
+transmitting nutritive matter rapidly, soon becomes dogged and inert.
+This structure not only makes the active life of the leaves short, like
+that of the roots, but necessitates a fresh growth in order to continue
+the fruitfulness of the plant and renders the leaves very susceptible to
+injury from bacterial and fungous diseases. The rapid growth also
+necessitates an abundance of sunlight.
+
+=Characteristics of the blossom.=--The inflorescence of the tomato is
+usually abundant and it is rare that a plant does not produce sufficient
+blooms for a full crop. The flowers are perfect as far as parts are
+concerned (Fig. 2) and in bright, sunny weather there is an abundance of
+pollen, but sunlight and warmth are essential to its maturing into a
+condition in which it can easily reach the stigma. The structure and
+development of the flower are such that while occasionally, particularly
+in healthy plants out of doors, the stigma becomes receptive and takes
+the pollen as it is pushed out through the stamen tube by the elongating
+style, it is more often pushed beyond them before the pollen matures, so
+that the pollen has to reach the stigma through some other means.
+Usually this is accomplished by the wind, either directly or through the
+motion of the plants.
+
+Under glass it is generally necessary to assist the fertilization either
+directly by application or by motion of the plant, this latter only
+being effective in the middle of a bright sunny day. In the open ground
+in cold, damp weather the flowers often fail of fertilization, in which
+case they drop, and this is often the first indication of a failing of
+the crop on large, strong vines. I have known of many cases where the
+yield of fruit from large and seemingly very healthy vines was very
+light because continual rains prevented the pollenization of the
+flowers. Such failures, however, do not always come from a want of
+pollen but may result from an over or irregular supply of water either
+at the root or in the air, imperfectly balanced food supply, a sapping
+of the vitality of the plants when young, or from other causes. Insects
+rarely visit tomato flowers and are seldom the means of their
+fertilization.
+
+=Characteristics of the fruit.=--The fruit of the original species from
+which our cultivated tomatoes have developed was doubtless a
+comparatively small two to many-celled berry, with comparatively dry
+central placenta and thin walls. In some species the cells were
+indicated by distinct sutures, forming a rough or corrugated fruit. It
+has improved under cultivation by increase in size, the material
+thickening of the cell walls, the development of greater juiciness and
+richer flavor and a decrease in the size and dryness of the placenta, as
+well as the breaking up of the cells by fleshy partitions resulting in
+the disappearance of the deep sutures and an improvement in the
+smoothness and beauty of the fruit. (Fig. 11.)
+
+The quality of the fruit is largely dependent upon varietal differences,
+to be spoken of later, but it is also influenced by conditions of
+growth--such as the proportion of the nutritive elements found in the
+soil, the proper supply of moisture, the degree and uniformity of
+temperature and, most of all, the amount of sunlight. Sudden changes of
+temperature and moisture often result in cracks and fissures in the skin
+and flesh, which not only injure the appearance but affect the flavor of
+the fruit.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 11--TYPICAL BUNCH OF MODERN TOMATOES Contrast with
+Figs. 9 and 10]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+Essentials for Development
+
+
+=Sunlight.=--Abundant and unobstructed sunlight is the most essential
+condition for the healthy growth of the tomato. It is a native of the
+sunny South and will not thrive except in full and abundant sunlight. I
+have never been able to grow good tomatoes in the shade even where it is
+only partial. The entire plant needs the sunlight. The blossoms often
+fail to set and the fruit is lacking in flavor because of shade, from
+excessive leaf growth, or other obstruction.
+
+The great difficulty in winter forcing tomatoes under glass in the North
+comes from the want of sunlight during the short days of the winter
+months. Were it not for the short winter days of the higher latitudes
+limiting the hours of sunshine, tomatoes could be grown under glass in
+the northern states to compete in price, when the better quality of
+vine-ripened fruits is considered, with those from the Gulf states.
+Growers are learning that tomatoes can be profitably grown under glass
+during the longer spring days, and consumers are beginning to appreciate
+the superior quality of fruit ripened on the vine over that picked green
+and ripened in transit. At no time is this need of abundance of light of
+greater importance than when the plants are young and, if they fail to
+receive it, no subsequent favorable conditions will enable them to
+recover fully from its ill effects. It is not so much the want of room
+for the roots as of light for the leaves that makes the plants which
+have been crowded in the seed-beds so weak and unprofitable.
+
+I once divided 100 young tomato plants, about 2 inches high, into four
+lots of 25 each, numbering them 1, 2, 3 and 4. The plants of lots No. 1
+and 2 were set equal distance apart in box A, and those of lots No. 3
+and 4 in the same way in box B; both boxes being about 16 inches wide,
+40 inches long and 4 inches deep. The two boxes were set together across
+the side bench of a greenhouse with the outer edge against a board wall
+some 2-1/2 feet high, so that the plants at the end of the box near the
+wall received much less light than those at the other end. They remained
+there about five weeks and then were taken out and the plants set in the
+open ground. During the five weeks box A, containing lots No. 1 and 2,
+was changed, end for end, every day so that those two lots of plants
+received nearly an equal amount of sunlight, but box B was not changed
+so that lot No. 3, at one end of the box, was constantly near the walk
+and in the full light, while lot No. 4, at the other end of the box, was
+constantly near the wall and in partial shade. The effect on the growth
+of the plants was very marked. The plants of lot No. 4 were nearly twice
+as high, but with much softer stems and leaves than those of lot No. 3.
+The plants received equal care when set side by side in the open ground
+and at the time the first fruit was gathered seemed of equal size and
+vigor, but the total yield of fruit of lots No. 1, 2 and 3 was very
+nearly the same and in each case at the rate of over 100 bushels an acre
+more than that from lot No. 4. This is but one of the scores of
+experiences which have led me to appreciate, in some degree, the
+necessity of plenty of sunlight for the best development of the tomato.
+
+=Heat.=--The plant thrives best out of doors in a dry temperature of 75
+to 85 deg. F., or even up to 95 deg. F., if the air is not too dry and is in
+gentle circulation. The rate of growth diminishes as the temperature
+falls below 75 deg. until at 50 deg. there is practically no growth; the plant
+is simply living at a poor dying rate and if the growth, particularly in
+young plants, is checked in this way for any considerable time they will
+never produce a full crop of fruit, even if the plants reach full size
+and are seemingly vigorous and healthy. The plant is generally killed by
+exposure for even a short time to freezing temperature, though young
+volunteer plants in the spring are frequently so hardened by exposure
+that they will survive a frost that crusts the ground they stand in; but
+such exposure affects the productiveness of the plant, even if it
+subsequently makes a seemingly vigorous and healthy growth. Under glass,
+plants usually do best in a temperature somewhat lower than is most
+desirable out of doors. I think this is due to the inevitable
+obstruction of the sunlight and the lack of perfect ventilation.
+
+=Moisture.=--Although the tomato is not a desert plant and needs a
+plentiful supply of water, it suffers far more frequently, particularly
+when the plants are young, from an over-supply than from the want of
+water. Good drainage at the root and warm, dry, sunny air, in gentle
+motion, are what it delights in. Good drainage is essential not only to
+the best growth of the plant but to the production of any fruit of good
+quality. So important is this feature that though it can be readily
+proved that, other things being equal, the tomato will give larger yield
+and better fruit on well drained clay loam than on sandy soil, yet it is
+more generally and more successfully planted on sandy lands simply
+because they are usually better drained and on this account give better
+crops. While excess of water in the soil is most injurious to the young
+and growing plant, an abundance of it at the time the fruit swells and
+ripens is very essential, and a want of it at that time results in small
+and imperfect fruit of poor flavor. Excessive moisture in the air is
+just as injurious as at the root. In my personal experience I have known
+of more failures in tomato crops, at least in the northern states, to
+come from a season of persistent rains and damp atmosphere at the time
+when the plants should be in bloom and setting fruit than from any other
+climatic cause.
+
+=Food supply.=--The tomato is not a gross feeder nor is the crop an
+exhaustive one, but the plant is very particular as to its food supply.
+It is an epicure among plants and demands that its food shall not only
+be to its taste in quality but that it be well served. In order for the
+plant to do its best, or even well, it is essential that the food
+elements be in the right proportions and readily available. If there is
+a deficiency of any single element there will be but a meager crop of
+fruit, no matter how abundant the supply of the others. An over-supply
+of an element, especially nitrogen, is hardly less injurious and will
+actually lessen the yield of fruit though it may increase the size of
+the vine. Not only must the food be in right proportions but in such
+condition as to be readily available. Tomato roots have little power to
+wrest plant food from the soil. The use of coarse, unfermented manure is
+even more unsatisfactory with this than with other crops. The enormous
+yields sometimes obtained by English gardeners from plants grown under
+glass result from a supply of food of the right proportions and in
+solution, instead of incorporating it in a crude condition with the
+soil.
+
+=Cultivation.=--The tomato is grown in all parts of the United States
+and under very different conditions, not only as to climate and soil but
+as to the facilities for growing and handling the crop and the way in
+which it is done. What would be ideal conditions of soil and the most
+advantageous methods under some conditions would not be at all desirable
+in others. In some cases the largest possible yield an acre, in others
+fruit at the lowest cost a bushel, or at the earliest possible date, or
+in a continuous supply and of the best quality, is the greatest
+desideratum. It is impossible to give specific instructions which would
+be applicable to all these varying conditions and requirements; so I
+give general cultural directions for maximum crops with variations
+suggested for special conditions and requirements, and then the reader
+may follow those which seem best suited to his individual conditions.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+Selection of Soil for Maximum Crop
+
+
+Large yields of tomatoes have been, and can be, obtained from soils of
+varying composition, from a gumbo prairie, a black marsh muck, or a
+stiff, tenacious clay, to one of light drifting sand, provided other
+conditions, such as drainage, tilth and fertility are favorable. The
+Connecticut experiment station and others have secured good results from
+plants grown under glass in a soil of sifted coal ashes and muck, or
+even from coal ashes alone, the requisite plant food being supplied in
+solution. But a maximum crop could never, and a full one very seldom, be
+produced on a soil, no matter what its composition, which could not be,
+or was not put into and kept in a good state of tilth, or on one which
+was poorly drained, sodden or sour, or which was so leachy that it was
+impossible to retain a fair supply of moisture and of plant food.
+
+Of the 10 largest yields of which I have personal knowledge and which
+ran from 1,000 to 1,200 bushels of fruit (acceptable for canning and at
+least two-thirds of it of prime market quality) an acre, four were grown
+on soils classed as clay loam, two on heavy clay--one of which was so
+heavy that clay for making brick was subsequently taken from the very
+spot which yielded the most and best fruit--one on what had been a black
+ash swamp, one on a sandy muck, two on a sandy loam and one on a light
+sand made very rich by heavy, annual manuring for several years. They
+were all perfectly watered and drained, in good heart, liberally
+fertilized with manures of proved right proportions for each field, and
+above all, the fields were put into and kept in perfect tilth by methods
+suited to each case; while the plants used were of good stock and so
+grown, set and cultivated that their growth was never stopped or hardly
+checked for even a day. These conditions as to soil and culture,
+together with seasons of exceptionally favorable weather, resulted in
+uniformly large crops on these widely different soils.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 12--TOMATOES TRAINED TO STAKES ON A GEORGIA FARM]
+
+The composition of the soil, then, as to its proportions of sand or clay
+is of minor importance as regards a maximum yield or as to quality of
+the fruit, except as it affects our ability to put and keep the soil in
+good physical condition. The tomato crop, however, particularly when the
+plants are trimmed and trained to stakes, as is the usual practice in
+the South, as seen in Fig. 12, with crops grown for early shipment,
+necessitates in the trimming and training of the plants and the
+gathering of the fruit when it is in the right degree of maturity for
+shipment a great deal of trampling of the surface regardless of whether
+it is wet or dry. Consequently if the surface soil has any considerable
+proportion of clay there is danger of compacting and even puddling it by
+working when wet, to the great detriment of the crop. Again, a more or
+less sandy surface soil can be much more easily worked than one with a
+large proportion of clay. For these reasons our choice of a soil for the
+lowest cost a bushel and probably for a maximum yield should be a rich
+sandy or sandy loam surface soil overlying a well-drained clay
+sub-soil. I would prefer one which was originally covered with a heavy
+growth of beech and maple timber, though I should want it to be "old
+land" at the time. Tomatoes do not succeed as well on prairie soils,
+particularly if they are at all heavy, as they do on timbered lands, but
+one need not despair of a profitable crop of tomatoes on any soil which
+would give a fair crop of corn or of cotton.
+
+=For early-ripening fruit.=--Sometimes the profit and satisfaction from
+a tomato crop depend more largely upon the earliness of ripening than
+upon the amount of yield or cost of growing. In such cases a warm, sandy
+loam, or even a distinctly sandy soil, is to be preferred, as this is
+apt to be warmer and the fruit will be matured much earlier on it than
+on a heavier soil. It is essential, however, that it be well drained and
+warm. Often lands classed as sandy are really colder than some of those
+classed as clay, and such soils should be carefully avoided if early
+maturity is important.
+
+=For the home garden.=--Here we seldom have a choice, but no one need
+despair and abandon effort, no matter what the soil may be, for it is
+quite possible to raise an abundant home supply on any soil and that,
+too, without inordinate cost and labor. Some of the most prolific plants
+and the finest fruits I have ever seen were grown in a village lot which
+five years before had been filled in to a depth of 3 to 10 feet with
+clay, coal ashes and refuse from a brick and coal yard. In another
+instance magnificent fruit was grown in a garden where the soil was
+originally made up chiefly of sawdust mixed with sand, drawn on a
+foundation of sawmill edgings so as to raise it above the water of a
+swamp. Where one has to contend with such conditions he should make an
+effort to create a friable soil with a supply of humus by adding the
+material needed. A very few loads, sometimes even a single load, of clay
+or sand will greatly change the character of the soil of a sufficient
+area to grow the one or two dozen plants necessary for a family supply.
+In the two cases mentioned, the owner of the first named garden used
+both sand and sawdust to lighten his soil, while the second drew a great
+many loads of clay on his.
+
+=Growing under glass.=--I would make up a soil composed of about three
+parts rotted sod, two or three parts of well-rotted stable manure (and
+it is very important that it be well decomposed) and one part either of
+coarse, sharp sand, sandy loam or clay loam, according as the sod soil
+is light or heavy, the aim being to form a rich, light, open soil rather
+than one which is as heavy and compact as desirable for some plants. If
+sod soil is not available, of course, garden loam can be substituted,
+but it is very important that the soil be thoroughly mixed, and
+desirable that it be prepared sometime before it is to be used. Some
+growers use the same soil for several crops, simply adding some fresh
+manure; but, if so used, it is important that it be stirred and
+thoroughly re-mixed and sterilized.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+Exposure and Location
+
+
+In sections where there is danger of the plants being killed by early
+fall frosts before they have ripened their entire crop, exposure of the
+field is sometimes of importance in determining the marketable yield.
+
+A gentle inclination to the south, with a protection of higher land or
+timber on the sides from which frost or high winds are most likely to
+come, is the best. A steep descent to the south, shut in by high land to
+the east and west, so as to form a hot pocket, is not favorable for a
+maximum crop although it may give a smaller yield of early ripening
+fruit; nor is a small field entirely surrounded by forest desirable.
+
+I once knew of a field, of about two acres, sloping to the south and
+entirely surrounded by heavy timber, on which two or three tomato crops
+were failures when other fields on the same farm gave large yields, but
+after the timber on the south and east had been cut away this field
+generally gave the largest yield in the neighborhood.
+
+=Location.=--While exposure is in some cases an important factor in
+determining the total yield an acre, and so the cost, the location of
+the field as regards distance from marketing point and the character of
+the roads between them is of far greater importance in determining the
+cost and profit of crop, but one which is very often disregarded. The
+marketable product of an acre of tomatoes weighs from 3 to 30 tons,
+which is not only more than that of most farm crops, but the product is
+of such character that its value is easily destroyed by long hauls over
+ordinary roads. It has to be marketed within a day or two of the time it
+is in prime condition, regardless of the conditions of the roads or
+weather; so that it is quite deceptive to estimate the cost of delivery
+at the same rate a ton, as for potatoes or wheat, for it always costs
+more, and sometimes several times more, to deliver tomatoes than it
+would to deliver the same weight of less perishable crops. In most cases
+the cost of picking and delivery is one of the most important factors in
+determining profit and loss, particularly when the crop is grown for
+canning factories, where one often has to wait for hours for his team to
+unload. These conditions make it very important that the field be
+located within a short distance of, and connected by good roads with the
+point of delivery.
+
+=Early maturing fruit.=--Where early maturity is the great desideratum
+the exposure of the field is often very important. It should, first of
+all, be such as to secure comparative freedom from spring frosts so as
+to permit of early setting of the plants and the full benefit of the
+sunshine as well as protection from cold winds. There is often a great
+difference in these respects between fields quite near each other.
+Professor Rolfs, of Florida, mentions a case where the tomatoes in a
+field sloping to the southeast and protected on the north and west by a
+strip of oak timber were uninjured by a spring frost that killed not
+only all the plants in neighboring fields, but those in the same field
+farther away from the protecting timber. Such spots should be sought out
+and utilized, as often they can be used to great advantage. Immediate
+proximity to large bodies of water is sometimes advantageous in the
+South, but in the North it is often disadvantageous for early fruit
+because of the chilling of the air and the increased danger of spring
+frosts, although affording protection from those of early fall. Here,
+too, proximity of field to shipping point and distance and
+transportation rate to market are very important factors affecting
+profit on the crop.
+
+=The home garden.=--The south side of buildings or of tight fences and
+walls often furnishes a most desirable place for garden tomatoes, but
+the plants should be set at least 6 to 10 feet from the protection and
+not so as to be trained upon or much shaded by them, as the disadvantage
+of shutting off the light and circulation of the air, even from the
+north, would more than overbalance anything gained by the protection.
+
+=Growing under glass.=--In this country tomatoes are seldom grown under
+glass except during the darker winter months and the exposure of the
+house; the form of the roof and the method of glazing which will give
+the greatest possible light, are of importance, for tomatoes can not be
+profitably grown in a dark house. Just how the greatest amount of light
+may be made available in any particular case will depend upon local
+conditions, but every effort should be made to secure the most
+unobstructed sunlight possible and for the greatest number of hours each
+day.
+
+=Previous crop and condition.=--In field culture tomatoes should not
+follow tomatoes or potatoes. Both of these crops make use of large
+quantities of potash, and although a small part of that used by the
+plants is taken from the field in the crop, they inevitably reduce the
+proportion of this element in the soil--that is, in such condition as to
+be readily available for the succeeding crop. It is true that the
+deficiency in potash may be supplied, but it is not so easy to supply it
+in a condition in which it is possible for the roots of the tomato to
+take it in. Unlike potatoes, tomatoes do not do well on new land,
+whether it be newly cleared timber lands or new breaking of prairie.
+Clover leaves the land in better condition for tomatoes than any other
+of the commonly grown farm crops, while for second choice I prefer one
+of peas, beans, corn, or wheat in the order named.
+
+One of the most successful tomato growers I know of, whose soil is a
+rich, dark clay loam, prepares for the crop, as follows: Very late in
+the fall or early in the spring he gives a clover sod a heavy dressing
+of manure and plows it under. In the spring he prepares the ground by
+frequent cultivation and plants it with early sweet corn or summer
+squash. At the time of the last cultivation of these crops he sows
+clover seed, covering it with a cultivator having many small teeth, and
+rarely fails to get a good stand and a good growth of young clover
+before the ground freezes. In the spring he plows this under, running
+the plow as deep as possible and following in the furrow with a
+sub-soiler which stirs, but does not bring the sub-soil to the surface.
+He then gives the field a heavy dressing with wood ashes and puts it
+into the best possible tilth before planting his tomatoes. This grown
+usually harvests at least 500 bushels to the acre and has made a crop of
+over 1,000 bushels.
+
+=Early market.=--In some sections of the South where the soil is light
+and the growers depend almost wholly on the use of large quantities of
+commercial fertilizer, they seem to meet with the best success by using
+the same field for several successive crops, but in some places they
+succeed best with plantings following a crop of cowpeas or other green
+soiling crops plowed under, with a good dressing of lime.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+Fertilizers
+
+
+The experiences and opinions of different gardeners and writers vary
+greatly as to the amount and kind of fertilizer necessary for the
+production of the maximum crop of tomatoes. If the question were as to
+the growth of vine all would agree that the more fertilizer used and the
+richer the soil, the better. Some growers act as if this were equally
+true as to fruit, while others declare that one can easily use too much
+fertilizer and get the ground too rich not only for a maximum but for a
+profitable crop of fruit. I find that the amount an acre recommended by
+successful growers varies from 40 tons of well-rotted stable manure,
+supplemented by 1,000 pounds of complete fertilizer and 1,000 pounds of
+unleached ashes, to one of only 300 pounds of potato fertilizer.
+
+In my own experience the largest yield that I can recall was produced on
+what would be called rich land, and the application of fertilizer for
+the tomato crop was not in excess (unless possibly of potash) of that of
+the usual annual dressing. I think that in preparing a soil for
+tomatoes, as in selecting social acquaintances, the "new rich" are to be
+avoided. A soil which is rich because of judicious manuring and careful
+cropping for many years can scarcely be too rich, while one that is made
+rich by a single application of fertilizer, no matter how well
+proportioned, may give even a smaller yield of fruit because of its
+excessive use. Again, the proportions of the various food elements vary
+greatly in different locations.
+
+Professor Halstead finds that in his section of New Jersey the liberal
+use of nitrate of soda increases the yield and improves the quality,
+while in some localities of New York, Ohio, and the West, growers find
+that the yield of first-class fruit was actually lessened by its use. In
+some sections of the South liberality in the use of phosphates
+determines the amount and the quality of the crop, while at other points
+it seems to be of little value. In my own experience the liberal
+application of potash, particularly in the form of wood ashes, has more
+often given good results than the application of any other special
+fertilizer.
+
+If called upon to name the exact quantity and kind of manure for
+tomatoes, without any knowledge of the soil or its previous condition, I
+would say 8 to 10 tons of good stable manure worked into the soil as
+late as possible in the fall or during the winter and early spring and
+300 to 600 pounds of commercial fertilizer, of such composition as to
+furnish 2 per cent. nitrogen, 6 per cent. phosphoric acid and 8 per
+cent. potash scattered and worked into the row about the time that the
+plants are set. The use of a large proportion of nitrogen tends to rank
+growth of vine and soft, watery fruit. The use of a large proportion of
+phosphoric acid tends to produce soft fruit with less distinctly acid
+flavor; of potash, to smaller growth of vine and firm but more acid
+fruit.
+
+I think that even more than with most crops it will be well for the
+farmer to experiment to determine the best and most economical
+fertilizer for his soil, setting aside five to ten plots of 1 to 4
+square rods each and apply nitrate of soda, muriate of potash, wood,
+ashes, and phosphate alone and in different combinations. The results
+will suggest the combination which he can use to best advantage. In the
+majority of cases, however, where the soil is reasonably rich,
+expenditures for putting the ground in the best possible state of tilth
+will give larger returns than those for manures in excess of that which
+the land has usually received in the regular rotation for ordinary farm
+crops.
+
+=For the home garden.=--Usually a dressing of wood ashes up to a rate of
+1 bushel to the square rod, well worked into the soil before the plants
+are set, and occasionally watering with liquid manure, will generally
+give the best returns of any special fertilization, it being assumed
+that the garden has been well enriched with stable manure.
+
+=Tomatoes under glass.=--Some growers recommend frequent waterings with
+liquid manure; others a surface dressing of sheep manure; still others a
+mulch of moderately well decayed stable manure. Plants growing under
+glass, particularly in pots or boxes, seem to be benefitted by so heavy
+a dressing that if applied to plants growing outside it would be likely
+to give excessive growth of vine with but little fruit.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+Preparation of the Soil
+
+
+The proper preparation of the soil before setting the plants is one of
+the most essential points in successful tomato culture. The soil should
+be put into the best possible physical condition and to the greatest
+practicable depth. How this can be best accomplished will vary greatly
+with different soils and the facilities at the command of the planter.
+My practice on a heavy, dry soil is to plow shallow as early in the
+spring as the ground is fit to work, and then work and re-work the
+surface so as to make it as fine as possible.
+
+If I am to use any manure which is at all coarse, it is well worked in
+at this time. A week or 10 days before I expect to set the plants I
+again plow, and to as great a depth as practicable, without turning up
+much of the sub-soil, and if this has not been done within two years,
+follow in the furrows with a sub-soil plow which loosens, but does not
+bring the sub-soil to the surface. Then I work and re-work the surface,
+at the same time working in any dressing of well-rotted manure, ashes or
+commercial fertilizer that I want to use. I never regret going over the
+field again, if by so doing I can improve its condition in the least. On
+a lighter soil it might be better to compact rather than loosen as much
+as would give the best results with clay, but always and everywhere the
+soil should be made fine, friable and uniform in condition, to the
+greatest depth possible.
+
+One of the most successful growers has said that if he could afford to
+spend but two days' time on a patch of tomatoes he would use a day and a
+half of the two days in fitting the ground before he set the plants. It
+is my opinion that any working of the ground that serves to get it into
+better mechanical condition, if done economically, will not only
+increase the yield, but to such an extent as to lower the cost a bushel.
+T. B. Terry's teaching of the necessity for working and re-working the
+soil, if one would have the largest crops of potatoes of the best
+quality, is even more applicable to the culture of tomatoes.
+
+=Home garden.=--Here there is no excuse for setting plants in hard,
+lumpy soil. It should be worked and re-worked, not simply once or twice,
+but once or twice after it has been thoroughly worked. In short, the
+tomato bed should be made as friable as it is possible to make it and to
+as great a depth as the character of the sub-soil will permit.
+
+=Under glass.=--I would strongly advise that soil for tomatoes, whether
+it is to be used in solid beds or in pots or boxes, be thoroughly
+sterilized by piling it not over 15 inches deep or wide over iron pipes
+perforated with two lines of holes about one-sixteenth inch in diameter
+and 2 inches apart and filled with steam for at least a half hour. It
+can be sterilized, but far less effectively, by thorough wetting with
+boiling water. It should always be well stirred and aired before the
+plants are set in it.
+
+=Starting plants.=--From about the latitude of New York city southward,
+it is possible to secure large yields from plants grown from seed sown
+in place in the field, and one often sees volunteer plants which have
+sprung up as weeds carrying as much or more fruit than most carefully
+grown transplanted ones beside them. In many sections tomatoes are grown
+in large areas for canning factories, and as a farm rather than a market
+garden crop, individual farmers planting from 10 to 100 acres; and to
+start and transplant to the field the 25,000 to 30,000 plants necessary
+for a ten-acre field seems a great undertaking. Tomato plants, however,
+when young, are of rather weak and tender growth, and need more careful
+culture than can be readily given in the open field; and, again, the
+demand of the market, even at the canning factories, is for delivery of
+the crop earlier than it can be produced by sowing the seed in the
+field.
+
+For these reasons it is almost the universal custom of successful
+growers to use plants started under glass or in seed-beds where
+conditions of heat and moisture can be somewhat under control. I
+believe, however, that the failure to secure a maximum yield is more
+often due to defective methods of starting, handling and setting the
+plants than to any other single cause. In sections where tomatoes are
+largely grown there are usually men who make a business of starting
+plants and offering them for sale at prices running from $1 or even as
+low as 40 cents, up to $8 and $10 a 1,000, according to their age and
+the way they are grown; but generally, it will be found more
+advantageous for the planter to start his plants on or near the field
+where they are to be grown.
+
+=Tomato plants from cuttings= may be easily grown, but such plants, when
+planted in the open ground, do not yield as much fruit as seedlings nor
+is this apt to be of so good quality; so that, in practice, seedlings
+only are used for outside crops. Under glass, plants from cuttings do
+relatively better and some growers prefer them, as they commence to
+fruit earlier and do not make so rank a growth.
+
+Seedlings can be most easily started and grown, at least up to the time
+of pricking out, in light, well-ventilated greenhouses, and many large
+growers have them for this specific purpose. Houses for starting tomato
+plants should be so situated as to be fully exposed to the sun and not
+shaded in any way; be provided with heating apparatus by which a night
+temperature of 60 and up to one of 80 deg. F. in the day can be maintained
+even in the coldest weather and darkest days likely to occur for 60 to
+90 days before the plants can be safely set out in the open field; and
+the houses should be well glazed and ventilated.
+
+Houses well suited for this purpose are often built of hotbed sash with
+no frame but a simple ridge-board and sides 1 or 2 feet high, head room
+being gained by a central sunken path and the sash so fastened in place
+that they may be easily lifted to give ventilation or entirely removed
+to give full exposure to sunshine, or for storing when the house is not
+needed. Hotbed sash 3x6 feet with side-bars projecting at the ends to
+facilitate fastening them in place are usually kept by dealers, who
+offer them at from $1.50 to $3 each, according to the quality of the
+material used.
+
+A hot water heating apparatus is the best, but often one can use a
+brick furnace or an iron heating stove, connected with a flue of sewer
+or drain-pipe that will answer very well and cost much less. It requires
+but 6 to 10 square feet of bench to start plants enough for an acre, and
+a house costing only from $25 to $50 will enable one to grow plants
+enough for 20 acres up to the stage when they can be pricked out into
+sash or cloth-covered cold-frames in which they can be grown on to the
+size best suited for setting in the field. When a grower plants less
+than 5 acres it is often better for him to sow his seed in flats or
+shallow boxes and arrange to have these cared for in some neighboring
+greenhouse for the 10 to 20 days before they can be pricked out.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+Hotbeds and Cold-frames
+
+
+Plants can be advantageously started and even grown on to the size for
+setting in open ground in hotbeds. In building these of manure it is
+important to select a spot where there is no danger of standing water,
+even after the heaviest rains, and it is well to remove the soil to a
+depth of 6 inches or 1 foot from a space about 2 feet larger each way
+than the bed and to build the manure up squarely to a hight of 2 to 3
+feet. It is also very important that the bed of manure be of uniform
+composition as regards mixture of straw and also as to age, density and
+moisture, so as to secure uniformity in heating. This can be
+accomplished by shaking out and evenly spreading each forkful and
+repeatedly and evenly tramping down as the bed is built up. Unless this
+work is well and carefully done the bed will heat and settle unevenly,
+making it impossible to secure uniformity of growth in different parts.
+
+Hotbed frames should be of a size to carry four to six 3x6-foot sash,
+and made of lumber so fastened together that they can be easily knocked
+apart and stored when not in use. They should be about 10 inches high in
+front and 16 or 18 inches at the back, care being taken that if the back
+is made of two boards one of them be narrow and at the bottom so that
+the crack between them can be covered by banking up with manure or
+earth. In placing them on the manure short pieces of board should be
+laid under the corners to prevent their settling in the manure unevenly.
+I prefer to sow the seed in flats or shallow boxes filled with rich but
+sandy and very friable soil, and set these on a layer of sifted coal
+ashes covering the manure and made perfectly level, but many growers sow
+on soil resting directly on the manure; if this is done the soil should
+be light and friable and made perfectly level. A perspective view of a
+three-sash hotbed is given in Fig. 13, and of a cross-section in Fig.
+14.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 13--THREE-SASH HOTBED]
+
+In some sections, particularly in the South, it is not always easy to
+procure suitable manure for making hotbeds, so these are built to be
+warmed by flues under ground, but I think it much better where a fire is
+to be used that the sash be built into the form of a house. A hotbed of
+manure is preferred to a house by some because of its supplying uniform
+and moist bottom heat--and one can easily give abundant air; but the
+sash can be built into the form of a house at but little more expense,
+and it has the great advantage of enabling one to work among the plants
+in any weather, while, if properly built, any desired degree of heat and
+ventilation can be easily secured. Except when very early ripening fruit
+is the desideratum, plants started with heat but pricked out and grown
+in cold-frames without it, but where they can be protected during cold
+nights and storms, will give better results than those grown to full
+size for the field in artificial heat.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 14--CROSS-SECTION OF HOTBED]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 15--COLD-FRAMES ON HILL-SIDE]
+
+=Cold-frames.=--In locations where tomatoes are much grown large areas
+are devoted to cold-frames covered either by sash or cloth curtains.
+Sash give much better protection from cold and on this account are more
+desirable, particularly where very early fruiting is wanted, but their
+first cost is much greater and the labor of attending to beds covered by
+them is much more than where cloth is used. Sash-covered beds should be
+of single width and run east and west, but if the beds are covered with
+cloth it is better that they be double width (12 feet) and run north and
+south. The front of the single and the sides of the double width beds
+should be 8 to 10 inches high, held firmly erect by stakes and perfectly
+parallel, both horizontally and vertically, with the back or with the
+central support. This should be 6 inches higher than the front. The
+cross strips, when sash are used, should be made of a 3-inch horizontal
+and a 1-1/2-inch vertical strip of 1-inch lumber nailed together very
+firmly in the form of an inverted T, the vertical pieces projecting 1
+inch at each end and resting on the front and back of the bed and
+forming supports and guides for the sash. Some growers use vertical
+strips as heavy as 2x3 or 4 inches for stepping across the beds. When
+the plants are to be taken to the field, the sash and guides can be
+easily removed. (Fig. 15.)
+
+Ground to be covered with cold-frames should be made very friable and
+rich by repeated plowing and working in of a liberal dressing of
+well-rotted stable manure and wood ashes. In southwestern New Jersey,
+where immense areas of early tomatoes are grown, the soil of the beds
+for a depth of about 6 inches is removed and a layer 3 to 5 inches deep
+of well-rotted stable manure is placed in. That made of a mixture of
+manure from horses, cattle and hogs is preferred. It is important that
+the manure be so well rotted that it will not heat, and so dry that it
+will not become pasty when tramped into a firm, level layer. On this
+they place a layer of nearly 3 inches deep of rich, friable, moderately
+compact soil and prick out the plants into this. The roots soon bind the
+manure and soil together and by cutting through the manure so as to form
+blocks one can carry the plants to the fields with but very little
+disturbance of the root.
+
+=Cloth covers for beds= should be made of heavy, unbleached sheeting or
+light duck, and it is better that the selvage run up and down the bed
+rather than lengthwise. The cloth is torn into lengths of about 13 feet
+and then sewn together with a narrow double-stitched flat seam so as to
+form a sheet 13 feet wide and about 8 inches longer than the bed. The
+edges are tacked every foot to the strips about 2 inches wide by 7/8
+inch thick with beveled outside edges and laid perfectly in line. A
+second line of strips is then nailed to the first so as to break joints
+with it and so that the two will form a continuous roller about a foot
+longer than the bed with the edge of the curtain firmly fastened in its
+center. The center of the curtain is secured to the central ridge of the
+bed by strips of lath. When rolled up, the rollers are held in place by
+loops of rope around their ends and when they are down they are held by
+similar loops to the notched tent-pins driven into the ground or to
+wooden buttons fastened to the sides and ends of the frame as shown in
+Fig. 16.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 16--TRANSPLANTING TOMATOES UNDER CLOTH-COVERED
+FRAMES (Photo by Prof. W. G. Johnson)]
+
+Cloth covers are sometimes dressed with oil, but this is not to be
+recommended, though it is an advantage to have them wet occasionally
+with a weak solution of copper sulphate or with sea water as a
+preservative and to prevent mildew. Such covers, well cared for, may
+last five years or be of little use after the first, depending upon the
+care given them. They can be made from 50 to 200 feet long and two men
+can roll them up or down very quickly.
+
+When cloth covers are used the supporting cross-strips should not be
+over 3 inches wide nor more than 3 feet apart; sometimes the strips are
+made to bind the sideboard and ridge together by means of short pieces
+of hoop iron or of barrel hoop. These are so placed and nailed as to
+hold the upper edge of sideboards and of the central ridge flush with
+the cross-strips, thus forming a smooth surface for cloth to rest on and
+enabling one easily to "knock down" and remove the frames to facilitate
+the taking of the plants from the bed to the field and the storing of
+the frames for another season.
+
+=Flats for starting seeds.=--Any shallow box may be used or the plants
+sown directly in the beds without them, but flats of a uniform size are
+to be preferred--these will pack well on the greenhouse shelves; or in
+the hotbed we make them with 7/8 inch thick ends and 1/2 inch thick
+sides and bottom, the latter if of a single board having four half-inch
+holes for drainage and in any case having two narrow strips about 1/4
+inch thick nailed across their bottoms so as to allow drainage water to
+escape freely when the boxes are set on hard, cool floors. Two or three
+such boxes, 35-1/2 inches long, 12 inches wide and 3 inches deep, will
+be sufficient to start plants enough for an acre. I like to use similar
+boxes only 4 inches deep for growing the plants after they are pricked
+out, particularly if this is to be done in a greenhouse, as by turning
+them we can equalize exposure to light and thus distribute the plants in
+the field where they are to be set with the least possible disturbance.
+One would need nearly 60 such boxes for plants enough for an acre. On
+account of the lessened necessity for watering when plants are set in
+beds rather than in boxes, many growers prefer to grow their plants in
+that way.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+Starting Plants
+
+
+This has been the subject of a vast amount of horticultural writing, and
+the practice of different growers, and in different sections, varies
+greatly. I give the methods I have used successfully, together with
+reasons for following them, but it may be well for the reader to modify
+them to suit his own conditions and requirements.
+
+=Largest yield.=--Some 45 to 50 days before plants can be safely set in
+the open field the flats in which the seed is to be sown should be
+filled with light, rich, friable soil, it being important that its
+surface be made perfectly level, and that it be compact and quite moist,
+but not so wet as to pack under pressure. Sow the seed in drills 3/8
+inch deep and 2 to 3 inches apart at the rate of 10 to 20 to the inch;
+press the soil evenly over them, water and place in the shade in an even
+temperature of 80 to 90 deg. F. As soon as the seeds begin to break soil,
+which they should do in three to four days, place in full light and
+temperature of 75 to 80 deg., keeping the air rather close so as to avoid
+necessity of watering. After a few days reduce the temperature to about
+65 deg. and give as much air as possible. Some growers press a short piece
+of 2-inch joist into the soil of the benches, so as to form trenches 2
+inches wide and about 3/8 inch deep, and so spaced as to be under the
+center of each row of glass, their sash being mostly made of five-inch
+glass. In this, by using a little tin box with holes in the top, like
+those of a pepper-box, they scatter seeds so that they will be nearly
+1/8 to 1/4 inch apart, over the bottom of the 2-inch wide trench, and
+then cover. This has the advantage of evenly spacing the plants and so
+locating the rows that the plants will be little liable to injury from
+drip.
+
+Young tomato plants are very sensitive to over-supply of water and some
+of the most successful growers do not water at all until the plants are
+quite large and then only when necessary to prevent wilting. In 10 to 15
+days, or as soon as the central bud is well started, the plants should
+be pricked out, setting them 3 to 6 inches apart, according to the size
+we expect them to reach before they go into the field; 5 inches is the
+most common distance used. I think it better to set the full distance
+apart at first, not to transplant a second time. It is very important
+that this pricking out should be done when the plants are young and
+small, though many successful growers wait until they are larger. The
+soil in which they are set, whether it be in boxes or beds, should be
+composed of about three parts garden loam, two parts well-rotted stable
+manure and one part of an equal mixture of sand and leaf mold, though
+the proportion of sand used should be increased if the garden loam is
+clayey. The soil in the seed-boxes or in the beds, when the seedlings
+are taken up, should be in such condition, and the plants be handled in
+such a way that nearly all the roots, carrying with them many particles
+of soil, are saved. The plants should be set a little, and but a little,
+deeper than they stood in the seed-box and the soil so pressed about
+the roots, particularly at their lower end, that the plants can not be
+easily pulled out.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 17--SPOTTING-BOARD FOR USE IN COLD-FRAMES]
+
+Where plants are set in beds the work can be facilitated by the use of a
+"spotting-board" (Fig. 17). This should be about 1 foot in width, and
+have pegs about 3 inches long, 3/4 inch in diameter at the base and
+tapering to a point, fastened into the board the distance apart the
+plants are to be set. It should also have narrow projections carrying a
+single peg nailed to the top of board at each end, so that when these
+pegs are placed in the end holes of the last row the first row of pegs
+in the "spotting board" will be the right distance from the last row of
+holes or plants. By standing on this, while setting plants in one set of
+holes, holes for another set are formed. If the conditions of soil, air
+and plants are right and the work is well done, the plants will show
+little tendency to wilt, and it is better to prevent their doing so by
+shading, rather than by watering, though the latter should be resorted
+to if necessary. When plants are set in beds, some growers remove the
+soil to a depth of about 6 inches and put in a layer of about 2 inches
+of sifted coal ashes, made perfectly level, and then replace the soil.
+This confines the roots to the surface and enables one to secure nearly
+all of them when transplanting. The plants should be well established
+in 24 hours and after this the more light and air that can be given,
+without the temperature falling below 40 deg. F. or subjecting the plants to
+cold, dry wind, the better.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 18--SPOTTING-BOARD FOR USE ON FLAT (From W. G.
+Johnson)]
+
+One can hardly overstate the importance to the healthy growth of the
+young tomato plant of abundant sunshine, a uniform day temperature of
+from 60 to 80 deg. F., or of the ill effects of a variable temperature,
+particularly if it be the result of cold, dry winds, or of a wet, soggy
+soil, the effect of over-watering. These points should be kept in mind
+in caring for the plants, and every effort made to secure, as far as
+possible, the first named conditions and to avoid the latter. The
+frames, whether they be covered with sash or cloth, but more
+particularly if with sash in sunshine and with curtains in dull days,
+should be opened so as to prevent their becoming too hot, and so as to
+admit air. And in a greenhouse full ventilation should be given
+whenever it is possible to do so without exposure to too low a
+temperature. If the plants are in boxes and on greenhouse shelves, it is
+important that these be turned end for end every few days to equalize
+exposure to light and give full exposure to the sun. The plants should
+be watered only when necessary to prevent wilting, and the beds should
+be covered during heavy rains. A "spotting-board" for use on flats is
+seen in Fig. 18.
+
+The most unfavorable weather conditions are bright sun combined with a
+cold wind, and cold storms of drizzling rain and frosty nights. Loss
+from the latter cause may often be prevented by covering the beds with
+coarse straw, which should always be provided for use in an emergency.
+Many growers provide a second curtain--an old one answers very well--to
+throw over the straw-covered beds. Beds so covered will protect the
+plants from frost in quite severe weather. Watering should especially be
+avoided for nearly three days before setting in fields; but six to
+twelve hours before it is well to water thoroughly, though not so as to
+make the soil at all muddy. About five days after pricking out and again
+about five days before the plants are to go into the field and five days
+after they are set, they should be sprayed with Bordeaux mixture.
+
+=Early ripening fruit.=--Here the aim is to secure, by the time they can
+be set in the field, plants which have come by an unchecked but
+comparatively slow rate of growth to the greatest size and maturity
+consistent with the transplanting to the field without too serious a
+check. The methods by which this is accomplished vary greatly and
+generally differ materially from those given above. The seed is planted
+much earlier and 60 to 90 days before it is at all safe to set plants in
+the open field; while a steady rate of growth is desirable, it should be
+slow and the plants kept small by a second and even third and fourth
+transplanting, and especial care taken to avoid the soft and irregular
+growth resulting from over-watering or over-heating. Any side shoots
+which may appear should be pinched out and a full pollination of the
+first cluster of the blossoms secured, either by direct application of
+pollen or by staking or jarring the plants on bright days; and finally,
+special efforts made to set the plants in the field as early and with as
+little check as possible. Growers are often willing to run considerable
+risk of frost for the sake of early setting.
+
+When one has sandy land a very profitable crop can sometimes be secured
+by sowing the seed very early, and growing the plants on in beds until
+the first cluster of fruit is set, then heeling them in, much as nursery
+trees are, but so close that they can be quickly covered in case of
+frost. As soon as it is at all safe to do so, they are set in the open
+ground, very closely, on the south side of ridges, so that only the
+upper one-third of the plant is exposed, the remainder being laid nearly
+level and covered with earth.
+
+So treated the plants will ripen the upper one or two clusters very
+early but will yield little more until late in the season, and it is
+generally more profitable to plow them up and put in some other crop as
+soon as the first clusters of fruit have ripened. Others pinch out the
+central bud as soon as it is well formed, usually within 10 days from
+the sowing of the seed. When this is done a great proportion of the
+plants will start branches from the axils of the cotyledons; these
+usually develop blossoms in the third to the fifth node and produce
+fruit much lower than in a normal plant. It is questionable if there is
+any gain in time from seed to fruit by this method, but it enables one
+to get older plants of a size which it is practicable to transplant to
+the field.
+
+In most cases it will be found more profitable and satisfactory so to
+grow the plants that by the time they can be safely set out of doors
+they will be in vigorous condition, about 6 to 10 inches tall, stout,
+healthy and well hardened off. Such plants will ripen fruit nearly, and
+often quite as early as older ones and will produce a constant
+succession of fruit, instead of ripening a single cluster or two and
+then no more until they have made a new growth.
+
+=For late summer and early fall.=--It is generally true in the South and
+often equally so in the North, that there is a more eager local demand
+for tomatoes in the late summer and fall months, after most of the
+spring set plants have ceased bearing, than in early summer. In Michigan
+I have often been able to get more for choice fruit in late October and
+in November than the best Floridas were sold for in May or early June,
+and certainly in the South the home use of fresh tomatoes should not be
+confined to spring set plants. For the fall crop in the South seed may
+be sown in late spring or up to the middle of July, in beds shaded with
+frames, covered with lath nailed 3 to 4 inches apart and the plants set
+in the field about 40 days from sowing, the same care being taken to
+put the ground into good condition as is recommended for the spring
+planted crop.
+
+A second plan, which has sometimes given most excellent results, is to
+cut back spring set plants which have ripened some fruit but which are
+not completely exhausted, to mere stubs, and spade up the ground about
+them so as to cut most of the roots, water thoroughly and cover the
+ground with a mulch of straw. Most of the plants so treated will start a
+new and vigorous growth and give most satisfactory returns.
+
+=Fruit at least expenditure of labor.=--When this is the great
+desideratum, many growers omit the hotbed and even the pricking out,
+sowing the seed as early as they judge the plants will be safe from
+frost, and broadcast, either in cold-frames or in uncovered beds, at the
+rate of 50 to 150 to the square foot and transplanting directly to the
+field. Or they may be advantageously sown in broad drills either by the
+use of the pepper-box arrangement suggested on page 60, or a garden
+drill adjusted to sow a broad row. In Maryland and the adjoining states,
+as well as in some places in the West, most of the plants for crops for
+the canners are grown in this way and at a cost of 40 cents or even less
+a 1,000. The seed should be sown so that it will be from 1/4 to 1/2 inch
+apart and the plants thinned as soon as they are up so that they will be
+at least 1/2 inch apart. Where seed is sown early with no provision for
+protection from the frost it is always well to make other sowings as
+soon as the last begins to break ground in order to furnish reserve
+plants, if the earlier sown lots be destroyed by frost. Others even sow
+the seed in place in the field, thinning out to a single one in a hill
+when the plants are about 2 inches high. Some of the largest yields I
+have ever known have been raised in this way, but the fruit is late in
+maturing and generally the method is not so satisfactory as starting the
+plants where they can be given some protection, and transplanting them
+to the field.
+
+=Plants for the home garden.=--These may be grown in pots or boxes set
+in the sunniest spot available and treated as has been described. In
+this way plants, equal to any, may be grown without the aid of either
+hotbed or greenhouse. It will generally be more satisfactory, however,
+to secure the dozen or two plants needed from some one who has grown
+them in quantity than to grow so small a lot by themselves. In selecting
+plants, take those which are short, stiff, hard, and dark green in
+color with some purple color on the lower part of the stem rather than
+those which are softer and of a brighter green, or those in which the
+foliage is of a yellowish green; but in selection it must be remembered
+that varieties differ as to the color of foliage, so that there may be a
+difference in shade which is not due to conditions.
+
+=Plants under glass.=--If to be grown in pots or boxes, "prick out,"
+when small, into three-inch pots and as they grow re-pot several times
+so that when set in the pots or beds in which they are to fruit, they
+are stout plants 12 to 16 inches high. Plants propagated from cuttings
+give much better returns relatively under glass than out of doors.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+Proper Distance for Planting
+
+
+The best distance apart for the plants to be set in the field varies
+greatly with the soil, the variety, the methods of cultivation and other
+conditions. Plants set as close in rich clay soil as would give the best
+results in a warm, sandy one, or those of a strong growing sort, like
+Buckeye State, set as close as would be desirable for sorts, like
+Atlantic Prize or Dwarf Champion, would give little but leaves and
+inferior fruit. In field culture I like to space the plants so as to
+facilitate gathering the fruit, and recommend the following arrangement:
+Set the plants according to soil and the variety 2-1/2 to 4 feet apart
+in the row, omitting two or three in every 75 or 100 plants so as to
+form driveways across the rows. Set the first and second and the third
+and fourth rows, etc., 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 and the second and third and the
+fourth and fifth rows 5-1/2 to 6 feet apart. As the plants grow, those
+of the first and second and those of the third and fourth rows, etc.,
+are thrown together and in many cases it will pay to have a pair of
+narrow horizontal strips or wires nearly 18 inches from the ground upon
+which they can be thrown.
+
+This arrangement of the plants allows us to continue to cultivate the
+wider spaces between the second and third and fourth and fifth, etc.,
+rows, much longer, and tends to confine the necessary tramping and
+packing of the soil when gathering the fruit chiefly to these rows--an
+important point in case the soil is wet. The rows can be marked out the
+day before, but it is better to set the plants in the cross-rows and
+that these be marked out just ahead of the setters. In this arrangement
+the distances are equivalent to from 2-1/2x4 feet, requiring 4,300
+plants to the acre, to 4x5 feet, requiring but about 2,100 plants. The
+latter distance is that most commonly used by New Jersey growers.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 19--TOMATOES SOWN AND ALLOWED TO GROW IN HOTBEDS]
+
+=In the home garden.=--It will usually be more satisfactory to give each
+plant plenty of space, setting them 5 or 6 feet apart each way, except
+in the case of the dwarf sorts, which should be from 3-1/2 to 3 feet
+apart. A few plants at these distances will usually be much more
+satisfactory than more set nearer together, but the larger growing
+sorts should have at least 3 feet and the dwarf sorts 2 feet. When one
+has a hotbed or cold-frame it is often an advantage to set a row of
+tomato plants nearly 18 inches apart at the back end much earlier than
+they could be safely set in the open ground, and if these are allowed to
+grow on in place, as shown in Fig. 19, being pruned and tied to stakes,
+they will give some very early fruit.
+
+=In the greenhouse.=--Experience and practice differ as to the most
+desirable distance apart for plants under glass. But 2 feet apart, where
+quality is the main consideration, and 18 inches when quantity, if fair,
+is of more importance than extra quality.
+
+=Setting plants in the field.=--The economical and successful setting of
+plants in the field is an important element of successful tomato culture
+and is very dependent upon soil and weather conditions. It is assumed
+that the soil of the field has been put into the best possible condition
+of tilth, but its condition as to moisture is also very important. The
+worst condition is when it is wet and muddy, especially if it is at all
+clayey--not only is the cost of setting greatly increased, but plants
+set in such soil can seldom, by any amount of care, be made to do well,
+especially if a heavy beating rain or dry windy weather follows
+immediately; the condition is less unfavorable if a warm gentle rain or
+still moist weather follows. A dry cold wind, even if the day is cloudy
+and the soil in good condition, is also unfavorable, particularly if the
+roots of the plants are exposed.
+
+Wet soil, cold, dry air and wind are the conditions to be avoided.
+Moist, not wet, soil and still, warm air are to be desired; whether the
+day is sunny or not is less important. There is a certain definite time,
+which does not usually extend beyond a few days, when any lot of plants
+is in the best condition for setting in the field. It is hardly possible
+to describe this condition more than to say it is when the plants are as
+large as they can be without crowding and are in a state where they can
+best stand the shock of removal.
+
+It will always be a matter of judgment as to how long it is best to hold
+plants, which are in condition for setting, for favorable weather
+conditions. They can sometimes be held a few days, by scant watering and
+full exposure, or in some cases by taking from the bed and heeling in,
+as nurserymen do trees; but it is better to set when the weather is
+unfavorable or to run some risk from frost rather than to hold them in
+this way too long. The wise selection of time for setting is an
+important factor in securing a good and profitable crop.
+
+The South Jersey growers, to whom early ripening fruit is the great
+desideratum and who have a very warm soil, and grow plants so they are
+quite hardy and can be transplanted with little check, set them in the
+field very early, some seasons by the last of April; and if the plants
+can be got out so as to have two or three days of favorable weather to
+get established before it comes, they seem to be little hurt even by a
+quite severe frost. The first essential to successful transplanting is
+to have well-grown, healthy, hardy plants; the second is that they be in
+good condition for setting, which can be secured by giving them, for a
+few days before planting, a scant supply of water and fullest possible
+exposure to air and sun, and then a thorough wetting a few hours before
+they are to be set.
+
+The South Jersey plan of growing and setting plants gets them into the
+field in the best condition of any method I know. Two to five days
+before they expect to plant, the growers go over the beds and, by means
+of a hoe that has been straightened and sharpened to form a sort of
+spade, they cut through the soil and manure so as to divide the plants
+into blocks of six. A few hours before they are to plant, they saturate
+the bed with water. By means of a flattened shovel they can take up the
+blocks of plants and place them in a cart or low wagon so the soil is
+scarcely disturbed at all, the roots in the manure serving to bind the
+whole together. In the meantime furrows are opened along the rows and
+the cart driven to the field; the plants in the blocks are cut apart
+with a butcher knife placed in the furrow and the earth drawn about
+them.
+
+Plants set in this way often do not wilt at all, even in hot sunshine.
+When plants are grown in boxes these can be taken to the field and
+plants taken from them in much the same way and so that they will be
+disturbed but little. In setting the plants it should always be borne in
+mind that while sunshine on the leaves of a plant rarely does any
+injury, it is very injurious to the roots, and the exposure of the roots
+to the sun or to cold, dry wind, should be avoided in every practicable
+way, such as by carrying the plants to the field laid on the sides of a
+box, which is then carried with its bottom toward the sun so as to have
+the plants in the shade, always handling the plant in the shade of one's
+body, etc. It is well worth while to walk to the end of the row to
+commence work in order to secure this. It is attention to such details
+that distinguishes one whose plants nearly always do well from one who
+loses a large proportion of those he handles.
+
+=Fruit at the least expenditure of labor.=--The plants are prepared for
+setting by scant watering, and are taken up so as to secure as much root
+as possible with little soil adhering to them. Great care should be
+taken in taking the plants from the bed, and in handling them, _to avoid
+twisting the stems_, as to do so very seriously injures the plants,
+often to such an extent that they will fail to grow, no matter how
+carefully set out. Some growers dip the roots in a very thin clay mud,
+hardly thicker than thin cream, but I have not found this of advantage
+except, sometimes, when the roots are to be exposed for a longer period
+than usual and I do not recommend it for general use. In setting, holes
+are made either with a long dibble, in the hands of the one who
+distributes the plants, or by a short one, in the hands of the setter;
+the plants are dropped into them a little deeper than they had stood in
+the bed, the earth closed about the roots, by pressure from the side.
+Especial care should be taken that this is well done, particularly at
+the bottom; the earth should be so firmly pressed to the root that the
+plant cannot be easily pulled from the soil. In some sections
+transplanting machines (Fig. 20) are used and liked, but most planters
+prefer to set by hand and the additional cost is not great. An expert
+with one or two boys to assist in handling the plants can put out as
+many as 5,000 plants in a day. A machine requiring more help to run it
+can set from 15,000 to 20,000.
+
+=In the home garden=, when but a few plants are to be set, it will be
+better to put them in after 4 P. M. and use water in setting, but the
+wet soil should be covered with some dry earth to prevent its caking.
+
+=In the greenhouse.=--Plants are better set in the places where they are
+to fruit just before their first blossoms open and should be set in
+accordance with the suggestions given for transplanting to the field.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 20--PLANTING TOMATOES ON A DELAWARE FARM (Photo by
+courtesy of _American Agriculturist_)]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+Cultivation
+
+
+=For maximum crop.=--As soon as plants are set the ground should be well
+cultivated to the greatest depth practicable. We should remember that
+the tomato needs for its best development a very friable soil, while the
+tramping necessary in setting out the plants and gathering the fruit
+tends to compact and harden the soil. Often transplanting has to be done
+when the soil is wet, and we need to counteract the injury from tramping
+by immediate cultivation; but, at the same time, we must avoid the
+disturbing of the plants any more than is necessary, and all of our
+cultivation should be done with these points in mind. Just how it can be
+done best will vary not only with the location and the facilities
+available, but with the weather conditions, so that it is not well to
+attempt to give explicit directions any further than that one can hardly
+cultivate too deeply for the first seven days nor too often for the
+first 30 days after the plants are set, provided he avoids turning the
+soil when it is too wet. Even walking through the field when the soil is
+wet is injurious and should be avoided, in proportion as the soil is a
+clayey one.
+
+=At least expenditure of labor.=--I hardly need add to or change the
+suggestions given above for tomatoes at least cost, for any cultivation
+wisely given will probably do as much to reduce cost per bushel by
+increasing the yield per acre as any other expenditure. _In the garden_
+it is advisable that from the time the plants are set until the fruit
+ripens, the surface soil about them be stirred every evening when it is
+not actually wet.
+
+=In the greenhouse.=--The surface of the soil should be kept open by
+frequent stirring or, as is the practice of some successful growers, it
+may be covered with a mulch of partially rotted manure. The plants
+should be watered only as needed to prevent wilt, and special pains
+taken to guard against too much moisture either in the soil or in the
+air, particularly on dark days. The night temperature should be
+uniformly about 60 deg. F. while in the day it should be 75 deg., and if it be
+bright and sunny it may go to 90 deg. or even higher. Air should be given
+freely whenever feasible to do so without too greatly reducing
+temperature. A moderate degree of moisture should be maintained in the
+air, care being taken that it does not become too moist, especially
+during dark days. There is more danger from the air becoming too moist
+than from its becoming too dry, though either extreme is injurious.
+
+=Pollinating.=--The structure and relations of the parts of the tomato
+flower are such that while perfect pollination is possible, and in
+plants grown in the open air usually takes place without artificial
+assistance, it is not so likely to occur when plants are grown under
+glass, particularly in the winter months, and it is usually necessary to
+secure it by artificial means. With vigorous, healthy plants and on
+light, sunny days, it can be accomplished by jarring the plants near
+midday. This generally throws enough pollen into the air so that an
+abundance of it reaches each receptive stigma. With less vigorous plants
+and on dark days it is necessary to hand pollinate the flowers. This is
+done by gathering the pollen by means of jarring the plants, so that it
+falls into a watch crystal or other receptacle secured at the end of a
+wand, and then pressing the projecting pistils of other flowers into it
+so that they may become covered with the pollen.
+
+Some growers transfer the pollen with a camel's-hair-brush; others by
+pulling off the corolla and adhering anthers and rubbing them over the
+stigma of other flowers. Fruit rarely follows flowers that are not
+pollinated, and if it is incomplete the fruit will be unsymmetrical and
+imperfectly developed. As tomato flowers secrete but very little, if
+any, honey and are not attractive to insects, it is of no advantage to
+confine a hive of bees in the tomato house in the way which is so useful
+in one where cucumbers or melons are growing.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+Staking, Training and Pruning
+
+
+Under favorable conditions of soil and climate, plants of most varieties
+of tomatoes will, in field culture, yield as much fruit if allowed to
+grow naturally and unpruned as if trained and pruned. This is especially
+true of the sorts of the Earliana type and on warm, sandy soils, while
+it may not be true of the stronger growing sorts, or on rich clay lands
+or where the fertilizer used contains an excess of nitrogen. In any case
+more fruit can be grown to the acre on pruned and staked plants because
+more of them can be gotten on an acre; and it is an advantage to grow
+them in that way because it enables us, by later cultivation, to keep
+the ground in good tilth longer; also it facilitates the gathering of
+the fruit; and last, but not least, it generally enables us to produce
+better ripened and flavored fruit.
+
+Staking and pruning used to be the almost universal practice in the
+South, but in many sections growers have abandoned it, claiming that
+they get as good or better results without it. In the North it is rarely
+used in field culture, though often used in private gardens and by some
+market gardeners, and both staking or tying up and pruning are essential
+to the profitable growing of tomatoes under glass. In the South, stout
+stakes from 1 to 2 inches in diameter and 4 to 5 feet long are driven
+into the ground so that they can be depended upon to hold the plants
+erect through the heaviest storms, as seen in Fig. 21. This is generally
+and wisely done as soon as the plant is set, though some growers delay
+doing so until the fruit is well set, claiming that the disturbance of
+staking, tying and pruning tends to hasten the ripening of the fruit.
+The plant is then tied up, the tying material being wrapped once about
+the stake and then looped about the plant so as to prevent slipping on
+the stake or choking the stem of the plant as it enlarges. Raffia is
+largely used and is one of the best tying materials, but short pieces of
+any soft, cheap string can be used. The tying up will need to be
+repeated as the stem elongates, which it will do very rapidly.
+
+In pruning the tomato we should allow the central shoot of the young
+plant to grow, and remove all of the side shoots which spring from the
+axils of the leaves and sometimes even from the fruit clusters, as seen
+in Fig. 22. It is very desirable that this be done when the branches are
+small, as there is then less danger of seriously disturbing the balance
+of the growing forces of the plant, and also because there is less
+danger of careless workmen cutting off the main shoot in place of a
+lateral, which would seriously check the ripening of the fruit. It is
+especially important that any shoots springing from the fruit cluster be
+removed as early as possible. For these reasons it is important that, if
+the plants are to be pruned at all, the field be gone over every few
+days. If the pruning is not well done it is a disadvantage rather than a
+help.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 21--TRAINING TOMATOES IN FLORIDA TO SINGLE STAKE
+(Photo by courtesy of Prof. P. H. Rolfs, Director Florida Experiment
+Station)]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 22--TOMATO PLANT TRAINED TO SINGLE STAKE]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 23--METHOD OF TRAINING TO THREE STEMS IN
+FORCING-HOUSE AND OUT OF DOORS]
+
+Some growers allow two or three (Fig. 23) instead of one shoot to grow,
+selecting for the second the most vigorous of the shoots starting from
+below the first cluster of fruit. In some locations they stop or pinch
+out the main shoot just above the first leaf above the third or fourth
+cluster; in some soils it is an advantage and in others rather a
+disadvantage to do this. I have seldom practiced it. When fruit at the
+lowest cost a bushel is the desideratum, neither pruning nor staking is
+desirable.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 24--METHOD OF TRAINING ON LINE IN GREENHOUSE]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 25--READY TO TRANSPLANT IN GREENHOUSE (Redrawn from
+photo by New York Experiment Station)]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 26--TRAINING YOUNG TOMATOES IN GREENHOUSE AT NEW
+YORK EXPERIMENT STATION (Photo by courtesy Prof. U. P. Hedrick)]
+
+=For home gardens.=--In the home garden trellising and pruning are often
+very desirable, as they enable us not only to produce more fruit in a
+given area but of better quality. Many forms of trellis, have been
+recommended. Where the plants are to be pruned as well as supported, as
+they should always be in gardens, there is nothing better than the
+single stake, as described above. For a trellis without pruning, one
+to three stout hoops supported by three stakes so as to surround the
+plant which is allowed to grow through and fall over them, or two or
+more parallel strips supported about a foot from the ground on each side
+of a row of plants answer the purpose, which is simply to keep the plant
+up from the ground and facilitate the free circulation of the air among
+leaves and fruit.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 27--TOMATOES IN GREENHOUSE AT OHIO EXPERIMENT
+STATION (Photo by courtesy of C. W. Waid)]
+
+I have seen tomatoes grown very successfully by the side of an open
+fence. Two stakes were driven into the ground about 6 inches from the
+fence and the plant, but slanting outward and away from each other. The
+tops of the stakes were fastened to the fence by wooden braces, and then
+heavy strings fastened to the fence around the stakes and back to the
+fence, the whole with the fence forming a sort of inverted pyramidal
+vase about 3 feet across at the top. In this the plant was allowed to
+grow, but it would be essential to success that the fence be an open
+one.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 28--FORCING TOMATOES IN GREENHOUSE AT NEW HAMPSHIRE
+EXPERIMENT STATION. NOTE CHARACTER OF BED ON THE GROUND FLOOR. (Photo by
+courtesy of Prof. H. F. Hall)]
+
+=In the greenhouse.=--Here pruning and training are essential. The
+plants may be supported by wires or strings (a coarse wool twine will
+answer), twisting the string about the plant as it grows. The growth is
+usually confined to a single shoot, though some growers allow two (Fig.
+24); the method of pruning does not differ from that given for field
+culture, but it is more important that the plants be gone over often
+and the branches removed when small. If allowed to do so, branches would
+spring from the axil of each leaf and the plant would become a perfect
+thicket of slender branches and leaves and produce but little fruit. The
+main stem is sometimes pinched out after three or four clusters of fruit
+are set and the branch from the axil of the first leaf above is allowed
+to take its place. This tends to hasten the maturing of the fruit
+clusters already set. After several clusters have matured, or the main
+stem reaches the top of the house, some growers allow a shoot from the
+bottom to grow and as soon as fruit sets on it the first stem is cut
+away and this takes its place. Others prefer to remove the old plant
+entirely and set in young ones. A plant ready for transplanting is shown
+in Fig. 25. In figures 26, 27 and 28 are shown interior views of
+greenhouses at the New York station at Geneva, the Ohio station at
+Wooster, and the New Hampshire station at Durham. Note the strong,
+vigorous plants in Fig. 26; the method of utilizing tile for watering in
+Fig. 27; and the ground-floor bedding in Fig. 28.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+Ripening, Gathering, Handling and Marketing the Fruit
+
+
+Tomatoes ripen and color from within outward and they will acquire full
+and often superior color, particularly about the stems, if, as soon as
+they have acquired full size and the ripening process has fairly
+commenced, they are picked and spread out in the sunshine. The point of
+ripeness when they can be safely picked is indicated by the surface
+color changing from a dark green to one of distinctly lighter shade with
+a very light tinge of pink. Fruit picked in this stage of maturity may
+be wrapped in paper and shipped 1,000 or 2,000 miles and when unwrapped
+after two or ten days' journey will be found to have acquired a
+beautiful color, often even more brilliant than that of a companion
+fruit left on the vine. Enclosing the fruit while on the vine and about
+half grown in paper bags has been recommended, and it often results in
+deeper and more even coloring and prevents injury from cracking, but the
+fruit so ripened, while more beautiful, is not so well flavored as that
+ripened in the sun. But Americans are said to taste with their eyes, so
+that in this country, fruit of this beautiful color will often out-sell
+that which is of better flavor though of duller color.
+
+The tomato never acquires its full and most perfect flavor except when
+ripened on the vine and in full sunlight. Vine and sun-ripened
+tomatoes, like tree-ripened peaches, are vastly better flavored than
+those artificially ripened. This is the chief reason why tomatoes grown
+in hothouses in the vicinity are so much superior to those shipped in
+from farther south. After it has come to its most perfect condition on
+the plant the fruit deteriorates steadily, whether gathered or allowed
+to remain on the vine, and the more rapidly in proportion as the air is
+hot and moist. That it be fresh is hardly less essential to the first
+quality in a tomato than it is to such things as lettuce and cucumbers.
+
+=Gathering.=--As is the case with most horticultural products, the best
+methods of gathering, handling and marketing the fruit vary greatly with
+the conditions under which the fruit was grown and how it is to be used,
+and it requires the best of judgment to gather it in the stage of
+maturity in which it will give the best satisfaction, under the
+conditions and for the purposes for which it is to be used. It is
+impossible to give exact rules for determining when the fruit is in the
+best condition. This can only be learned by experience, guided by a
+knowledge of the ripening habit of the fruit, which not only varies
+somewhat in different localities, but with different varieties. In the
+extreme South, fruit is picked for shipment before it shows more than
+the slightest tint of color at the blossom end; the depth of color which
+is considered as indicating shipping condition deepens as we go north
+and nearer market.
+
+Generally the fruit should be left on the vine no longer than will
+permit of its becoming fully ripe by the time it reaches its
+destination and is exposed for sale. When the fruit is to be shipped any
+distance the field should be gone over frequently, as often as every
+second or third day or even every day in the hight of the season, and
+care taken to pick every fruit as soon as it is in proper condition.
+When it is to be sold in nearby markets or to a cannery the exact stage
+of maturity, when picked, is not so important, although it is always an
+advantage not to gather until the fruit is well colored and before it
+begins to soften. Some growers for canneries make but three or four
+pickings, but in this case it is well to gather the ripest fruit
+separately.
+
+In picking and handling great care should be taken not to mar or bruise
+the fruit, and the stems should be removed as the fruit is picked to
+prevent bruising in handling. A bruise or mar may not be as conspicuous
+in a tomato as in a peach, but it is quite as injurious. It is a great
+deal better for pickers to use light pails rather than baskets, the
+flexibility of the latter often resulting in bruises. It is an advantage
+to have enough of these so that the sorting can be from the pail, but if
+this is not practical the fruit should be carefully emptied on a sorting
+table for grading. It should first of all be separated with regard to
+its maturity. A single fruit which is a little riper or greener than the
+remainder may make the entire package unsalable. It should also be
+graded as to freedom from blemishes or cracks, and as to size, form and
+color. It is assumed that the fruit for each package is to be of the
+same variety, but often there is quite a variation in different fruits
+from even the same vine; the more uniform in all respects the fruit in
+a package is the more attractive and salable it becomes. There is no
+fruit where careful grading and packing have more influence on the price
+it will command.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 29--FLORIDA TOMATOES PROPERLY WRAPPED FOR LONG
+SHIPMENT (Photo by courtesy of _American Agriculturist_)]
+
+I know of a certain noted peach-grower in northern Michigan who grew,
+each year, some 2 to 5 acres of tomatoes for the Chicago market. It was
+his custom to pick out about one-tenth of the best of the fruit, putting
+it into small and attractively labeled packages; the remainder of the
+crop was sorted over and from one-tenth to one-fifth of it rejected and
+fed to stock or sold to a local cannery. The remainder was sent to
+Chicago with his selects, but as common stock, and usually brought more
+than his neighbors received for unsorted fruit; but the check he
+received for his selects was usually as large as that for his commons,
+thus giving him about 33-1/3 per cent. more for his crop than his
+neighbors received for their equally good, but unsorted, fruit--to say
+nothing of what he received for the rejected fruit and the saving of
+freight which, he said, was usually enough to pay the actual cost of
+sorting.
+
+Tomatoes are usually classed as vegetables but, when ripe, they require
+as careful handling as the most delicate fruits and are as easily and
+seriously injured by bruising and jarring. Just how this can be avoided
+and the fruit gotten from the vine to the possibly distant consumer in
+the best condition will vary in different cases. Tomatoes from the South
+(Fig. 29) are generally marketed in carriers which, though varying
+somewhat, are essentially alike and consist of an open basket or boxes
+of veneer holding about 10 pounds of fruit. When shipped, two, four or
+six of these are packed in crates made of thin boards, so as to protect
+the fruits but give them plenty of air.
+
+=Packing.=--Most of the fruit sent to New York and Philadelphia markets
+from New Jersey and other northern states is in boxes or crates holding
+about 5/8 of a bushel and so made as to facilitate ventilation when
+piled in cars or warehouses. Fruit for the canneries is usually picked
+and handled in bushel crates of lath. These various packages are usually
+sold in the flat and the grower puts them together as is convenient
+before the crop comes on; but in many sections where there are large
+shipments they are often put together by the package dealers. Fig. 30
+shows tomatoes as packed by the Ohio experiment station.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 30--GREENHOUSE TOMATOES PACKED FOR MARKET (By
+courtesy Ohio Experiment Station)]
+
+=Fruits after frost.=--Sometimes when there is a great quantity of
+partially ripe and full grown green fruit on the vines which is liable
+to be spoiled by an early fall frost, it can be saved by pulling the
+vines and placing them in windrows and covering them with straw. Of
+course the vines should be handled carefully to shake off as little
+fruit as possible. If the freeze is followed by a spell of warm, dry
+weather the fruit will ripen up so as to be quite equal to that shipped
+in from a distance. A second plan is to pull the vines and hang them up
+in a dry cellar or out-house, or lay them on the ground in an open
+grove of trees, or beneath the trees of an adjoining orchard.
+
+Still another plan is to gather the green fruit and spread it not more
+than two to four fruits deep in hotbed frames, which are then covered
+with sash. Local grocers are usually glad to pay good prices for this
+late fruit, and in seasons of scarcity I have known canners to buy
+thousands of bushels so ripened at better prices than they paid for the
+main crop.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+Adaptation of Varieties
+
+
+Whatever may be their botanical origin, the modern varieties of
+cultivated tomatoes vary greatly in many respects, and while these
+differences are always of importance their relative importance differs
+with conditions. When the great desideratum is the largest possible
+yield of salable fruit at the least expenditure of labor, the qualities
+of the vine may be the most important ones to be considered, while in
+private gardens and for a critical home market and where closer
+attention and better cultivation can be given, they may be of far less
+importance than qualities of fruit.
+
+=Habits of growth.=--Whether it be standard or dwarf, compact or
+spreading, is sometimes of great importance as fitting the sorts for
+certain soils and methods of culture. On heavy, moist, rich land, where
+staking and pruning are essential to the production of fruit of the best
+quality, it is of importance that we use sorts whose habits of growth
+fit them for it; while on warm, sandy, well-drained land, staking and
+pruning may be of little value, and a different habit of growth more
+desirable. We have sorts in which the vine is relatively strong growing
+with few branches, upright, with long nodes and small fruit clusters
+well scattered over the vine. They are usually very productive through a
+long season but generally late in maturing. Stocks of this type are
+sometimes sold, I think improperly, as giant climbing, or Tree tomato.
+The Buckeye State is a good type of these sorts. (Fig. 31.)
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 31--BUCKEYE STATE, SHOWING LONG NODES AND DISTANCE
+BETWEEN FRUIT CLUSTERS]
+
+Other varieties make a stout and vigorous but shorter growth, with more
+and heavier branches, shorter nodes and many small medium-sized clusters
+of fruit well distributed over the plant and which mature through a
+fairly long season. These sorts are usually very productive and our most
+popular varieties generally belong to this type, of which the Stone
+(Fig. 32) is a good representative of the more compact and the Beauty of
+the more open growing.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 32--STONE, AND CHARACTERISTIC FOLIAGE]
+
+Other varieties form many short, weak, sprawling branches, with
+usually large and sometimes very large clusters of fruit produced
+chiefly near the center of the plant and which mature early and all
+together. Plants of this type will often mature their entire crop and
+die by the time those of the first type have come into full crop. The
+Atlantic Prize (Fig. 33) and Sparks Earliana are examples of this type.
+
+In sharp contrast with the above is the tomato De Laye, often called
+Tree tomato. This originated about 1862 in a garden at Chateau de Laye,
+France. In this the plant rarely exceeds 18 inches in hight, is
+single-stemmed or with few very short branches, the nodes very short,
+the fruit clusters few and small. From this, by crossing with other
+types, there has been developed a distinct class of dwarf tomatoes which
+are of intermediate form and character and are well represented by the
+Dwarf Champion (Fig. 34). Early maturity is sometimes the most important
+consideration of all, though, because of increasing facilities for
+shipping from the South, it is less commonly so than formerly. For
+shipping and canning it is generally, though not always, desirable that
+the crop mature as nearly together as possible, that it may be gathered
+with the fewest number of pickings and advantage taken of a favorable
+market; while for the home garden and market a longer season is
+desirable.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 33--ATLANTIC PRIZE, AND ITS NORMAL FOLIAGE]
+
+=Foliage.=--Abundant, broad and close, or scanty cut and open foliage is
+sometimes of importance, according to whether the location, season and
+other conditions make it desirable that the foliage protect the fruit
+from the sun or admit the sunlight, with as little obstruction as
+possible, to the center of the plant. In different sorts, we have
+gradations from those in which the leaves are so deeply cut as to have a
+fern-like appearance, to those like the Magnus, or potato-leaved, in
+which the margin of each leaflet is entire, and from those in which the
+leaflets are so few and small as to scarcely shut out the light at all
+to those in which they are so numerous that the light can hardly
+penetrate to the center of the plant. The Atlantic Prize is an
+illustration of the scanty foliaged sorts, and the Royal Red or Buckeye
+State of those in which it is more abundant. As to color, the foliage
+varies from the dark blue-green of the Buckeye State to the light,
+distinctly yellowish-green of the Honor Bright.
+
+=Varietal differences as to fruit.=--These are often more important than
+those of vine. For canning, for forcing, and some other uses and for
+certain markets, a medium and uniform size is a very important quality,
+while in other cases uniformity is not important and the larger the
+individual fruits, provided they be well formed, the better. We have
+different sorts in which the size of the fruit varies from that of the
+Currant, which is scarcely 1 inch in circumference, to that of
+Ponderosa, of which well-formed specimens over 20 inches in
+circumference have been grown.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 34--DWARF CHAMPION. NOTE CHARACTER OF FOLIAGE]
+
+=Shape.=--It is always desirable that the outline of the vertical
+section shall be a flowing line with a broad and shallow, or no
+depression at the stem end and as little as possible at the opposite
+point; but the relative importance of this, or whether the general
+outline shall be round or oval, either vertically or horizontally,
+forming a round, long or flat fruit, is largely determined by how the
+fruit is to be used, and by individual taste. A round fruit is best
+for canning; a long one is the most economical for slicing, though some
+prefer a flat one for this purpose. It is always desirable that the
+outline of the horizontal section shall be smooth, flowing and
+symmetrical, and if there be any distinct sutures that they shall be
+shallow and broad; but the relative importance of this, and whether the
+outline be round or oval, is wholly a matter of individual taste. Some
+people and markets prefer one shape and others a very different one.
+Size and smoothness of fruit are the factors which control price in some
+markets, while in others these points are quite secondary to color and
+character of flesh.
+
+We have sorts which vary from the perfectly spherical ones of the grape
+and cherry, to those in which the vertical diameter is less than a third
+of that of the horizontal section; and the pear-shaped in which the
+vertical diameter is twice or thrice that of the longest horizontal
+section, and from those in which the outline of both the vertical and
+horizontal sections is smooth and flowing to those in which the vertical
+section has a deep indentation at both the stem and opposite ends, and
+those in which the horizontal section is broken by deep indentures and
+sutures often disposed with great irregularity.
+
+For shipping long distances, for the rough handling, and for the easy
+preparation for the fruit for canning, a thick, tough skin is desirable,
+while for home use it is objectionable. Freedom from blemish or skin
+crack is also often an important quality, and we have sorts which vary
+greatly in these respects. The color of the skin, whether purple, red,
+yellow or white, is a matter of taste. In some markets the choice is
+given to purple fruit, like the Beauty, while in others it can only be
+sold at a reduced price. There are few who would care to use either
+yellow or white fruit for canning or cooking in any way, but many prefer
+them for slicing, or like to use them with the red for this purpose; we
+have sorts showing every gradation from white or light yellow in color
+through shades of red to dark purple-red, and still others which show
+distinct colors in splashings and shadings.
+
+=Character of flesh.=--Many consider that the greater the number of cells
+and the larger the proportion of flesh to that of pulp and seed the
+better. This may be true of itself, but the fruit-like acid tomato
+flavor which most people value is found chiefly in the pulp, and the
+fruit which has not a due proportion of pulp and flesh seems to be
+insipid and tasteless. Again, the division into many small cells is
+often connected with a large and pithy placenta and unevenness in
+maturity and coloring, which faults often more than overbalance any
+advantage from small cells and thick flesh. The size and character of
+the placenta are important qualities.
+
+In some sorts it is large, dry, pithy and hard, extending far into the
+fruit even to below the center; and sometimes seems to divide into
+secondary or branch placentas or masses of hard cellular matter, while
+in other varieties it is small and so soft and juicy as scarcely to be
+distinguished from the flesh. Usually, but not invariably, the large and
+pithy placenta is correlated with large-sized fruit having many cells;
+where this is the case it practically necessitates the cutting away and
+wasting of a large proportion of the fruit in preparing it for canning,
+so that the canners usually prefer round, medium-sized fruits.
+
+The character of the interior of the fruit varies greatly in different
+varieties. Both the exterior and divisional walls vary in thickness and
+in consistency. In some varieties they are comparatively thin, hard and
+dry; in others, thicker, softer and more juicy. In some cases there is
+but little interior wall, the fruit being divided into but few--even but
+two--cells of even size and shape, while in others there are many cells
+of varying size and shape. Varieties also differ greatly as to the
+amount, consistency and flavor of the pulp and the number of seeds. It
+requires from 300 to 500 pounds of ripe fruit to furnish a pound of seed
+of Ponderosa, while with some of the smaller, earlier sorts one can get
+a pound of seed from 100 to 200 pounds of fruit.
+
+=Coloring and ripening.=--Uniformity and evenness in coloring and
+ripening are an important quality. Tomatoes generally color and ripen
+from within outward, and from the point opposite the stem upward, but
+varieties differ in the evenness and rapidity with which this takes
+place. It is always desirable that the ripening be as even as possible
+and that there be no green and hard spots either at the surface or in
+the flesh, but often perfection in this respect is correlated with such
+lack of size and solidity as to counterbalance it. Rapidity in ripening,
+in a general way, is desirable for fruit to be used at home, and
+undesirable in that which is to be shipped.
+
+The time a tomato fruit will remain in usable condition and the amount
+of rough handling it will endure without becoming unsalable are most
+important commercial qualities depending largely upon the combined
+effects of the form and structure of the fruit, solidity and firmness of
+the flesh and ripening habit. In all these respects we have varieties
+which differ greatly, from the Honor Bright, which requires as much time
+to ripen, and when ripe is firm-fleshed and will remain usable as long
+as a peach, to those which 24 hours after reaching their full size are
+fully colored and ripe, and in 24 hours more are so over-ripe and soft
+that they will break open of their own weight.
+
+These are only some of the varietal differences of the tomato. Are such
+differences of practical importance? I think they are, and that a wise
+selection of the type best suited to one's own particular conditions and
+requirements is one of the most essential requisites of satisfactory
+tomato culture. How important it seems to practical tomato growers may
+be illustrated by an actual case.
+
+In a certain section of New Jersey the money-making crop is early
+tomatoes, and they are grown to such an extent that from an area with a
+radius of not exceeding 5 miles they have shipped as much as 15,000
+bushels in one day, and the shipments will often average 8,000 bushels
+for days together. They have tried a great number of sorts, but have
+settled upon a certain type of a well-known variety as that best suited
+to their conditions and needs. Seeds of this variety which are supposed
+to produce plants of the exact type wanted can be bought from seedsmen
+for 10 cents an ounce and at much lower rates for larger quantities,
+but when one of the most successful growers of that locality, because of
+change of occupation, offered seed selected by him for his own use for
+sale at auction, it brought $3 an ounce. This price was paid because of
+the confidence of the bidders that the seed could be depended upon to
+produce plants of the exact type wanted for their conditions; and I was
+assured that the use of this high-priced seed actually added very
+largely to the profits from every field in that vicinity in which it was
+used, but the use of some of the same lot of seed by planters in Florida
+resulted in financial loss because the type of plant produced was not
+suited to their conditions and requirements.
+
+A wise answer can only be given after a study of each case, and no one
+can do this so well as the planter himself. He should know, as no one
+else can know, his own conditions and requirements, and should be able
+to form very exact ideas of just what he wants, and the doing so is, in
+my opinion, one of the most important requisites for satisfactory tomato
+growing. I also believe that it is as impossible for a man to answer
+offhand the question, "What is the best variety of tomato?" as for a
+wise physician to answer the question, "What is the best medicine?"
+
+=Varietal names= and descriptions mean something quite different in the
+case of plants like the tomato, which are propagated by seed, from what
+they do with plants like the apple and strawberry, which are propagated
+by division. In the latter case all the plants of the variety are but
+parts of the primal origination, and so are alike. A description is
+simply a more or less complete and accurate definition of what a
+certain immutable thing really is, but in the case of plants propagated
+by seed the variety is made up of all the plants which accord with a
+certain ideal. Bailey says, "Of all those which have more points of
+resemblance than of difference," and a description of the variety is of
+that ideal which in common practice is not fixed, but may and generally
+does vary not only with different people but from time to time. The only
+foundation for varietal names in plants of this class is an agreement as
+to the ideal the name shall stand for. Under modern horticultural
+practice when anyone has been able to secure seed most of which he is
+reasonably sure will develop into plants of a distinct type different
+from that of any sort known to him, he has a distinct variety, so that
+it is not surprising that we should find that American seedsmen offer
+tomato seed under more than 300 different names, and those of Europe
+under more than 200 additional, so that we have more than 500 varietal
+names, each claiming to stand for a distinct sort. Now it is quite
+possible--indeed, it is certain--that we might have 500 tomato plants
+each different in some respect, either of vine, leaf, habit of growth,
+or character of fruit, from any of the others and that these differences
+might make plants of one type better suited to certain conditions and
+uses than any other; but it is very certain that these 500 names do not
+stand for such differences. It is doubtless true that a portion--though
+I think but a small portion--of these different sorts exist simply as a
+matter of commercial expediency; but by far a greater part of them exist
+because one has found that plants of a certain character were better
+suited to some set of conditions and requirements than any sort with
+which he was acquainted, and having secured seed which he thought would
+produce plants of that character, has offered it as of a distinct sort.
+
+It is probable that a better acquaintance with sorts already in
+cultivation would have prevented the naming of many of these stocks as
+distinct varieties. What is of far more practical importance, the same
+name does not always stand for precisely the same type with different
+seedsmen, or even with the same seedsmen in different years; nor are the
+seedsmen's published descriptions such as would enable any one to learn
+from them just what type he will receive under any particular name, or
+which sort he should buy in order to get plants of any desired type.
+Seedsmen's catalogs are published and distributed gratuitously at great
+expense, and are issued, primarily, for the sake of selling the seeds
+they offer. They answer the purpose for which they are designed, in
+proportion as they secure orders for seeds. Will this be measured by the
+accuracy and completeness of their descriptions? I think that it needs
+but slight acquaintance with the actual results of advertising to answer
+in the negative, and whatever your answer may be, the answer given by
+the catalogs themselves is an emphatic no.
+
+In a recent case I looked very carefully through the catalogs of 125
+American seedsmen who listed a certain variety which is very markedly
+deficient in a certain desirable quality, and found that but 37 of the
+125 mentioned the quality in connection with the variety at all and of
+these but 7 admitted the deficiency, while 30 told the opposite of the
+truth. Even if a complete, exact and reliable description of a variety
+was published by disinterested persons, one could not be sure of getting
+seed from seedsmen which would produce plants of that exact type, since
+there is no agreement or uniformity among them as to the exact type any
+varietal name shall stand for.
+
+One way of getting seed of the exact type wanted is to do as the South
+Jersey growers did: go to work and breed up a stock which is uniformly
+of the type wanted; but this involves more painstaking care than many
+are willing to give, though I think not more than it would be most
+profitable for them to expend for the sake of getting seed just suited
+to their needs.
+
+A second and easier way is to secure samples of the most promising sorts
+and from the most reliable sources and grow them on one's own farm;
+select the stock which seems best for him and buy enough of that exact
+stock for several years' planting, and in the meantime be looking for a
+still better one. Tomato seed stored in a cool, dry place will retain
+its vitality for from three to seven years.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+Seed Breeding and Growing
+
+
+The potentialities of every plant and its limitations are inherent,
+fixed and immutable in the seed from which it is developed and are made
+up of the balanced sum of the different tendencies it receives in
+varying degree from each of its ancestors back for an indefinite number
+of generations. A very slight difference in the character or the degree
+of any one of the tendencies which go to make up this sum may make a
+most material difference in the balance and so in the resulting
+character of the plant produced. Different plants, even of the same
+ancestry, vary greatly in prepotency or in the relative dominance of the
+influence they have over descendants raised from seed produced by them.
+
+In some cases all the plants raised from seed produced by a certain
+plant will be essentially alike and closely resemble the seed-bearing
+plant, while seed from another plant of the same parentage will develop
+into plants differing from each other and seemingly more influenced by
+some distant ancestor or by varying combinations of such influences than
+of those of the plant which actually produced the seed from which they
+were developed. Successful seed breeding can only be accomplished by
+taking advantage of these principles of heredity and variation, and by a
+wise use of them it is possible to produce seed which can be depended
+upon to produce plants of any type possible to the species.
+
+=The first essential for breeding= is to have a clear and exact
+conception of precisely what, in all respects, the type shall be and
+then the securing of seed which has come from plants of that exact
+character for the greatest possible number of generations, carefully
+avoiding the introduction by cross-pollination of tendencies from plants
+differing in any degree from the desired type. Secondly, seed should be
+used from plants which have been proven to produce seed, which will
+develop into plants like themselves or are strongly prepotent. A
+practical way to accomplish this in the tomato is as follows:
+
+By experiment and observation form a very clear conception of precisely
+the type of plant and fruits which is best suited to your needs. This
+may be done by the study of available descriptions of sorts, by
+conference with those who have had experience in your own or similar
+climatic and soil conditions and in raising fruit for the same purposes
+and, best of all, by trials of samples of different sorts and stocks on
+your own grounds. Having formed such a conception, write out the
+clearest possible description of exactly what you want and the ideal
+plant you are aiming at, stating as fully and minutely as possible every
+desirable quality and also those to be avoided. I consider not only the
+formation of an exact ideal, but the writing out of a most minute and
+exact description of precisely what in every particular the ideal plant
+should be and the rigid adherence to that exact ideal in selection, as
+the most important elements of successful seed breeding. Without it one
+is certain to vary from year to year in the type selected and in just so
+far as he does this, even if it be toward what might be called
+improvements or in regard to an unimportant quality, he undermines all
+his work and makes it impossible to establish a strain which can be
+relied upon to produce an exact type.
+
+With this description in hand, search out one or more plants which seem
+the nearest to the ideal. In doing this it should be kept in mind that
+the character of the seed is determined by the plant rather than by the
+individual fruit. Therefore, a plant whose fruit is most uniformly of
+the desired type should be chosen over one having a small proportion of
+its fruits of very perfect type, the others being different and
+variable. Save seed from one or more fruits from each of the selected
+plants, keeping that from each fruit, or at least each plant, separate.
+Give it a number and make a record of how nearly, in each particular,
+the plant and fruit of each number come to the desired ideal. I regard
+the saving of each lot separately and recording its characters as very
+important, even when all have been selected to and come equally close to
+precisely the same ideal. Quite often the seed of one plant will produce
+plants precisely like it, while that of another, equal or superior, will
+produce plants of which no two are alike and none like that which
+produced the seed, so that often the mixing of seed from different
+plants of the same general type, and seemingly of equal quality,
+prevents the establishment of a uniform type.
+
+The next year from 10 to 100 plants raised from each lot are set in
+blocks and labeled. As they develop the blocks are studied and compared
+with the original description of the desired type and that of each plant
+from which seed was saved, and the block selected in which all the
+plants come the nearest to the desired type, and which show the least
+variation. From it plants are selected in the same way and to the same
+type as the previous year. It is better to make selections from such a
+block than to take the most superior plants from all of the blocks, or
+from one which produced but one or but a few superlative ones, the rest
+being variable.
+
+It is also well to consider the relative importance of different
+qualities in connection with the degree to which the different lots
+approach the ideal in these respects. Such a course of selection
+intelligently and carefully carried out will give, in from three to five
+years, strains of seed greatly superior and better adapted to one's own
+conditions than any which it is possible to purchase. A single or but a
+very few selections may be made each year, and the superior value of the
+seed of the remainder of the seed blocks for use in the field will be
+far more than the cost of the whole work.
+
+=Growing and saving commercial seed.=--The ideal way is for the seedsman
+to grow and select seed as described above and give this stock seed to
+farmers who plant in fields and cultivate it, much as is recommended for
+canning, and save seed from the entire crop, the pulp being thrown away.
+Only a few pickings are necessary and the seed is separated by machines
+worked by horse power at small cost, often not exceeding 10 cents a
+pound. They secure from 75 to 250 pounds per acre, according to the
+variety and crop, and the seedsmen pay them 40 cents to $1 a pound for
+it. Some of our more careful seedsmen produce all the seed they use in
+this way; others buy of professional seed growers, who use more or less
+carefully grown stock seed. In other cases when the fruit is fully ripe
+it is gathered, and the seeds, pulp and skins, are separated by
+machinery; the seed is sold to seedsmen, the pulp made into catsup, and
+only the skins are thrown away. Still others get their supply by washing
+out and saving the seed from the waste of canneries. Such seed is just
+as good as seed saved _from the same grade of tomatoes_ in any other
+way, but the fruit used by the canneries is, usually, a mixture of
+different crops and grades, and even of different varieties, and
+consequently the seed is mixed and entirely lacking in uniformity and
+distinctness of type.
+
+Generally from 5 to 20 per cent. of the plants produced by seed as
+commonly grown either by the farmer himself or the seedsmen, though they
+may be alike in more conspicuous characteristics, will show varietal
+differences of such importance as to affect more or less materially the
+value of the plant for the conditions and the purposes for which it is
+grown. In a book like this it is useless to attempt to give long
+varietal descriptions even of the sorts commonly listed by seedsmen,
+since such descriptions would be more a statement of what the writer
+thought seed of that variety should be rather than of what one would be
+likely to receive under that name.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+Production for Canning
+
+
+=Growing for canning= has many advantages over growing for market. Some
+of these are that it is not necessary to start the plants so early, that
+they can be grown at less cost, and set in the field when smaller and
+with less check, and on this latter account are apt to give a large
+yield. It is not necessary to gather the fruit so often, nor to handle
+it so carefully, while practically all of it is saleable. For these
+reasons the cost of production is lower and it is less variable than
+with crops grown for market. Still farmers and writers do not agree at
+all as to the actual cost. It is claimed by some that where the factory
+is within easy reach of the field the cost of growing, gathering and
+delivering a full yield of tomatoes need not exceed $12 to $18 an acre,
+while others declare they cannot be grown for less than $40. Nearly
+one-third of this cost is for picking and delivering, and varies more
+with the facilities for doing this easily and promptly and with the
+yield than with crops grown for market. A large proportion of the crops
+grown for canning are poorly cultivated and unwisely handled, so that
+the average yield throughout the entire country is very low, hardly
+exceeding 100 bushels an acre. But where weather and other conditions
+are favorable, and with judicious cultivation, a yield of 300 to 800
+bushels an acre can be expected. I have known of many larger ones.
+
+A large proportion of the tomatoes grown for canning are planted under
+contract, by which the farmer agrees to deliver the entire yield of
+fruit fit for canning, which may be produced on a given area, at the
+contract price per bushel or ton. The canner is to judge what fruit is
+fit for canning and this often results in great dissatisfaction. To the
+grower it seems in many cases as though the quantity of acceptable fruit
+paid for was determined quite as much by the abundance or scarcity of
+the general crop as by the weight hauled to the factory. The prices paid
+by the factories for the past 10 years run from 10 to 25 cents a bushel,
+while canning tomatoes in the open market for the same period have
+brought from 8 to 50 cents a bushel, which, however, are exceptional
+prices. In all but two of the past 10 years uncontracted tomatoes could
+generally be sold, in most sections, for more than was paid on contract.
+I have given the price a bushel, though canning tomatoes are usually
+sold by the ton. The cost of the product of a well-equipped cannery is
+divided about as follows: fruit, 30 per cent.; handling, preparing and
+processing the fruit, 18 per cent.; cost of cans, labels, cases, etc.,
+43 per cent.; labeling, packing and selling, 0.035 per cent.;
+incidentals, 0.055 per cent.
+
+=Canning on the farm.=--While as a general proposition such work as
+canning tomatoes can usually be done at less cost in a central plant,
+yet in many cases the grower can profitably do this on the farm, thus
+saving not only the expense of delivery at the factory, but the
+dissatisfaction with weights credited and delays in receiving the fruit.
+But very little special apparatus or machinery (more than some form of
+boiler for supplying steam) is needed, and this and the cans can be
+readily obtained of dealers in canners' supplies. In Maryland and
+neighboring states many dealers furnish all necessary machinery, cans
+and other requisites and contract for the crop delivered in cans.
+
+Canning on the farm where the fruit is grown would be more generally
+practiced except for the popular demand that the canned product shall be
+brighter colored than it is possible to produce from fruit alone, and
+the necessary dyeing and other doctoring can be more easily and
+skilfully done at a central factory, though it is always at the
+sacrifice of flavor and healthfulness for the sake of appearance.
+Another advantage of canning on the farm is that it can be done with
+less waste of fruit. The hauling to the factory and delay in working the
+fruit result in a great deal of waste. The average cannery does not
+obtain more than 1,200 pounds of product from a ton of fruit, there
+being 800 pounds of waste, while with sound, ripe, perfectly fresh
+fruit, it is entirely practical to secure from 1,600 to 1,800 pounds of
+canned goods from a ton, and this saving in waste would more than
+counterbalance the gain from the use of the better machinery possible in
+the factory.
+
+=The process of canning= is simple and consists first of rinsing off the
+fruit, then in wire baskets or pails dipping it into boiling hot water
+to start the skins, which will require but two to four minutes. While
+they are still hot they should be peeled and imperfections cut out,
+then promptly placed in the cans, which should be fully filled; it is
+well to do this by adding the juice which has escaped while peeling,
+instead of water, as is done in the larger factories. This will give the
+canned fruit better color and lessen the need of dye. Place in a hot box
+for three to five minutes until heated through, wipe top of can clean
+and drop perforated cap in place, add flux and solder, seal cap in place
+with round capper, close perforation in cap with drop of solder. Place
+in box or kettle and steam or boil for 20 to 40 minutes. If the tomatoes
+were all ripe and none over-ripe, and have been kept hot from the time
+they went into the scalding kettle until the sealed cans are in the
+kettle, 20 minutes' cooking will make them surer to keep than 40 minutes
+would with fruit such as is commonly received at factories, or that
+which has been allowed to cool once or twice while in process.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+Cost of Production
+
+
+There are a few vegetables or fruits where the cost of production and
+the price received are more variable than with the tomato. The cost per
+acre for raising the fruit varies with the conditions of soil,
+facilities for doing the work economically and with the season, while
+that of marketing the product varies still more. Under usual conditions,
+the growing of an acre of tomatoes and the gathering and marketing of
+the fruit will cost from $18 to $90, of which from 15 to 40 per cent. is
+spent in fertilizing and preparing the ground, 5 to 10 per cent. for
+plants, 20 to 30 per cent. for cultivation, and 25 to 40 per cent. for
+gathering and handling the fruit. The last item, of course, varies
+somewhat with, but not in proportion to, the amount of the crop, as it
+costs proportionately less to gather a large than a small crop, and for
+canners' use than for market.
+
+The expense of shipping and marketing the crop varies so greatly
+according to the conditions and methods that I do not attempt to state
+the amount. The total yield of fruit runs from 200 to 600 or 700 bushels
+to the acre, a 200-bushel crop of tomatoes comparing as to amount with
+one of 25 bushels of wheat and a 700-bushel crop of tomatoes with one of
+60 bushels of wheat; with the best and wisest cultivation and under the
+most favorable conditions one can as reasonably hope for one as for the
+other. Of this total yield, from 10 to 25 per cent. of the fruit should
+be such as, because of earliness and quality, can be sold as extras, and
+there is usually from 5 to 10 per cent., and sometimes a much larger per
+cent., which should be rejected as unsalable. The selected fruit should
+net from $1 to $5 a bushel, the common from 30 to 75 cents--making the
+returns for a 200-bushel yield well sold in a nearby market $70 to $350,
+and proportionately larger, for a better yield. In practice I have known
+of crops which gave a profit above expenses of over $1,000 an acre. This
+came, however, from exceptionally favorable conditions and skilled
+marketing, and I have known of many more crops where, though the fruit
+was equally large and well grown, the profit was less than $100.
+
+In this country a greenhouse is seldom used solely for the growing of
+tomatoes, but other crops--such as lettuce--are grown in connection with
+the tomatoes, so that it is impracticable to give the cost of
+production. As grown at the Ohio state experiment station--and the crop
+ripened in late spring or early summer and sold on the market of smaller
+cities--greenhouse tomatoes have yielded about two pounds a square foot
+of glass and brought an average price of 12 cents per pound. In other
+cases yields as high as 10 pounds a foot of glass and an average price
+of 40 cents a pound have been reported.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+Insects Injurious to the Tomato
+
+    By DR. F. H. CHITTENDEN
+    Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agriculture
+
+
+From the time tomato plants are set in the field until the fruit has
+ripened they are subject to the attacks of insects which frequently
+cause serious injury. On the whole, however, the tomato is not so
+susceptible to damage as are some related crops--such as the potato.
+
+=Cutworms.=--Of insects most to be feared and of those which attack the
+plants when they are first set out are cutworms of various species. The
+grower is as a rule quite too familiar with these insects, and no
+description of their methods is necessary, beyond the statement that
+they cut off and destroy more than they eat and re-setting is frequently
+necessary. The best remedy is a poisoned bait, prepared by dipping
+bunches of clover, weeds, or other vegetation in a solution of Paris
+green or other arsenical, 1 pound to 100 gallons of water. These baits
+are distributed in small lots over the ground _before_ the plants are
+set, the precaution being observed that the land is free for two or
+three weeks from any form of vegetation. This will force the hungry
+"worms" to feed on the baits, to their prompt destruction. A bran-mash
+is also used instead of weeds or clover, and is prepared by combining
+one part by weight of arsenic, one of sugar, and six of sweetened bran,
+with enough water added to make a mash. The baits are renewed if they
+become too dry, or they can be kept moist by placing them under shingles
+or pieces of board.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 35--CUTWORM AND PARENT MOTH (_Feltia subgothica_)
+(From Chittenden, U. S. Department of Agriculture)]
+
+=Flea-beetles= attack the plants soon after they are set, and their
+injuries can be prevented by dipping the young plants before setting in
+a solution of arsenate of lead, about 1 pound to 50 gallons of water, or
+Paris green, 1 pound to 100 gallons. If this precaution has not been
+observed a spray of either of these arsenicals used in the proportion
+specified will suffice, repeating if the insects continue on the plants.
+In the preparation of the spray a pound of fresh lime to each pound of
+the arsenical should be added; or, better yet, Bordeaux mixture should
+be employed as a diluent instead of water. This mixture has some
+insecticidal value, is a most valuable fungicide, and is also a
+powerful deterrent of flea-beetle attack, acting to a less degree
+against other insects which are apt to be found on the tomato. In
+applying any spray a sprayer costing not less than $7 is a positive
+necessity.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 36--FLEA-BEETLE Does great injury to young plants.
+Much enlarged. Actual size shown by line at right. (From Chittenden)]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 37--MARGINED BLISTER BEETLE (From Chittenden)]
+
+=The Colorado potato beetle=, or "potato bug," sometimes injures
+tomatoes, but not as a rule when potatoes are available. This suggests
+the use of potatoes as a trap crop, planted in about three rows
+completely around the field of tomatoes. The arsenicals used in the same
+proportion as for flea-beetles will destroy the potato beetle. It is
+necessary to keep the trap potatoes well sprayed to prevent them from
+breeding on these plants and migrating to the tomatoes. Potato beetles
+can also be controlled by jarring them from the affected plants into
+large pans containing a little water on which a thin scum of kerosene is
+floating.
+
+=Blister beetles= may be controlled, under ordinary circumstances, by
+the same method employed against the Colorado beetle. When they are
+present in great numbers a good remedy consists in driving them with the
+wind from the cultivated fields into windrows of straw or similar dry
+material previously prepared along the leeward side of the field, where
+they will congregate and can be burned.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 38--TOMATO WORM (_Protoparce sexta_) (_a_) Adult
+moth; (_b_) full-grown larva; (_c_) pupa--all reduced. (After Howard, U.
+S. Dept. Agr.)]
+
+=The tomato worms=, of which there are two common species closely
+resembling each other, are often abundant and destructive on tomato
+foliage, particularly southward. The arsenicals will kill them, or they
+can be held in check by hand-picking, a little experience enabling one
+to detect their presence readily. Turkeys are utilized in destroying
+these worms in the South.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 39--TOMATO STALK-BORER (_Papaipema nitela_)
+(_a_) Female moth; (_b_) half-grown larva; (_c_) mature larva in injured
+stalk; (_d_) lateral view of abdominal segment; (_e_) pupa--all somewhat
+enlarged. (From Chittenden, U. S. Dept. Agr.)]
+
+=The stalk-borer=, as its name implies, attacks the stalk, and is an
+intermittent pest, though quite annoying at times. It is difficult to
+combat, but its injuries may be prevented by care in keeping down, and
+by _promptly_ destroying, the weeds after they are pulled or hoed out
+during the growing season. If weeds are left to dry the striped
+caterpillar of this species will desert them and enter cultivated
+plants. Ragweed and burdock are the principal foods of this insect, and
+special attention should be given to eradicate them where tomatoes are
+planted. Crop rotation is advisable where this can be conveniently
+practiced, and such plants as cabbage, radish and the like, onions,
+beets, asparagus and celery are suggested as alternates. When the plants
+are sprayed with arsenicals for other insects this will operate to a
+certain extent against the stalk-borer.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 40--CHARACTERISTIC WORK OF THE TOMATO FRUIT WORM
+(_Heliothis obsoleta_) (Redrawn by Johnson from C. V. Riley)]
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 41--ADULT MOTH, OR PARENT OF TOMATO FRUIT WORM
+(From Chittenden, U. S. Department of Agriculture)]
+
+=The tomato fruit worm= (Fig. 40) known as the bollworm of cotton and the
+ear worm of corn, is frequently the cause of serious trouble to tomato
+growers, especially in the southern states, due to its pernicious habit
+of eating into and destroying the green and ripening fruit. For its
+control it is advisable not to plant tomatoes in proximity to old corn
+or cotton fields, nor should land be used in regions where this species
+is abundant until it has been fall or winter plowed. Sweet corn planted
+about the field before the tomatoes are set will serve as a lure for the
+parent moths to deposit their eggs, corn and cotton being favorite foods
+of this species and preferred to tomatoes. The fruit worm feeds to a
+certain extent on the foliage before penetrating the fruit, and it is
+possible to keep it in subjection by spraying with arsenicals as advised
+for the flea-beetles. It is suggested that arsenate of lead, being more
+adhesive than other arsenicals, should be used for the first sprayings,
+beginning when the fruit commences to form, repeating once or twice as
+found necessary, and making a last spraying with Paris green within a
+few days of ripening. This last poison will readily wash off and there
+is no danger whatever of poisoning to human beings, as has been
+conclusively proved in numerous similar cases. For the perfect success
+of this remedy the last spraying is essential, as those who have
+sprayed with an arsenical and have reported only partial good results
+have discontinued within about two weeks of the time of the ripening of
+the first fruit.
+
+=White fly or aleyrodes.=--These minute insects are familiar to most
+growers who raise tomatoes under glass. They can be held in control by
+vaporization or fumigation with tobacco or nicotine extracts, or by
+spraying with kerosene emulsion or the so-called whale-oil (fish-oil)
+soap. Care is necessary in using the extracts that the smudge does not
+become too dense and injure the plants. Before applying this remedy on a
+large scale a preliminary trial should be made following the directions
+on the packages, and reducing the amount if any ill results follow.
+Hydrocyanic acid gas, properly used, is also an excellent remedy for
+aleyrodes, aphides, "mealy-bug," and other soft-bodied insects which are
+sometimes troublesome on greenhouse tomatoes.
+
+    For a complete account of the methods of making and handling
+    hydrocyanic acid gas, see Professor Johnson's book entitled
+    "Fumigation Methods," published by Orange Judd Company, of New
+    York. Sent postpaid for $1.--[AUTHOR.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+Tomato Diseases
+
+    By W. A. ORTON
+    U. S. Department of Agriculture
+
+DISEASES NOT CAUSED BY FUNGI OR INSECTS
+
+
+The health of tomato plants is to a large extent dependent on the
+conditions under which they are being grown. The character and physical
+condition of the soil, the supply of water and plant food, the
+temperature and amount of sunlight, are all factors of the greatest
+importance in the growth and development of the crop. When there are
+variations from the normal in the case of any of these the plant adapts
+itself to the change as far as possible, but its functions may be so
+disturbed as to result in ill health or disease. It is in many cases
+difficult to draw a line between a natural re-action of the plant to its
+environment and a state of disease. For example, the trouble described
+in the next paragraph seems to fall into the first class.
+
+=Shedding of blossoms.=--The tomato is very liable to drop its buds and
+blossoms and in some instances partial or total crop failures have
+resulted. The principal causes are an over-rapid growth, due in many
+cases to an excess of nitrogenous fertilizers, unfavorable weather
+conditions, especially cold winds, continued rainy or moist weather,
+which hinders pollination, lack of sunlight, or extremely hot weather.
+Such shedding can be partially controlled by pruning away the lateral
+branches as soon as formed and topping the plants after the third
+cluster of fruit has set, and by a reduction in the use of nitrogenous
+fertilizers. A failure to set fruit in the greenhouse is often due to
+lack of pollination, which must be remedied by hand pollination.
+
+=Cracking of the fruit.=--The formation of cracks or fissures in the
+nearly mature fruit is due to variations in the water supply and other
+conditions affecting growth at this stage. If after the development of
+the outer portion of the fruit has been checked by drought there follows
+a period of abundant water supply and rapid growth, the fruit expands
+more rapidly than its epidermis and the latter is ruptured. Some
+varieties of tomatoes are much less subject to this trouble than others
+and should be given preference on this account. The grower, so far as
+lies in his power, should seek to maintain an uninterrupted growth by
+thorough preparation of the land, by cultivation or by mulching. If the
+half-grown fruits are enclosed in paper bags, cracking may be prevented,
+but at the risk of loss of flavor in the ripened fruit.
+
+=Leaf curl.=--The effect of pruning is to stimulate growth and to
+increase the size of the leaves, the effort of the plant being to
+maintain a balance between roots and foliage. With rapidly growing
+plants, especially in the greenhouse and garden where both high manuring
+and pruning have been practiced, more or less curling and distortion of
+the leaves may result without developing into serious trouble if the
+grower takes the hint and modifies his methods so as to permit a more
+balanced growth. On the other hand, the ill effects of over-feeding and
+pruning may reach a point where the plant is seriously crippled.
+
+=Edema.=--Under certain conditions plants in greenhouses or even in the
+open field, may absorb water through the roots faster than it can be
+transpired through the leaves, with the result that dropsical swellings
+or blisters occur on the leaves and more succulent stems. There is also
+a deformation of the foliage, much like the leaf-curl produced by
+over-feeding. This trouble, known as edema, occurs when the soil is
+warmer than the air, or during periods of moist, warm, cloudy weather,
+which checks transpiration. The grower should cease pruning, and
+withhold water, and in the field cultivate deeply. In the greenhouse,
+adequate ventilation should be given, keeping the house dry rather than
+moist.
+
+=Mosaic disease.=--The tomato is occasionally subject to a trouble allied
+to the mosaic disease of tobacco. It is characterized by a variegation
+of the leaves into light and dark green areas, usually accompanied by
+distortion and reduction in size. In severe cases a whole field may
+become worthless. While the nature of this malady is not fully
+understood, it is known to be due to a disordered nutrition of the young
+leaf-cells. It can be produced by severe pruning or by mutilation of the
+roots in transplanting, both of which should be carefully avoided. It is
+more likely to occur in seedlings that have made a soft, rapid growth on
+account of an excess of nitrogenous fertilizer or too high temperature.
+Close, clayey soils, on account of their poor physical condition, also
+favor the development of the disease after transplanting.
+
+=Western blight (Yellows).=--In the North Pacific and Rocky Mountain
+states, serious losses are annually caused by a disease apparently
+unlike any eastern trouble. It is marked by a gradual yellowing of the
+foliage and fruit. Development is checked, the leaves curl upward and
+the plant dies without wilting. The nature and cause of this disease is
+as yet unknown. It appears to be worst on new land. Experiments that
+have been made indicate that in older cultivated fields thorough
+preparation of the soil, manuring and cultivation, combined with care in
+transplanting to avoid injuring the roots and checking growth, will
+greatly restrict the spread of this blight.
+
+
+DISEASES CAUSED BY PARASITES
+
+There are several fungous parasites of tomatoes, which, for the readers
+convenience, may be briefly mentioned and the treatment of all discussed
+together. The first three are indeed somewhat difficult to tell apart
+without a microscope, as they produce a similar effect on the leaves and
+all yield to the same treatment--thorough spraying with Bordeaux
+mixture.
+
+=Leaf spot= (_Septoria lycopersici_ Speg.) has been widely prevalent and
+injurious during recent years. It produces small, roundish dark-brown
+spots on leaves and stems. The lower leaves are attacked first and
+gradually curl up, die and fall off. The vitality of the plant is
+reduced and it is only kept alive by the young leaves formed at the
+top.
+
+The fungus that causes early blight of potatoes (_Alternaria solani_ (E.
+& M.) J. & G.) occurs on tomatoes also, sometimes doing much injury. The
+spots formed are at first small and black, later enlarging and
+exhibiting fine concentric rings.
+
+A somewhat similar leaf-blight results from a species of
+_Cylindrosporium_, and other fungi may occur on diseased leaves.
+
+=Leaf mold= (_Cladosporium fulvum_ Cke.) is quite distinct from the
+foregoing in appearance. It does not cause such distinct spots but
+occurs in greenish brown, velvety patches of irregular outline on the
+under side of the leaves. The lower leaves are first attacked, and as
+the disease progresses they turn yellow and drop off. This is the
+principal fungous enemy of greenhouse tomatoes, but also does injury in
+gardens, particularly in Florida and the Gulf region. It is readily
+controlled by spraying. In the greenhouse care should be taken to
+ventilate well, without, however, allowing cold drafts to strike the
+plants.
+
+=Downy mildew= (_Phytopthora infestans_ DeBy.), the cause of the late
+blight of potatoes, will attack tomatoes during cool and very moist
+weather, which greatly favors its development. Such outbreaks sometimes
+occur to a limited extent in New England and serious losses are reported
+on the winter crop in southern California, but the disease has never
+been troublesome in other sections of the country, as it cannot develop
+in dry or hot weather. It affects the tomato as it does the potato,
+forming on the leaves dark, discolored spots, which spread rapidly under
+favorable conditions, killing the foliage in a few days. The fruit is
+also attacked and becomes covered with the mildew-like spore-bearing
+threads of the fungus. Bordeaux mixture properly applied is an efficient
+preventive.
+
+=Spraying tomatoes.=--It should be the invariable practice of the tomato
+grower to spray with Bordeaux mixture to prevent injury from any of
+these leaf-blights. This should be done while the plants are still
+healthy, as if put off until the disease appears the battle is half
+lost. Make the first application to the young plants in the seed-bed a
+few days before transplanting. Spray again within a week after the
+plants are set in the field, and repeat at intervals of ten days or two
+weeks until the fruit is full grown. Success in spraying depends mainly
+on the thoroughness of the work. The aim should be to cover every leaf
+with a fine mist. Do not drench the foliage but pass to the next plant
+before the drops run together and off the leaf. Use a nozzle that gives
+a fine spray and maintain a high pressure at the pump.
+
+_Preparation of Bordeaux mixture._--Formula: Copper sulphate
+(bluestone), 5 pounds; lime, 5 pounds; and water, 50 gallons. The copper
+sulphate may be either in crystals or pulverized. Dissolve by suspending
+the required amount in a coarse sack near the top of the water a few
+hours before it will be needed. The lime must be fresh stone lime of
+good quality. Slake thoroughly by the addition of small quantities of
+water at a time as needed, stirring until all small lumps are slaked.
+Strain both the lime milk and the copper sulphate or bluestone solution
+through a brass strainer of 18 meshes per inch and dilute each with half
+the water before mixing together. Do not use Bordeaux left over from
+the previous day. An old mixture or one made from the concentrated
+solutions has a poor physical condition. It settles more quickly, tends
+to clog the nozzle and does not adhere so well to the foliage. Failure
+to use the strainer results in endless trouble in the field from clogged
+nozzles.
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 42--PROPER WAY TO MAKE BORDEAUX (From W. G.
+Johnson)]
+
+When much spraying is to be done it is more convenient to keep the
+bluestone and lime in separate permanent stock solutions, as shown in
+Fig. 42, containing 2 pounds to the gallon of their respective
+ingredients. These will keep indefinitely, if the water evaporated is
+replaced, and may be used from as needed.
+
+_Spraying apparatus._--Tomato growers having only a small area to spray
+may use one of the numerous forms of hand-pumps or bucket sprayers now
+on the market. For larger fields it will be necessary to employ a
+barrel sprayer. This consists of a hand-pump mounted in a barrel or tank
+and equipped with two leads of 3/8 inch hose 25 feet long, each with a
+four-foot, extension made from 1/4 inch gas pipe, and a double Vermorel
+nozzle. The barrel should be carried in an ordinary farm wagon. Three
+men do the work. One is expected to drive and pump, while the other two
+manipulate the nozzles. The outfit is stopped while the plants within
+reach are sprayed, then driven forward about 30 feet and stopped again.
+On an average in actual field practice 3 to 4 acres a day can be sprayed
+in this way, applying 100 to 200 gallons of Bordeaux per acre. To keep
+the long hose off the plants two poles about 10 feet long may be pivoted
+to the bed of the wagon so as to swing at an angle over the wheel and
+carry the hose. The pump for this outfit should be of good capacity,
+with brass valves. A "Y" shut-off discharge connection on the pump is a
+convenience for stopping the spray at any time. The most satisfactory
+nozzles are those of the Vermorel type. It is cheapest in the long run
+to buy the best grades of pumps on the market. This outfit is
+excellently adapted for spraying small fields of potatoes and for
+general orchard work, and is invaluable on the average farm.
+
+=Phytoptosis.=--This disease is known to occur only in Florida, where it
+is sometimes common enough to require remedial treatment. The affected
+portions of the foliage are more or less distorted and covered with an
+ashy white fuzz. The general vigor and fruitfulness of the plants are
+greatly reduced. The name applied to this trouble denotes its cause, an
+extremely small mite (_Phytoptus calacladophora_ Nal.), which by its
+presence on the leaves or stems so irritates them as to result in the
+abundant development of modified plant hairs, which shelter the mites
+and form the fuzzy covering characteristic of the disease. A remedy for
+phytoptosis is available in the sulphur compounds. The following one is
+particularly recommended by Prof. P. H. Rolfs, to whom our knowledge of
+the disease is due:
+
+_Preparation of sulphur spray._--Place 30 pounds of flowers of sulphur
+in a wooden tub large enough to hold 25 gallons. Wet the sulphur with 3
+gallons of water, stir it to form a paste. Then add 20 pounds of 98 per
+cent. caustic soda (28 pounds should be used if the caustic soda is 70
+per cent.) and mix it with the sulphur paste. In a few minutes it
+becomes very hot, turns brown, and becomes a liquid. Stir thoroughly and
+add enough water to make 20 gallons. Pour off from the sediment and keep
+the liquid as a stock solution in a tight barrel or keg. Of this
+solution use 4 quarts to 50 gallons of water. Apply with a spray pump
+whenever the disease appears, and repeat if required by its later
+reappearance. The use of dry sulphur is also recommended.
+
+
+DISEASES OF THE FRUIT
+
+[Illustration: FIG. 43--POINT-ROT DISEASE OF THE TOMATO (Redrawn from
+N. Y. Expr. Sta. No. 125)]
+
+=Point-rot.=--This trouble, called also "blossom-end rot," and
+"black-rot," occurs on the green fruit at various stages of development,
+as shown in Fig. 43. It begins at the blossom end as a sunken brown
+spot, which gradually enlarges until the fruit is rendered worthless.
+The decayed spot is often covered in its later stages by a dense black
+fungous growth (_Alternaria fasciculata_ (C. & E.) J. & G. syn.
+_Macrosporium tomato_ Cke.), formerly thought to be the cause of the
+rot, but now known to be merely a saprophyte. Point-rot sometimes occurs
+in greenhouses, but is more common in field culture. It is one of the
+most destructive diseases of the tomato, but its nature is not fully
+worked out, and a uniformly successful treatment is unknown. It has been
+thought to be due to bacterial invasion, but complete demonstrations of
+that fact have not yet been published. The physiological conditions of
+the plant appear to be important. The disease is worst in dry weather
+and light soils, where the moisture supply is insufficient, and
+irrigation is beneficial in such cases. Spraying does not control
+point-rot so far as present evidence goes.
+
+=Anthracnose--ripe-rot=--(_Colletotrichum phomoides_ (Sacc.) Chest.), is
+distinguished from the point-rot by the fact that it occurs mainly on
+ripe or nearly ripe fruits, producing a soft and rapid decay. Widespread
+losses from this cause are not common, but when a field becomes infected
+a considerable proportion of the crop within a limited area may be
+destroyed if humid or rainy weather prevails. Preventive measures only
+can be employed. These should consist in collecting and destroying
+diseased fruit and in staking and trimming the vines to admit light and
+air to dry out the foliage. Bordeaux mixture applied after the
+development of the disease would be of doubtful efficiency and would be
+objectionable on account of the sediment left on the ripe fruit.
+
+
+DISEASES OF THE ROOT OR STEM
+
+=Damping off.=--Young plants in seed-beds often perish suddenly from a
+rot of the stem at the surface of the ground. This occurs as a rule in
+dull, cloudy weather among plants kept at too high a temperature,
+crowded too closely in the beds or not sufficiently ventilated. Several
+kinds of fungi are capable of causing damping off, under such
+conditions.
+
+_Preventive measures_ are of the first importance. Since old soil is
+often full of fungous spores left by previous crops, it is the wisest
+plan to use sterilized soil for the seed-bed. When the young plants are
+growing, constant watchfulness is required to avoid conditions that will
+weaken the seedlings and favor the damping off fungi.
+
+_Watering and ventilation_ are the two points that require especial
+skill. Watering should be done at midday, to allow the beds to drain
+before night, and only enough water for the thorough moistening of the
+soil should be applied. Ventilation should be given every warm day as
+the temperature and sunshine will permit, but the plants must be
+protected from rain and cold winds. Work the surface of the soil to
+permit aeration and do not crowd the plants too closely in the beds. If
+damping off develops something can be done to check it by scattering a
+layer of dry, warm sand over the surface, and by spraying the bed
+thoroughly with weak Bordeaux or by applying dry sulphur and air-slaked
+lime.
+
+=Bacterial wilt= (_Bacterium solanacearum_ Erw. Sm.).--This disease,
+which also attacks potatoes and eggplants and some related weeds, is one
+of the most serious enemies of the tomato. It is known to occur from
+Connecticut southward to Florida and westward to Colorado, but is most
+prevalent in the Gulf States, where it has greatly discouraged many
+growers.
+
+_Its most prominent symptoms_ are the wilting of the foliage and a
+browning of the wood inside the recently wilted stems. An affected plant
+wilts first at the top, or a single branch wilts, but later the entire
+plant yellows, wilts and dies. Young plants wilt more suddenly and dry
+up. The disease progresses more rapidly in plants that have made a
+succulent, luxurious growth, while those with hard, woody stems resist
+it somewhat.
+
+_The disease is due_ to the invasion of bacteria, which enter the leaves
+through the aid of leaf-eating insects, or through the roots. They plug
+the water-carrying vessels of the stem, shutting off the water and food
+supply of the plant. If the stem of a plant freshly wilted from this
+disease be severed, the bacteria will ooze out in dirty white drops on
+the cut surface.
+
+=Remedial measures= entirely satisfactory for the control of bacterial
+wilt have not yet been worked out. The best methods to adopt at present
+are the following:
+
+(1) _Rotation of crops._--The field evidence is that this disease is in
+many cases localized in old gardens or in definite spots in the field.
+It appears also that the infection left by a diseased crop can remain in
+the soil for some time. It is therefore advised that tomato growers
+should always practice a rotation of crops, whether any disease has
+appeared or not, and that in case bacterial wilt develops they should
+not plant that land in tomatoes, potatoes, or eggplants for three or
+four years. The length of rotation necessary to free the soil is not
+known, but will have to be worked out by the individual grower.
+
+(2) _Destruction of diseased plants._--The bacteria causing wilt not
+only spread through the soil but are carried by insects from freshly
+wilted to healthy plants. Diseased plants thus become dangerous sources
+of infection, and it is evident that all such should be pulled out and
+burned. This is particularly important at the beginning of the trouble
+when the eradication of a few wilting plants may save the remainder.
+
+(3) _Control of insects._--To lessen the danger from spread of wilt by
+insects, the measures advised in the next chapter for the control of
+leaf-eating insects should be adopted. In this connection it should be
+mentioned that the use of Bordeaux mixture for leaf blights, as
+previously recommended, has an additional value in that the coating on
+the leaves is distasteful to insects and helps to keep them away.
+
+(4) _Seed selection._--Work done at the Florida experiment station
+indicates that resistant varieties may be secured, but there are as yet
+none in commercial use. This is an important line for experimenters to
+follow up. There is no proof that the disease is spread through seed
+from diseased plants.
+
+=Fusarium wilt.=--This disease and the one following resemble the
+bacterial wilt so closely, as far as external characters go, that they
+are difficult to tell apart. The parasites, however, differ so
+materially in their nature and life history that the field treatment is
+quite different. There are also differences in geographical distribution
+that are important, for while the Fusarium wilt occurs occasionally
+throughout the southern states, it is known to be of general commercial
+importance only in southern Florida and southern California.
+
+_The symptoms of the disease_ are a gradual wilting and dying of the
+plants, usually in the later stages of their development. Young plants
+die, however, when the soil infection is severe. There is a browning of
+the woody portions of the stem, and when a section of this is examined
+under a compound microscope the vessels are found to be filled with
+fungous threads, which shut off the water supply.
+
+_The infection_ in the Fusarium wilt appears to come entirely from the
+soil. Little is known of its manner of spread, except that the
+cultivation of a tomato crop in certain districts appears to leave the
+soil infected so that a crop planted the next year will be injured or
+destroyed. The fungus does not remain in the soil for a very long time
+in sufficient abundance to cause serious harm. A rotation of crops that
+will bring tomatoes on the land once in three years has been found in
+Florida to prevent loss from Fusarium wilt.
+
+_This fungus does not attack any other crop_ than tomatoes, so far as
+known, though it is very closely related to species of Fusarium
+producing similar diseases in cotton, melon, cowpea, flax, etc. Fusarium
+wilt has not been found in fields and gardens in the northern states,
+but tomatoes in greenhouses there are sometimes attacked by it or a
+related Fusarium, which also occurs in England. When greenhouse beds are
+infected the soil for the next crop should be thoroughly sterilized by
+steam under pressure.
+
+=Sclerotium wilt.=--This disease resembles the two preceding in its
+effect on the plant, which wilts at the tip first, and gradually dies.
+Its geographical range is more restricted. It seems to be confined to
+northern Florida and the southern part of Georgia and Alabama, where it
+occurs in gardens and old cultivated fields. The fungus causing this
+wilt attacks the root and the stem near the ground, working in from the
+outside. There is not the browning of the wood vessels characteristic of
+the two preceding diseases. If an affected stem is put in a moist
+chamber made from a covered or inverted dish, there will develop an
+exceedingly vigorous growth of snow-white fungous mycelium which, after
+a few days, bears numerous round shot-like bodies, at first
+light-colored, then becoming smaller and dark-brown. These are the
+sclerotia or resting bodies of the fungus. This fungus, called
+_Sclerotium_ sp., or "Rolf's Sclerotium," is noteworthy because it
+attacks potatoes, squash, cowpea, and a long list of other garden
+vegetables and ornamental plants. The only satisfactory means of control
+is rotation of crops, using corn, small grain, and the Iron cowpea, a
+variety immune to this and other diseases. Susceptible crops should be
+kept from infected fields for two or three years.
+
+=Root-knot= (_Heterodera radicicola_ (Greef) Muel.) attacks tomatoes in
+greenhouses and is in some cases an important factor in southern field
+culture. It is caused by a parasitic eelworm or nematode, of minute
+size, which penetrates the roots and induces the formation of numerous
+irregular swellings or galls, in which are bred great numbers of young
+worms. The effect on the plant is to check growth and diminish
+fruitfulness, in advanced cases even resulting in death.
+
+_The remedy in greenhouse culture_ is thorough soil sterilization. In
+the open field this is impracticable and recourse must be had to a
+rotation with immune crops, which will starve out the root-knot. It must
+now be borne in mind that the root-knot worm can attack cotton, cowpea,
+okra, melons and a very large number of other plants. The only common
+crops safe to use in such a rotation in the South are corn, oats,
+velvet beans, beggar weed, peanuts, and the Iron cowpea. The use of
+other varieties of cowpea than the Iron is particularly to be avoided,
+on account of the danger of stocking the land with root-knot.
+Fortunately, the disease is serious only in sandy or light soils.
+
+=Rosette= (_Corticium vagum_ (B. & C.) var. _solani_ Burt.) is a disease
+of minor importance, which occurs in Ohio, Michigan, and scatteringly in
+other states. The fungus causing it (_Rhizoctonia_) attacks the roots
+and base of the stem, forming dark cankers. The effect on the plant is
+to dwarf and curl the leaves and to restrict productiveness. The potato
+suffers more severely from the same trouble. Rotation of crops and
+liberal application of lime to the soil are advised for the control of
+rosette in tomatoes.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+                                PAGE
+
+  Adaptations of varieties,      97
+    as to habit,      97
+    as to foliage,      100
+    as to fruit,      102
+
+
+  Botany,      1
+
+
+  Canning, cost of,      118
+    on the farm,      118
+    Essentials for successful,      119
+
+  Catalog descriptions incomplete,      110
+
+  Characteristics of blossom,      25
+
+  Characteristics of fruit,      26
+    Development from original form,      26
+    Effect of conditions on,      26
+    Quality,      26
+
+  Characteristics of plant,      20
+    Checking of growth, effect upon,      20
+    Natural environment,      20
+    Uniform growth, importance of,      21
+
+  Characteristics of root,      23
+
+  Characteristics of stem and leaves,   24
+
+  Classification,      4
+    Cherry,      5
+    Cultivated varieties,      10
+    Currant,      4
+    Pear,      7
+
+  Cold-frames, construction,      53
+
+  Commercial importance of crop,      18
+
+  Cost of crop, per acre,      121
+    as grown for canners,      117
+
+  Covers for plant beds,      55
+
+  Cultivation,      76
+
+  Care and thoroughness necessary,      76
+    in greenhouse,      77
+    in home garden,      77
+
+
+  Diseases,      131
+    Bacterial wilt,      142
+    Blight, early,      135
+    Blight, leaf,      134
+    Blight, Western,      134
+    Cracking of fruit,      132
+    Damping off,      141
+    Edema,      133
+    Fusarium wilt,      144
+    Leaf curl,      132
+    Leaf mold,      135
+    Leaf spot,      134
+    Mildew, downy,      135
+    Mosaic disease,      133
+    Phytoptosis,      138
+    Point rot,      139
+    Root knot,      146
+    Sclerotium wilt,      145
+    Yellows,      134
+
+  Diseases, remedies for,      131
+    Bordeaux mixture, preparation of,      136
+    Preventatives of,      143
+    Spraying apparatus,      137
+    Spraying, importance of,      136
+    Sulphur spraying,      139
+
+  Distances for setting plants,      68
+    in field,      68
+    in greenhouse,      70
+    in home garden,      69
+
+  Drainage, importance of,      31
+
+
+  Essentials for best development,      28
+    Cultivation,      32, 76
+    Effect of shade,      28
+    Food supply,      31, 43
+    Heat,      30
+    Moisture,      30
+    Sunlight,      28
+
+  Exposure,      38
+    for early crop,      39
+    for greenhouse,      40
+    for home garden,      40
+
+
+  Fertilizers,      43
+    Amounts,      43
+    Character,      44
+    Experiments with,      45
+    for general application,      44
+    for greenhouse,      45
+    for home garden,      45
+
+  Flats, construction,      57
+
+
+  Gathering fruit,      91
+
+
+  Habit,      22
+
+  Handling fruit,      92
+
+  History,      14
+
+  Hotbeds, construction,      51
+
+  Hotbeds, growing fruit in,      70
+
+  House, construction,      49
+
+
+  Insects injurious to tomatoes,      123
+    Blister beetle,      125
+    Colorado potato beetle,      125
+    Cut worm,      123
+    Flea-beetle,      124
+    Stalk-borer,      127
+    Tomato fruit worm,      128
+    Tomato worm,      126
+    White fly,      130
+
+
+  Location of field as determining profit,      38
+
+
+  Manure
+    Fall dressing,      41
+    for cold-frames,      55
+    for greenhouse soil,      37
+    for hotbeds,      51
+    in preparing ground,      46
+
+
+  Origin,      10
+
+  Origin of name,      14
+
+
+  Packing,      94
+
+  Pollinating,      77
+
+  Pollination,      25
+
+  Prices obtained
+    at canneries,      118
+    for hothouse fruit,      122
+    for select field grown fruit,      122
+
+  Profits on crop,      122
+
+  Propagation of plants,      48
+    from cuttings,      49
+    from seed,      48, 49
+    in cold-frames,      53
+    in hotbeds,      51
+    in temporary greenhouses,      49
+
+  Pruning,      80
+
+
+  Ripening on the vines,      90
+
+  Ripening after frost,      95
+
+
+  Sash, cost,      49
+    for hotbeds,      52
+    for cold-frames,      53
+
+  Seed breeding,      112
+    Essentials to success,      113
+    Growing and saving commercial seed,      115
+      Methods followed,      115
+      Prices received,      116
+      Yields obtained,      116
+    Importance of breeding from individual plants,      114
+    Importance of exact ideals,      113
+    Methods recommended,      113
+    Principles underlying,      112
+
+  Setting plants,      70
+    Conditions favorable and unfavorable,      70, 71
+    in field,      70
+    in greenhouse,      74
+    in home garden,      74
+    New Jersey method,      71
+    Other methods,      73
+
+  Soil
+    Composition, importance of,      24
+    Conditions essential,      41
+    Preparation,      41, 46
+      for greenhouse,      47
+      for home garden,      47
+
+  Soil Preparation,
+      for main crop,      46
+      Importance of,      46
+    Selection,      33
+      for early crop,      36
+      for greenhouse,      37
+      for home garden,      36
+      for main crop,      34
+      Previous crop,      41
+
+  Sorting,      92
+
+  Staking,      79
+
+  Starting plants,      59
+    Effect of shade,      29
+    for early fruit,      63
+    for forcing,      67
+    for home garden,      67
+    for late crop,      65
+    in flats,      59
+    in greenhouse,      59
+    Pricking out,      60
+    Right conditions,      62
+    Spotting boards,      61
+    Unfavorable conditions,      63
+    Watering,      60
+    With least labor,      66
+
+  Succession, practice in the South,      42
+
+
+  Training,      79
+    for greenhouse,      88
+    for home garden,      85
+
+  Types,      14
+
+
+  Value, development of,      16
+
+  Variations,
+    in foliage,      100
+    in fruit,      102
+      Coloring,      106
+      Flesh,      105
+      Ripening,      106
+      Shape,      102
+    in habit,      97
+
+  Varietal differences,
+    as to foliage,      100
+    as to fruit,      102
+    as to growth,      97
+
+  Variety names,      108
+    Sources,      109
+    Varying application,      110
+
+
+  Watering, danger in,      30, 60
+
+
+  Yielding capacity,      22
+
+  Yield per acre,      117, 121
+
+  Yield per foot of greenhouse bench,      122
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes
+
+
+The following typographical errors have been corrected:
+
+  Page 61: "... necessary. When plants are set in ..." (had 'plans').
+  Page 107: "... these respects we have varieties ..." (had 'resepcts').
+  Page 117: "... the question, "What is the best ..." (had 'queston').
+  Page 148: "Mildew, downy,      135" (had 'downey').
+  Page 149: "Pollinating,      77" (had 'Pollenating').
+  Page 149: "Pollination,      25" (had 'Pollenation').
+
+The archaic spelling of "hight" is as used throughout the original.
+
+'_' is used to denote italics, and '=' is used to denote bold typeface.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Tomato Culture: A Practical Treatise
+on the Tomato, by William Warner Tracy
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