CORNELL UNIVERSITY EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 273 



ductiveness in the tomato is chiefly a question of early prolific bearing. 

 These remarks may also throw some discredit upon the common method 

 of determining comparative earliness of varieties by recording the date of 

 the first ripe fruit; profitable earliness is determined by the ability of the 

 variety to maintain heavy early pickings rather than by the date at which 

 the few first fruits ripen. 



This is the third year that we have made this test upon early and 

 late settings, and our results have been substantially alike throughout, — 

 that tomato plants are not injured by the cold, raw weather of late spring, 

 and that a slight frost may no,t greatly retard them. This conviction has 

 been an unwilling one on the part of the writer, for he entertained the 

 belief that the inclement weather of early May in the northern states is 

 very prejudicial to the tomato. In our tomato bulletin for 1889 this state- 

 ment was made: "It is a common mistake to set tomato plants in the 

 field too early. Cold nights, even though several degree's above frost, 

 check the plants sometimes seriously." This statement now seems to be 

 much too strong, and we are gradually adapting our general practice to our 

 new belief. In 1889, our tomatoes were set in field June 10 to 12; in 1890, 

 they were set June 12; in 1891, June 10; in 1891, June 1; and next year we 

 shall set our plants in May. 



5. Early and late seed sowing. — In 1889 we made some tests to determine 

 if it pays to start tomato plants under glass with artificial heat, rather than 

 to wait until they can be started unde r cold frames. Sowings were made 

 March 21 and 22, April 10, 12, and 15, and May 15. " In every instance 

 the early sown plants gave earlier fruits than the others." " The gain in 

 earliness sometimes amounts to three or even four weeks." We were 

 satisfied that in this climate it pays to start tomatoes as early as the middle 

 of March. Further south, where the seasons are longer, this may not be 

 true. The question now arises if it pays to start tomatoes earlier than 

 March, for this state. Four lots of Ignotums, twelve plants in each, were 

 grown for a test. The first lot was sown January ]9, and the plants were 

 transplanted February 1, March 3, and May 17. The second lot was sown 

 February 12 and transplanted March 4, April 4, and May 2. The third lot 

 was sown February 24 and transplanted March 22 and May 2. The fourth 

 lot was sown March 14, and transplanted April 14 and May 9. The plants 

 were all set in field June 1, and all were thrifty and- stocky plants. The 

 outcome to frost was as follows: 



Table IX. — Early and late seed sowing. 



Av. weight 



of individual 



fruits. 



6.5 

 6.5 

 7.0 



7.4 



The result, as read in the second column of figures, is decidedly in favor 

 of the latest sowing, the second best yield being in the second last sowing. 

 The earliest two sowings give practically the same results. The detailed 

 behavior of the plants during the bearing season is recorded below: 

 35 



