i8<?8. 



GARDENING. 



139 



fancy figures are a thing of the past, 

 though the price is still run up as high as 

 75 cents per pound occasionally. As out- 

 door tomatoes can be had in this country 

 from July to October, the cultivation of 

 this vegetable underglass is quite unneces- 

 sary in summer unless specially fine fruits 

 are desired. But I know of one or two 

 farmers who regularlv have large houses 

 in full bearing when outdoor fruit is pro- 

 curable in abundance Fruit raised under 

 cover is seldom so much cracked, decayed 

 or blemished as that grown in the open, 

 and it always colors much better, fetch- 

 ing a hig er price. 



For some years past I have made a 

 special study of tomato forcing, testing 

 all the best American and English sorts 

 sent out. I have no house set apart for 

 their culture. Where glass structures are 

 numerous, it is well to devote a section 

 to them, but this is not particularly 

 requisite. The plants here are grown in 

 a rose house temperature, fruiting them 

 in 10-inch and 12-inch pots. By making 

 successive sowings it has been found pos- 

 sible to pick sufficient tomatoes to supply 

 an ordinary family every week in the 

 year, and this for several years past. A 

 minimum night temperature of 55° is 

 maintained in winter, with a rise of ten 

 or fifteen degrees during the day. It a 

 special house can be given them, however, 

 a night temperature ranging from 60° to 

 65° degrees will show the best results. 



The first sowing of seeds is made about 

 the middle of July, the plants being 

 p icked off and potted as condition 

 demands, and grown outdoors until the 

 beginning of September. Some growers 

 train their plants to a single stem, but I 

 prefer three, running up a lateral from 

 each side of the main shoot. The lea ves 

 are not so large on the three-stem plants, 

 and comparing these with the plants 

 grown to a single stem, I find it possible 

 to obtain nearly double the quantity of 

 fruit. All side' growths, except those 

 selected for fruiting, are pinched out as 

 soon as they appear, and during the 

 months of December, January and the 

 early part of February all the flowers are 

 artificially pollinated, choosing the mid- 

 dle of bright days for the operation and 

 employing for the purpose a camel's-hair 

 brush. Later in the season the plants are 

 given an occasional shake to scatter the 

 pollen, but this matter does not require 

 any attention after the middle of April. 

 The growing points are usually pinched 

 out of the main stems when they have 

 formed five or six clusters of fruit, the 

 side branches carrying from three to five 

 clusters each. The leaves, when they be- 

 come long and numerous, are trimmed 

 so as to allow light and sunshine free 

 play upon the fruits, removing the old 

 ones as they decay. Tomatoes prefer a 

 dry atmosphere, and should not be 

 syringed at any time. It is a mistake to 

 attempt their "culture in the same house 

 with cucumbers, as is sometimes done. 

 Occasionally a little mildew will appear 

 upon the plants, but this is easily 

 held in check by painting the heated pipes 

 with the usual mixture of sulphur and 

 lime; and the aphides, troublesome in late 

 spring and early summer, may be like- 

 wise banished by tobacco fumigation. I 

 prefer pots or boxes for the culture of 

 winter tomatoes, for in these the plants 

 are easier to control, handy to move 

 when it is necessary to do so and the 

 fruit sets much better than on plants in 

 beds or benches. Good results, however, 

 can be had from bench plants set out 

 after the middle of January, which will 

 bloom when the days are comparatively 

 long and bright. The plants grown after 



April may be stood in carnation or other 

 cool houses, where they then fruit very 

 well, prolonging the supply until the out- 

 door crop is ready. The first sowing of 

 seeds gives ripe fruit by November 1 and 

 additional sowings are made about the 

 first of October and the first of December. 

 The fruits of the October sowing will 

 commence to ripen from the middle to the 

 end of February, when the first crop is 

 almost spent. A pinch of seed is also 

 sown about February 15, some of the 

 plants being grown inside, the others 

 potted in 6-inch or 8-inch pots and 

 placed outdoors as soon as the weather 

 permits. By July 1, the latter afford ripe 

 fruit, which was already set when the 

 plants were moved. 



Tomatoes are high feeders and like a 

 rich compost, doing well in a mixture of 

 turfy loam and thoroughly dried cow 

 manure (or pulverized sheep manure) in 

 equal parts. A spaceof about twoinches 

 is always left at the top of the put for 

 light surface dressings of sheep manure or 

 other fertilizer, which are given once a 

 fortnight alter the pots are filled with 

 roots. Liquid manure is also applied 

 about thrice a week, and once in ten days 

 the plants are gone over and disbudded 

 and tied. 



Considerable difference of opinion exists 

 as to the best forcing varieties. Many 

 have it that Lorillard is without an equal. 

 For the second sowing this is certainly a 

 good sort, but for early winter fruiting, 

 it sets very moderately and is far inferior 

 to several others tested here. Nicholson's 

 Hybrid, raised by a tomato specialist in 

 this state, which averages fiom six to 

 eight fruits to the pound, of bright color 

 and fine shape, is hard to beat. For suc- 

 cessional sowings I have found Frogmore 

 selecled, an English sort, very fine, but 

 Eclipse, which has been grown here three 

 years, is in my opinion the best of all. 

 This variety is a good setter producing as 

 many as fifteen fruits to the bunch occa- 

 sionally, and last season the yield ran 

 from sixty to seventy-five fruits per plant, 

 grown in pots. Comet is a good dwarf 

 variety, and this, like Eclipse, is of Scot- 

 tish origin. May's Favorite is a splen- 

 did sort for second sowing, fruit large 

 and firm. Among other good kinds are 

 Livinsgtone's Beauty, Perfection and 

 Stone, but none of these latter can be 

 recommended for sowing earlier than 

 October, for they are not sufficiently free- 

 setting in mid winter to be profitable. I 

 have found English forcing varieties as a 

 rule superior to those of American origin. 

 The tomato in England is grown under 

 glass almost exclusively, and therefore 

 great efforts are made to produce varie- 

 ties specially adapted to these conditions. 

 It is worthy of note, though, that these 

 varieties give better results here than 

 across the water, thanks to our clearer 

 air and brighter skies. 



[We have found the American variety 

 Ignotum verv fine for forcing purposes. 

 —Ed ] W. N. Craig. 



Massachusetts. 



Publications. 



BOOKS AND BULLETINS. 



Bulletin oN. 36 of the Iowa Agri- 

 cultural College Experiment Sta- 

 tion. — Iowa Experiment Station, Ames, 

 Iowa, 1897. — Soil moisture is treated 

 herein statistically by Messrs. J. B. 

 Weems and J.J. Edgerton. "Some Botan- 

 ical Notes on Corn," by Messrs. L. H. 



Pammel and R. Combs, are interesting 

 and well illustrated; "Seed Testing" is 

 handled by Mr. C. E. Ball; Mr. R. Combs 

 contributes some particulars of the 

 "Alfalfa LeafSpot Disease;" and Prof. 

 T. L. Budd writes with his usual force 

 about hybrid roses, gooseberries and 

 strawberries. 



Third annual report of the Mon- 

 tana Agricultural Experiment Sta- 

 tion. — Montana Experiment Station, 

 Bozeman, Mont., 1897. — The report of 

 the horticulturist in this bulletin is valu- 

 able for its statistics of tree fruits, and it 

 also includes a serviceable paper on 

 strawberry culture, with instructive 

 notes on varieties. 



Sweet Pea Review. — By the Sunset 

 Seed and Plant Co. — Wm. Doxey, San 

 Francisco, Cal., 1898.— The third edition 

 of this entertaining and useful booklet 

 comes to us in a brand new dress and in 

 greatly enlarged form. It is certainly 

 attractive in appearance, and its con- 

 tents are just of that concise and exact 

 character which appeals to those who 

 do not care to lavish time and study on 

 prolix sentimentality. The lists and 

 descriptive notes are alike valuable, 

 the illustrations gems of the photogra- 

 pher's and engraver's arts. The pamph- 

 let, in short, is no more or less than its 

 title implies — a review of the sweet pea 

 up to date — and all growers of this flower 

 will find it helpful in making selections 

 for specific purposes. 



Bog and Water Plants. — By Willi. 

 Monkemeyer. Curator of the Leipzig 

 University Botanic Garden. — Gustav 

 Schmidt, Berlin, 1797.— We have in this 

 publication an excellent account of the 

 history, culture and uses of all the plants 

 considered available for the decoration of 

 the bog and water gardens The plants 

 are grouped under their natural orders, 

 and thoroughly indexed. The text, of 

 course, is in German, and each one of the 

 190 pages bears the stamp of careful and 

 conscientious work, such indeed as only 

 a skillful writer and competent gardtner 

 could turn out. The numerous illustra- 

 tions are admirable in every respect. 

 Such a book is certainly worthy of a sub- 

 stantial cloth or leather cover in place of 

 the stiff paper binding which holds its 

 parts together. 



CATALOGUES RECEIVED. 

 Iowa Seed Co.. Des Moines, Iowa, seeds, 

 bulbs, plants and tools. California Nur- 

 sery Co., Niles, Cal., fruit and ornamental 

 trees and shrubs. Cole's Seed Store, Pella, 

 Iowa, farm and garden seeds. The Geo. 

 H. Mellen Co., Springfield, Ohio, plants, 

 trees and shrubs. Southern California 

 Acclimatizing Association, Santa Bar- 

 bara, Cal., general catalogue and garden 

 guide, also handbook of foreign plants. 

 James Veitch & Sons, London, England, 

 flower and vegetable seeds. 



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