Tomato Notes for 1892. 299 



doubt the origin of the wide spread opinion that the tomato crop 

 is injured by hea\y manuring. Nitrate of soda applied at once 

 early in the seaison gave a much heavier yield than the same 

 amount applied at intervals. (Page 261.) 



2. A'alue of nitrate of soda. — Upon fairly good soil, which con- 

 tains some vegetable matter, nitrate of soda gives good results as 

 a tomato fertilizer. We have formerly found that upon very poor 

 soils it gives little or no benefit. It must be remembered, how- 

 ever, that nitrate of soda is an incomplete fertilizer and that it 

 should not be relied upon for a pennanent treatment of land. It 

 is simply a soiu-ce of nitrogen. (Pages 267, 270.) 



3. Relation of variety to fertilizing. — In 1891 our test seemed 

 to indicate that the highly improved varieties give the greatest 

 response to fertilizing in the number of fruits produced, although, 

 the little improved sorts gave greater proportionate! increase in 

 total weight of crop. In 1892 these results were not verified, save 

 that the little improved sorts gave least increase in number of 

 fruits. But in the expei'iments of 1892 the test was made upon 

 good soil, in which the resuls of fertilizing were obscured. Page 

 270.) 



4. Comparative values of early and late settings. — Experi- 

 ments this year confirm those of 1890 and 1891 in showing that 

 very early planting in the field is advisable. Even those plants 

 which were slightly injm*ed by frost nearly equalled in productive 

 ness those set at the general planting June fii*st. The late plant- 

 ing gave better results at the first pickings, however. Our earli- 

 est satisif actory setting this year was made May ninth. (Page 273.) 



5. Early and late seed sowing. — Tomato seeds were sown from 

 January nineteenth to March fourteenth. The earliest sowings 

 gave the earliest fruits, but the largest yield came from the latest 

 sowing, March fourteenth, the difference in favor of this la.te sow- 

 ing being very marked. In 1889 our tests showed that seeds sown 

 in April and May gave pooi'er results than those started in March. 

 It seems to be true, therefore, that the best time to sow tomato 

 seeds in this latitude for the main crop, if one has a forcing-house 

 or a good hot-bed, is about the middle of Mai'clL (Page 277.) 



