254 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



These results agree with those obtained in other experiments. 



FERTILIZERS FOR TOMATOES. 



In a field of the Earliest, plats were laid off for a test of various chem- 

 ical fertilizers. The materials used were nitrate of soda, sulphate of pot- 

 ash, and dissolved bone-black. They were applied singly, and in various 

 mixtures, so that we had each of them alone, with each of the others, and 

 all three together. Alternate plats were left unfertilized, and that there 

 might be no mistake, the experiment was duplicated. 



The quantities of each used, whether together or separately, were 50 

 lbs. nitrate of soda, 100 lbs. sulphate of potash, and 200 lbs. dissolved 

 bone-black. 



The soil was a poor sandy loam which had been in grass for a number 

 of years. Last fall it received an application of about thirty loads of 

 stable manure per acre. 



After the first two weeks the plants in the fertilized plats were slightly 

 more vigorous than in those unfertilized. As the season advanced the dif- 

 ference became less marked, and at the time of ripening the plats could 

 hardly be distinguished. There was no perceptible difference in the time 

 of ripening or in the productiveness of the plats. In some cases the fer- 

 tilized plats seemed to have larger and more regular fruits. This was 

 particularly noticeable where the mixture contained the three combined. 



From this experiment it would seem that where the amount used is not 

 too great there need be no fear of loss in yield, and earliness from the use 

 of fertilizers. On the other hand, where stable manure can be easily and 

 cheaply obtained, the use of chemical fertilizers will not be profitable. 

 Where manure can not be thus obtained, and where the land is not rich, 

 the application of a mixture of 50 lbs. nitrate of soda, 100 lbs. sulphate 

 of potash, and 200 lbs. dissolved bone-black per acre will prove profitable. 

 If the land is very poor the amount can well be doubled. 



TRELLISES FOR TOMATOES. 



In order to determine what form of trellis, if any, was best, seven dif- 

 ferent kinds were put up for adjacent rows of the Ignotum. Two were 

 constructed of wire; one had two wires one above the other to which the 

 vines were tied. A second form consisted of four wires, two on each side 

 of a six-inch fence board, and about a foot apart. The vines were allowed 

 to grow up between these and hang over the top wires. The others were 

 of wood; one form consisting of stakes five feet high, one to each plant, 

 to which the main shoot of the vine was trained, the branches being 

 allowed to hang down. A second form was made of strips of board four 

 inches wide and six feet long. Two were used for each plant, the lower 

 ends set in the ground two feet apart, and with the upper ends six inches 

 apart, with three cleats on each side. A third kind was made by using 

 three stakes with two barrel hoops to support the vines. Another had 

 strips of wood instead of the hoops, and the last was much like the wire 

 trellises, except that fence boards were nailed to each side of the stakes, 

 instead of the wires. 



There was no great difference in the efficiency of the different trellises, 

 as all of them supported the vines. The four-wire trellis, however, was 

 easiest to construct and required least attention in training the vines, 



