CORNELL UNIVERSITY EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 285 



year confirm those of 1890 and 1891 in showing that very early planting 

 in the field is advisable. Even those plants which were slightly injured 

 by frost nearly equaled in productiveness those set at the general planting 

 June 1. The late planting gave better results at the first pickings, how- 

 ever. Our earliest satisfactory setting this year was made May 9. 



5. Early and late seed sowing. — Tomato seeds were sown from January 

 19 to March 14. The earliest sowings gave the earliest fruits, but the 

 largest yield came from the latest sowing, March 14, the difference in favor 

 of this late sowing being very marked. In 1889 our tests showed that 

 seeds sown in April and May gave poorer results than those started in 

 March. It seems to be true, therefore, that the best time to sow tomato 

 seeds in this latitude, for the main crop, if one has a forcing-house or a 

 good hot-bed, is about the middle of March. 



6. Few and several transplantings. — Earlier fruits were obtained from 

 plants which had been three times transplanted in the house than from 

 those transplanted only once. In 1891, greater yields were obtained from 

 two transplantings than from either one or three. Much, no doubt, 

 depends upon the vigor and age of the plants, but it is certainly safe to saj^ 

 that in all ordinary cases plants which are started in March should be 

 transplanted at least twice. 



7. Flat- grown vs. pot-grown plants. — Plants grown in pots, one lot 

 transplanted twice and one lot thrice, gave earlier and heavier yields than 

 plants similarly transplanted into "flats," or shallow gardener's boxes. 



8. Seedlings vs. cuttings. — This year, cuttings gave earlier and heavier 

 yields than seedling plants. In 1890, the cuttings gave the poorer yields, 

 while in 1891 the results were mixed. These variations in results no doubt 

 depend upon some condition of the plants or some factor in our handling 

 which we have not yet discovered. Cnttings of cuttings gave better yields 

 than one-generation cuttings, both last year and this. 



9. Products of early and late fruits. — Plants grown from seeds from 

 the first ripe fruit upon a given plant gave poorer yields and no earlier 

 fruits than other plants grown from a fruit from the same parent which 

 ripened three and a half months later. Similar results have been obtained 

 before by ourselves and others, and it is probably safe to say that no gain 

 is secured by selecting seeds from early or first ripe fruits without giving 

 any attention to the character or habit of the plant as a whole. 



10. Products of mature and immature fruits. — Plants grown from seeds 

 from a fully lipe fruit gave earlier and better yields than other plants 

 raised from a fully grown but unripe fruit from the same parent. 



11. Treatment of ^^ leggy'" plants. — "Leggy" or "'drawn" plants were 

 set at the ordinary depth and half the stem was laid and covered in a shal- 

 low trench. These gave much larger yields than normal or stocky plants 

 started and planted at the same time. Last year opposite results were 

 obtained; but at that time the plants were so badly drawn that they were 

 unable to stand alone. This year the leggy plants were about 20 inches 

 high, but while slender they were still stiff and vigorous when put in the 

 field. It is safe to conclude that if one has leggy plants he should layer 

 them when planting. 



12. Shearing young plants. — Plants which were sheared to make them 

 stocky, in the place of one transplanting, were later than others which 

 were transplanted at the date of this shearing. The yields were slightly 

 in favor of the sheared plants, but this may have been an incidental 

 variation. 



