274 



STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Table X. — Early and late seed sowing. Detail record. 



July 27.. 

 Aug. 8.. 

 Aug. 22. 

 Aug. 29. 

 Sept. 2.. 

 Sept. 8.. 

 Sept. 14. 

 Sept. 21. 

 Sept. 28. 



Date. 



1. Sown 

 Jan. 19. 



Whole 

 no. frts 

 picked. 



5 

 11 



26 

 37 

 46 



38 



77 



Weight 

 of 

 pick- 

 ing. 



2 lbs. 



1 

 4 

 12 

 19 

 20 

 14 

 28 



2. Sown 

 Feb. 12. 



Whole 

 no. frts 

 picked. 



Weight 



of 

 pick- 

 ing. 



I 



3 

 7 



12 

 12 

 37 

 37 

 32 

 36 

 72 



lib. 



2 



3 



4 



17 



16 



14 



14 



26 



3. Sownt 

 Feb. 24. 



Whole 

 no. frts 

 picked. 



9 

 9 

 25 

 61 

 51 

 41 

 18 

 37 



Weight 



of 

 pick- 

 ing- 



3 



3 

 10 

 26 

 23 

 17 



6 

 19 



4. Sown 

 March 14. 



Whole 

 no. frts 

 picked. 



4 

 5 



8 

 81 



49 



62 



26 



100 



Weight 



of 

 pick- 

 ing. 



1 

 2 

 2 

 13 

 25 

 32 

 11 

 32 



The figures show that the earliest fruits were got from the earliest sow- 

 ings, but at the end of August the third sowing (February 24) had 

 exceeded the earlier ones in yield. It was not until the middle and late 

 September pickings that the fourth lot began to gain over the others, and 

 by the last of the month it had surpassed them all in yield. Our experi- 

 ments of four years ago show that it is profitable to start tomato seeds in 

 this climate as early as the middle of March; our experiments this year 

 show that it is not profitable to start them earlier than the middle or first 

 of March. But inasmuch as earlier fruits can be got by earlier sowings, 

 it may be worth while to start a small part of the crop in the middle or 

 first of February if an early market is to be supplied; but the cost of this 

 extra care and handling must be reckoned. The main crop, it appears, 

 should be started in March, 



But it must be said that much depends upon the manner in which the 

 plants are handled. Early plants must be transplanted to keep them 

 growing, and they must have congenial surroundings. We tried to deter- 

 mine the effect of ill treatment. A lot of vigorous seedlings, in pots, were 

 placed in a cold and leaky house. The pots were packed in moss and set 

 upon a cold, damp earth floor. Several times the mercury fell nearly to 

 the freezing point. The plants became yellow and weak, and were finally 

 unable to support themselves readily. In this condition the plants were 

 taken into the tomato house and given the most careful nursing. They 

 never outgrew the disaster. Yet plants little better than these are often 

 set in the field to shift for themselves. 



6. Few and Several Transplanting s. — The vigor and stockiness of 

 plants, as we have said in the last paragraph, are important features, and 

 these are greatly influenced by the frequency of transplanting. Two 

 dozen uniform Ignotum plants were selected from a sowing made in flats 

 March 14. One dozen were transplanted once. May 18, into 4-inch pots; 

 the others were transplanted three times, April 14, May 9, and 17, into a 

 flat, 3-inch and 4-inch pots respectively. All were again transj)lanted into 

 the field June 1. 



There was very little ditt'erence in the yields of the two lots, but the 

 three transplantings gave the earlier fruits, and in this respect the results 

 agree with those obtained last year. In 1891, in a comparison of one, two, 

 and three transplantings, all lots being duplicated, the two transplantings 

 gave decidedly the heaviest yields. 



