isJ^o The Cornell Reading-Courses 



man-power cultivator is found useful. If it is not possible to cultivate 

 close to the ]3lant with a machine, the plants shotild be hoed by hand. 



If the tomato plants are to be staked, a six-foot stake should be set 

 securely on the north side of each plant. As the plant grows, it should 

 •be tied to this stake, at first three or four inches from the ground and then 

 every foot above this mark. If the plant is to be pruned, as well as staked, 

 all side shoots should be removed as they develop. The side shoots 

 spring from the axils of the leaves, which are formed by the joining of the 

 leaves to the stems of the plant. Early, clean, bright-colored fruit that 

 can be easily harvested is the result of staking. 



Insect pests and methods of control. — Cutworms frequently destroy 

 tomato plants by cutting them off near the ground. If a small portion 

 of poison bait made by the following recipe is placed near the plants, this 

 pest may be controlled: bran, two quarts; paris green, one tablespoonf ul ; 

 molasses, one-half cupful; water, enough to wet the mixture thoroughly. 



Flea beetles often injure newly set tomato plants to a considerable 

 extent. Spraying with bordeaux mixture is the best method of control 

 known for this insect. 



The large green tomato-woiTn is sometimes a serious pest. The best 

 way of controlling it is to pick the worms from the vines and kill them. 



Diseases arid their remedies. — The tomato is susceptible to a great 

 many diseases. A rot that affects the blossom end of the fruit sometimes 

 causes great loss because no complete remedy for it is known. Con- 

 servation of moisture in the soil is a partial remedy. This disease is es- 

 pecially prevalent during dry seasons and on dry sites. 



Septoria, leaf spot, is a disease that often attacks tomato plants before 

 they have been transplanted from the seed bed, and it is controlled with 

 difficulty because it is canicd over winter in the diseased leaves and stems 

 that fall to the ground. When the plants are set out^ all the leaves that 

 touch the ground and others that show suspicious-looking dead spots 

 should be pinched off. The plants, especially the underside of the leaves, 

 should be sprayed then and afterwards at intervals of a week or ten days 

 very thoroughly with bordeaux mixture 5-5-50. The plants should be 

 staked and tied for greater convenience in spraying. 



Harvesting. — For canning, tomatoes should be picked when fully ripe 

 and showing good color. They should not be pulled from the vines, but 

 the stems should be broken at the joint that nature has provided at a 

 little distance below the cal3rx. Before placing the fruit in the basket, 

 it is well to remove the calyx and stem by bending the stem sHghtly. It 

 is necessary to handle the fruit very carefully; hence a rigid basket is 

 the best to use for this work because it does not bend, and therefore crowd 

 the tomatoes. They should be removed from the field quickly and used 



