'512 EXPEKIMENTAL FARMS 



5 GEORGE v., A. 1915 

 TOMATOES. 



This being a^crop upon which every market gardener relies for a considerable 

 portion of his revenue, it has been one of the main experimental crops. It is hard 

 enough for the grower to know the merits of all the standard varieties without having 

 to include numerous novelties introduced by the seed dealers, under various names. 

 About seventy named varieties have been under test during the last season, a few of 

 which were obtained from as many as eight different sources. Twelve strains of the 

 Earliana tomato, including the famous Langdon's Adirondack and our own selection, 

 the Alacrity, as well as the better known Sparks' Earliana, etc., were tested. 



The experimental varieties were sown on the 10th of April, in the hotbeds, trans- 

 planted into strawberry boxes on the 28th. put into cold frames and transferred from 

 there to the held on the 30th of May. The plants were then in the best of condition, 

 stocky, the foliage just reaching to the sash of the frame. The distance of planting 

 in the field was 4 feet apart each way. The ground was cultivated and hoed till the 

 ■growth of the plants made this impossible. 



As to the table No. 3, of the best, early, medium early, and late varieties here 

 2)ublished, the following facts must be borne in mind: — 



1. The results are from one season only. 



2. Only five plants of each variety were planted. 



3. The plants had a check from the cold nights early in June, when they had just 

 been planted. 



Finally, all the plants were killed by frost on thg 15th of September, for these 

 reasons, the yield of ripe fruit, even from live plants is small, and some varieties which 

 have proven to be early before, may appear late, when judging by the column giving 

 the first date of picking, although the other figures will support their actual value. 



As in other years, an experiment was also carried on with staking tomatoes vs. 

 ^instaked, in the field, but the results are reserved for another time. In general, it 

 Txiay safely be stated that staked and'pruned vines have given larger and more uniform 

 fruit, ripening somewhat earlier, depending much on the location. The loss in 

 -quantity by pruning is counterbalanced by the size, weight, and quality of fruit. 



Ott.\w.\. 



