BORTICULTUBE. 363 



HORTICULTURE. 



Report of the horticulturist, B. I >. Halbted 

 //// 340, pis. 4 i. An accounl of greenhouse experiments with tomatoes and cauli- 

 flower, observations on the weather during the year, and data for the yields of 

 asparagus, small fruits, and vegetables on the permanenl plats at the station. The 

 latter has been a prominent feature of previous reports I S. I.'.. [6, p. 163 The 

 winter of L903 I was especially severe and caused considerable injur) to -mall 

 fruits. The rainfall was unusually abundanl throughout the season. 



From work done at the station in the greenhouse with tomatoes for a number of 

 years, it is estimated thai the expense of caring for a house 100 bj 20 ft. isaboul 

 $300 a year. The average yield of marketable fruit per square fool for 6 years has 

 been 32.33 oz. and the average price 24.3 cts. per pound. The nel profil from a 

 house of this size is placed at $428.55 a year. 



(in the basis of the station work, the following method of growing the crop is 

 advocated: Soil for the benches should be made up of 3 parts turf) loam, 2 parts 

 manure, and I pari sand, and 2 s<p ft. allowed per plant. The best varieties foi 

 forcing are Lorillardand Best of All. These should be 7 or 8 weeks old when set 

 out am! trained to single stems. The best fertilizer for tomatoes is solid and liquid 

 cow manure, fresh and directly from the stables, applied to the surface at the rate of 

 244.64 oz. per LOO sq. ft., or where subwatering is practiced at the rate of 214.28 oz. 

 liquid manure per 100 sq. ft. To prevent root gall frozen sterile earth is used. 



For dropsy good ventilation and not too much water and heal on dull w inter days 

 is recommended. The Aleurodes are controlled by spraying with a mixture made 

 of 1 lb. whale-oil soap and 6 gal. of water added to 1 11). of tobacco stems in 2 gal. 

 of water. For rot, clean, well-vent dated houses, uniformly heated to 65° F. at uighl 



and 75 to 85° F. during the day. Before the houses are filled they are smoked for 

 2 days with sulphur to kill any spores from the crop of the previous year. The 

 benches are then filled with frozen earth and the plants set, after which they are 

 smoked with tobacco powder to kill whatever insects may be brought in with the 

 plants. Many of the details on which the above conclusions are based are recorded 

 in tabular form and otherwise. 

 The culture of cauliflower in the greenhouse has been less profitable than that of 



tomatoes. The average price for 3 years' sales has been at the rate of $1.44 pit- 

 dozen or L5.8 cts. per square foot of space, while with tomatoes the returns have been 

 48.6 cts. per sq. ft. With this crop, however, less expensive houses are required and 

 much less care and attention. The only crop of cauliflower which has been found 

 profitable is that which matures heads in April from plants set in the benches in 

 December. 



The temperature for this crop should range from 50° F. at night to 70° F. on bright 

 days. Plants give the best returns when allowed about 290 s<p iii. each of bench 



surface and allowed aboul 42 oz. of manure per 100 sq. ft. on solid beds made up of 

 16 in. of either sand or soil, and L'L' oz. when shallow beds 8 in. deep are employed. 



The crop is not Beriously troubled with diseases or insects. Phosphate of potash has 

 been found superior to muriate of potash and phosphoric acid for this crop. Manure 

 should be used to supplement commercial fertilizer- for cauliflower. 



On the permanent asparagus plats Palmetto still stands as the best average variety. 

 Unirrigated plats have given better yields than irrigated plats. Selected crowns have 

 not proved superior to ordinary crown.-. The largest total and early yields have 

 been obtained on the plat fertilized with barnyard manure at 'the rate of 20 tons 



per acre 



Cuthbert was the only variety of raspberry during the year which yielded fruit 

 The yields obtained with the different fertilizers are tabulated, but no conclusions 



drawn. Of the blackberries the Largest total and early yield was secured on the 



