March, igii 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



65 



Experiments with Cabbage and Tomatoes* 



Prof. C. E. Myers, 



THE department of horticulture of 

 the Pennsylvania State College and 

 Experiment Station is making an 

 exhaustive study of the two leading truck 

 crops, cabbage and tomatoes. Several 

 acres of ground are devoted to this work, 

 which includes seed selection, methods of 

 culture, fertilization, variety and strain 

 tests. Of these the strain tests are con- 

 sidered the most important. 



In the spring of 1908 seed of Jersey 

 Wakefield and Danish Railhead cabbage 

 was secured from twenty-five seedsmen 

 located at various places throughout the 

 United States and Canada, and of twelve 

 strains of tomatoes, including the varie- 

 ties Earliana, Chalk's Jewel and Match- 

 less. In 1909 a new lot of seed of eight 

 \arieties of cabbage, including the var- 

 ieties Jersey Wakefield, Charleston 

 Wakefield, Early Spring, Early Sum- 

 mer, Succession, Premium Flat Dutch, 

 Surehcad and Volga, and six varieties 

 of tomatoes, including Earliana, Chalk's 

 Jewel, Beauty, Globe, Matchless and 

 Stone were secured from fourteen to 

 twenty-nine different seedsmen, and are 

 now being tested along with the seed 

 secured the previous year. 



Permit me to say that in general I be- 

 lieve seedsmen and seed growers to be a 

 leliable class of business men. In most 

 instances they have shown an apprecia- 

 tive interest in the work we are doing. 

 I feel sure that in the majority of cases 

 they are using their best efforts to supply 

 their customers with goods that will be 

 satisfactory. A few are indifferert, while 

 for unknown reasons some of the seed se- 

 cured from other seedsmen, whj appear 

 to exerci.se great care, does no' produce 

 satisfactory results. Why this i j the case 

 we are unable to definitely explain, but it 



• Extract from a paper read at the last an- 

 nual convention of the Ontario Vegetable 

 (i rowers' Association. 



State College, Pa. 



is with the hope of solving the problem, in 

 an endeavor to secure seed which will 

 yield the most satisfactory returns, and 

 the Pennsylvania Station is studying the 

 problem. 



The grower, who uses only one strain 

 of seed for his plantings, may be unaware 

 of the fact that there is a difference be- 

 tween strains. If he has been fortunate 

 in -securing a good strain, and growhig 

 cChyittons are satisfactory, he may se 

 cure a good crop. On the other hand, 

 the crop may be a partial or a complete 

 failure, and he may ascribe the cause to 

 unfavorable soil or climatic conditions, 

 insects, or disease, and overlook the fact 

 that the trouble may be with the seed. 



Ordinarily we are too ready to accept 

 seed for what it apears to be, not for 

 what it may be, forgetting the statement 

 that Dr. Tracy has well made, that "the 

 seed is the future plant packed for trans- 

 portation." We do not realize that up- 

 on it fully ninety per cent, of our success 

 in securing a satisfactory crop depends. 



TESTING SEED 



Sometime previous to the planting of 

 the seed a germination test is made. This 

 is important from the fact that it serves 

 as a guide to the thickness of sowing. 

 The test is comparatively simple and may 

 be made in several ways. One way is 

 to place the seed between pieces of blot- 

 ting paper kept moist on a saucer nearly 

 filled with moist sand, an inverted sau- 

 cer serving as a cover to prevent evapor- 

 ation. Or the test may be made under 

 normal conditions in the seed bed. Either 

 of these methods are satisfactory : In 

 tests which we have made we have found 

 the germination range from nothing to 

 ninety-nine per cent, within the same 

 variety purchased the same year. If 

 the percentage does not fall below sixty 

 or seventy-five per cent., the result is not 

 so serious, so long as the facts are 



knows, but if it falls below this, and the 

 fact is not known, disappointment may 

 be the result. 



In conducting the experimental work, 

 every effort is made to have conditions 

 as uniform as possible. The seed of the 

 early cabbage and tomatoes is sown in 

 flats in the greenhouse. Later the plants 

 are transplanted and placed in the cold 

 frames, where they are grown and hard- 

 ened until they are ready for the field. 



Soon after the seeds have germinated 

 notable differences may be seen between 

 the strains. In some instances the stand 

 will be even and vigorous, while in other- 

 cases it will be uneven and weak. An 

 interesting feature noted is that in seve- 

 ral instances those strains which made 

 the best appearance in the seed bed later 

 proved to be the least desirable. 



When the field planting was made of 

 the Wakefield varieties one hundred of 

 the best plants were taken of each strain 

 and planted in rows which were a uniform 

 distance apart, and at a uniform distance 

 in the row. For the test of each of the 

 other varieties fifty of the best plants 

 of each strain were used . The plantings 

 were made on fertile ground and were 

 given good care throughout the season. 



MARKED DIFFERENCES 



The most interesting differences are 

 not noticeable until the plants are nearly 

 mature. As the season advances the 

 plants of one strain will be notably uni- 

 form, while probably those of the adjoin- 

 ing row are decidedly irregular in type 

 and time of maturing, and in some in- 

 stances prove to be a variety other than 

 what is expected, or possibly a mixture 

 of several varieties. At this time the 

 plants of each strain are carefully stud- 

 ied and the important points concern- 

 ing each strain are noted and placed on 

 record. In this way we secure definite 

 knowledge of the relative earliness and 

 yield of each strain. 



(To he Cantinued) 



Part o! th« DeUfitUn of Frait nd Vei«Ubl» Gnwcrt' «t Ottawa F'braary lOih, 1911 



This deputation was #ent by the tender fruit and Tegetable growers of Ontario and Quebw to PrOt?St 5i(fajOB^ t()!» prpp99e4 t»rifl' ajreeaicnt 



with the United States^ 



