CULTUEE OF THE TOMATO. 



the ]>or confage profits small. Yet we see pereons -who oni;ht to know better, still 

 drawinjT along in the old way; and when things go wroi>g, blaming everything but 

 their own want of observation and foresight. All kitchen vegetables, without excep- 

 tion, are of the best quality when well grown, and nothing deteriorates this quality 

 more than starving the young plants in the seed bed. Do not be in too great hurry 

 to begin, but when started, take care that there is no check until ready for use, is 

 abvice that all vegetable growers ought continually to act up to. AVhere a large 

 stock is required, this advice will seem to the "laggard" somewhat out of place; 

 but is it not much more profitable to obtain double produce by one-fourth more labor 

 and a little foresight, than to be grumbling about short crops and cheap prices? In the 

 present instance, the seed may be sown about the middle of February, on the surface 

 of a gentle hot-bed, upon which is three or four inches of good friable mold, and 

 covered over with a box frame; or in boxes in a hot-house, where a temperature of 50° 

 to 65° by night is obtained. When the plants are two or three inches high, trans- 

 plant, either into another or the same bed, or into boxes about six inches apart. "Where 

 the required supply is not large, they may be put singly into pint pots; and after 

 planting, give a light watering, to settle the soil around the roots. Admit all the light 

 possible, and in mild days, let in a good supply of fresh air, but avoid cold winds and 

 frost; the object being to keep a moderate temperature, without checking the progress 

 of growth, and yet not so Avarm as to draw plants up weak. As the weather milds 

 off the glasses may, in fine days, be entirely removed. Pots or boxes are only neces- 

 sary when the hot-house is used; and in the foni>er case, when they become filled with 

 roots, the plants ought to be moved into those of a larger size, — say two quarts. By 

 the first week in April, both may be removed into a cold frame, and kept close for a 

 day or two; after which air should be freely admitted during warm days, and gradually 

 increased, until the glasses are entirely pushed down, but be careful to cover at night 

 when frost is apprehended. 



It is often amusing, and sometimes even anoying, at the beginning of summer, to 

 see our neighbouring cottagers scouring over the country in search of Tomato plants. 

 Almost everybody who has a patch of ground wants them, and in many cases they are 

 not to be had "for love or money;" yet they have the means at command to raise for 

 themselves ; every house has its window, and the only space required, is enough room 

 for a box two feet long by six inches wide and four inches deep, and anybody of ordi- 

 nary ingenuity can fix a little glass frame over this, to counteract the dry atmosphere 

 of a dwelling room ; such a simple contrivance will accommodate as many plants as 

 will be required, and be less expense, than the loss of time and shoe leather, that is 

 expended in troubUng other persons, who too often have only time and convenience for 

 their own stock. 



Almost any kind of soil will answer for the Tomato; but it prospere the best, and 

 produces fruit of a finer quality, in a well-drained, tolerably fertile, but not over rich 

 loose mold. So soon as all danger of frost is past, begin to plant out; loosen up 

 tlie soil well, dig holes four feet apart, six inches deep, and as many across ; lift each 

 plant with a ball of earth, do not keep the roots exposed longer than is necessaiy, and 

 in fixing the plants in the holes, let them be placed about the same depth as they were 

 iously ; cover up, and press the soil somewhat around the neclc, and lift a little extra 



