WITH THE VEGETABLE GROWERS. 



357 



Tomato Growing in South Essex 



J. D. FRASER, LEAMINGTON, ONT. 



WHILE growers in many parts of 

 Ontario complain of the incon- 

 venience caused by the heavy snowfall, we, 

 in South Essex, sufifer from the lack of suf- 

 ficient snow to protect the roots of our 

 peach trees. Tomato growing has, in con- 

 sequence, been gone into somewhat exten- 

 sively, as our soil and climate and freedom 

 from spring frosts along the shore of Lake 

 Erie seem to make up conditions which are 

 perhaps not equaled in Ontario for securing 

 early pickings. 



Seed is sown in forcing houses about the 

 last of February or the first of March, and 

 is transplanted a sufficient number of times 

 to secure stalky plants. In. preparing the 

 plants for the field they are usually put in 

 six inch spaces. There are diflFerent meth- 

 ods used for transferring them to the field. 

 I have found a house constructed so that the 

 glass and cotton can be removed when it be- 

 comes necessary to harden off the plants be- 

 fore going to the fields, to be a great saving 

 of labor from the method of changing the 

 pl"nts to other locations. For this purpose 

 folding sash has proved very satisfactorv. 



being easily handled and giving perfect ven- 

 tilation. Driveways between the plant 

 houses, sufficiently wide to admit a team and 

 wagon are desirable. 



With reference to the future outlook of 

 this industry we experience the same 

 difficulty as is found in most lines of 

 fruit growing: namely, insufficient markets. 

 The Florida and Texas growers are pushing 

 their early products into our markets more 

 vigorously each year, and owing to the bet- 

 ter shipping facilities and cheaper freight 

 rates enjoyed by them they are able to place 

 their tomatoes on the Winnipeg market at 

 an advantage, as the import duty is not suffi- 

 cient to offset the extra transport charges. 

 However, with the aid of our railroad com- 

 missioners, we hope to do business in the 

 west. There were some very fine fields of 

 the Earliana variety grown here last season. 

 Mr. Harrington had an especially fine piece. 



At one time I thought cultivation was in- 

 dispensable in the orchard, but experience 

 has led me to change this opinion. There 

 are orchards in which cultivation is not de- 

 sirable. — (Wm. Rickard. M. L. A., New- 

 castle, Ont. 



Nature Study Lessons for the School Teachers. 



In connection with the summer school for nature study at the Macdonald Institute, Guelph, every teacher is expected to make and 

 keep a small garden. This photograph was taken recently and shows the teachers at work. The idea in holding these classes is ex- 

 plained by Piof. W. Lochhead in an article en the next page in this issue. 



