i8o8. 



• * GARDENING. 



203 



raked in, or sown thinly in drills and 

 simply rolled. It is well then to provide 

 a screen of lath or brush to protect the 

 voting plants and prevent destruction of 

 the seed. If the plants are thinned some- 

 what in weeding, and are sheared back 

 as they begin to grow too large, trans- 

 planting may sometimes be dispensed 

 with, but the plants are better if handled 

 once as described above. 



If only a few hundred plants are to be 

 grown, they may be bought cheaperthan 

 they can be raised, but if a large number 

 are required the plants should be home- 

 grown. 



TOMATOES UNDER GLASS. 



In Gardening of March 1, A. T. Jordan 

 takes exception to my statement that 

 plants trained to three stems will produce 

 nearly double the quantity of fruit of 

 those trained to a single stem, and goes 

 on to argue that the latter system will 

 give more fruit, area for area, than my 

 method, quoting the New York Experi- 

 ment Station as having obtained four 

 ounces more fruit per square foot of bench 

 space from single stem plants than from 

 the three stem ones. 



I have made a special study of tomato 

 forcing for a number of 3'ears and have 

 given both systems very careful tests, the 

 conclusion being that the three stem sys- 

 tem will yield nearly or quite double the 

 quantity and weight of fruit produced by 

 the single stem plants. I usually allow 

 six bunches to the main stem and from 

 three to four bunches to each lateral, 

 occasionally more. In my article it was 

 not claimed that the three stem system 

 would give more fruit, area for area, but 

 if I were growing tomatoes for commer- 

 cial purposes, I would not grow any on 

 single stems. The foliage is so gross that 

 two plants grown on the single stem sys- 

 tem will require as much space as one 

 three stemmed specimen. I am by no 

 means disposed to accept the conclusions 

 of the New York Experiment Station or 

 any other station as "quite conclusive." 

 I would rather take the opinion of men 

 who have been in the tomato business 

 commercially for many years as a guide, 

 and the most successful growers in this 

 section, some of whom have been in the 

 business a quarter of a century, find 

 that the three stem system nets them 

 the most money. Last year I grew twenty 

 plants of Eclipse tomatoes in 10-inch 

 pots, three stems to a plant. These aver- 

 aged sixty-two fruits per plant, all excel- 

 lent samples. The bench they stood on 

 was twenty-seven feet long, which did 

 not allow eighteen inches space between 

 the plants. I could not have averaged 

 near so many from single stem plants. 



Differences of opinion are likely to con- 

 tinue as to which method is the most 

 profitable, and I would advise intending 

 growers to try both before accepting any 

 system as the best. Much depends on 

 the varieties experimented with. Most 

 of our American raised tomatoes are 

 poorly adapted for forcing purposes ex- 

 cept it be for a spring or early summer 

 crop. Notable exceptions are Early 

 Essex, Nicholson's Hybrid, Ignotum, 

 Lorillard and May's Favorite, and some 

 of these are poor winter varieties. Che- 

 min, which Mr. Jordan refers to as of no 

 value, sets very freely, but is too open- 

 celled, or hollow; its three-cornered form 

 also is against it. I discarded this sort 

 several years ago. Eclipse and Frogmore 

 Prolific are great advances over Chemin 

 and in my opinion are the two best forc- 

 ing sorts on the market. 



Taunton, Mass. W. N. Craig. 



A meeting was held at the court 

 house, Chillcothe, Ohio, on Saturday, 

 March 5, 1898, for the purpose of or- 

 ganizing a county horticultural society. 

 The object of the meeting was to build up 

 the home and foreign markets and 

 protect the fruit growers from many 

 swindlers who impose upon them. 



Spokane Floral Association. — At a 

 meeting held February 14, the following 

 officers wereelected: President, Mrs. Ida 

 M. Pfile; vice-president, Mrs. Magie; re- 

 cording secretary, Mrs. Kratzer; corres- 

 ponding secretary, Mrs. Kellam; auditor, 

 Mrs. Brinkerhoff; treasurer, Mrs. Drake 

 Mrs. Stewart, Mrs. Pelikan and Mrs 

 Henley were appointed directors. 



Clinton County Agricultural Soci- 

 ety. — The regular annual meeting of this 

 society was held at the court house las-t 

 week an I was largely attended by mem- 

 bers from St. Johns and the various sec- 

 tions of the county, and everything was 

 most harmonious. The meeting was 

 called to order by President Swigart, 

 who called Mr. Teater, of Duplain, to the 

 chair. Treasurer Ferry read a very sat- 

 isfactory report. The election of officers 

 resulted as follows: President, R. M. 

 Swigart, St. Johns; secretary, Murret 

 Frink, Bengal; treasurer, Geo. N. Ferry, 

 Greenbush; directors, Wm. Byrne, Bengal, 

 Wm. Ennest, Olive, G. W. Taft, Ovid, 

 H. N. Carpenter, Bengal. 



IN THEMIUDLE WEST IT IS 



Worth §M° More 



> * 1 1 « ■ .*♦* 



1 One 

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Trees Full 

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 Standard Pear 



From Fruit Trade Jour- 

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From Horticulturist — 

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re free from all 

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SPAULDING 



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 Box 19 Spaulding, III. 



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BONE AND POTASH FERTILIZER. 



We beg to announce to the readers of Gardening 

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CHINESE LANTERN PLANTS 



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 Elegant French Carinas, all colors, 'A for 26c. 

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tion. Flans and estimates furnished. Send your list of needs for special rates. 

 THE READING NURSERY, JACOB W. MANNING, Proprietor, READING, MA SS, | 



When writing mention Gardening. 



