GROWING AND MARKETING OF TOMATOES. 



viourof varietiesis in each section. These 

 should be consulted, and also the reports 

 of the State horticultural societies, many 

 of which contain catalogues of the varie- 

 ties known to succeed within their seve- 

 ral districts. But most valuable of all 

 will be found the experience of growers 

 in the immediate vicinity. Their con- 

 clusions, though not always correct, are 

 safest for the beginner, and he should 

 only plant largely those varieties which 

 they have found successful. The main 

 planting should rarely consist of more 



than two varieties of each fruit, except 

 in the case of the strawberry, where four 

 or five sorts ripening in succession may 

 often be profitably grown. New and 

 untried sorts, though highly commended 

 elsewhere, should be planted in an ex- 

 perimental way only, for but a small per- 

 centage of the varieties introduced prove 

 equal in value to the standard market 

 sorts at the time of their introduction. 



\Vm. a. Taylor, in Year Book, 

 U. S. Dep't of Agriculture for 1895. 



GROWING AND MARKETING OF TOMATOES. 



BY MR. JOHN CRAIG OTTAWA. 



^ ^HE possibility of marketing 



Canadian Tomatoes profitably 



._l in England has aroused a spirit 



of inquiry among market gard- 



ners and fruit growers, relative to the 



best methods of growing the plants, 



packing the fruit, and the best varieties 



to cultivate for this special purpose. 



The following notes are prepared with a 



view of briefly answering these ques 



tions. 



Raising Plants. 



The summer season of Ontario and 

 Quebec is not long enough to admit of 

 the profitable cultivation of tomatoes 

 without the aid of a greenhouse, hot-bed, 

 or window box in starting the plants in 

 spring. 



Soil for Seed Boxes. — The soil should 

 not be too rich. A mellow loam of 

 good quality, with sand added to the 

 extent of one-fifth of the whole, will pro- 

 duce stronger and healthier plants than 

 will the leaf mould one frequently meets 

 with in the soil of window boxes. If a 

 greenhouse is available the seed may be 

 sown about the middle of March, or a 

 month earlier if the plants are intended 



to serve the demands of the home mar- 

 ket. A high temperature, 95 degrees 

 to 70 degrees at night and 80 degrees 

 to 85 degrees in the day time, will pro- 

 duce large, succulent, but tender plants. 

 A too low temperature will produce 

 stunted weaklings. Neither class is de- 

 sirable. It is better, however, to have 

 the temperature slightly too warm, than 

 too cold, in consideration of the nature 

 of the plant. Sow the seed thinly, in 

 rows six inches apart, pressing the soil 

 firmly over the rows. An ounce con- 

 tains 8,000 to 10,000 seeds. The seed- 

 lings should be transplanted at least 

 twice before setting them in the open 

 field. This treatment gives strong, stocky 

 plants. If grown in the greenhouse the 

 seedlings should be " pricked " into 

 " flats " (shallow boxes) soon after the 

 true leaves appear, setting them two to 

 three inches apart each way. From 

 these " flats " the plants are removed 

 when they begin to crowd each other, 

 to the cold frame or hot bed, setting 

 them six to eight inches apart each way, 

 or further if the plants are large. By 

 the middle — or in a backward season— 

 the last week of May (in this section) 



H3 



