284 



STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Sometimes the orange is the 

 prevailing color and the red 

 takes the position of stripes. 

 The fruit is very striking and 

 its quality is also good. In 

 general productiveness and 

 merit it will probably rank 

 fully as good as General 

 Grant, which was popular a 

 few years ago. We first grew 

 this German Striped tomato 

 in 1887. Striped or various- 

 ly marked tomatoes occasion- 

 ally appear in plantations 

 but this is the only one which 

 we have ever known to be 

 permanent, or to " come true 

 to seed " for any length of 

 time. A striped tomato ap- 

 peared in an Ithaca garden 

 three or four years ago, but it ran out in one or two generations. 



The Currant-Ithaca hybrid which was described and figured last year 

 was grown again this year from seeds and cuttings from one of the original 

 plants. Among 36 plants, there were no reversions to either parent, 

 although about one third of them gave larger fruits than the others. All 

 the plants were very productive and vigorous, and the fruit is very 

 handsome. 



German Striped Tomato. 



SUMMARY. 



1. Quick and slow fertilizers. — This year's experiments confirm those 

 of last year in showing that tomatoes need a fertilizer which is quickly 

 available early in the season. Fertilizers applied late, or which gave up 

 their substance late, in the season, gave poor results because they delay 

 fruitfulness and the plant is overtaken by frost before it yields a satisfac- 

 tory crop. This fact is no doubt the origin of the widespread opinion that 

 the tomato cro^:) is injured by heavy manuring. Nitrate of soda applied at 

 once early in the season gave a much heavier yield than the same amount 

 applied at intervals. 



2. Value of 7iitrate of soda. — Upon fairly good soil, which contains 

 some vegetable matter, nitrate of soda gives good results as a tomato fer- 

 tilizer. We have formerly found that upon very poor soils it gives little 

 or no benefit. It must be remembered, however, that nitrate of soda is an 

 incomplete fertilizer and that it should not be relied upon for a permanent 

 treatment of land. It is simply a source of nitrogen. 



5. Eelaiion 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 actual 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 experiments of 1892 

 the test was made upon good soil, in which the results of fertilizing were 

 obscured. 



4. Comparative values of early and late settings. — Experiments this 



