174 Notes and Gleanings. 



Training the Tomato. — A correspondent of the Ohio Farmer, in relating 

 his experience in the cultivation of this vegetable, makes the following state- 

 ment : — 



" I early learned that no vegetable responds more generously to a rich and 

 deep soil and to good cultivation ; but I was long troubled in finding a satisfac- 

 tory mode of training. I tried almost every way recommended, and none of 

 them seemed to be just the thing. I bedded with straw, I laid down brush, I 

 trained on trellis and horizontal lattice-work, but none satisfied me. With the 

 two former the fruit rotted, or ripened imperfectly ; the latter was too expensive. 



" My custom for a long time has been to set a pole for my tomatoes, as 

 I would for a hill of beans, only I select poles a little heavier, and not more than 

 four or five feet long. I set a pole to each vine, and as the plant grows, I 

 fasten it to its support, as need requires, with heavy wool twine. All lateral, 

 flowerless branches I nip off, and if the growth is rank, I head back the top. 



" With me this is a very satisfactory arrangement. My tomatoes do not rot ; 

 they are clean and of fine quality.. The loose tyings do not seem to injure the 

 plants at all ; the fruit has air and light, and still seems to be sufficiently shaded. 

 By this mode the ground is left clean between the plants, so that the weeds can 

 be kept cut, and in dry weather can be often stirred, so as to prevent in a good 

 measure the effects of drought. Others may see objections to this mode, but 

 with me it works well, causing me but little expense and trouble, and rewarding 

 me with a bountiful and luscious harvest." 



Tree Box. — Not one of the evergreen shrubs or trees of moderate size is 

 more desirable than the tree box, with its compact, conical, or bee-hive shaped 

 head, branching to the ground, and its roundish, myrtle-like foliage, of the dark- 

 est, richest, glossiest green. Unfortunately it is too tender for the northern 

 states, but at Washington and south of that, it is perfectly hardy. We would 

 recommend planting it, not only for its beauty, but for the value of its timber, 

 which the multiplication of books and newspapers illustrated with wood-cuts 

 is every day making scarcer and more costly. No substitute for box-wood for 

 this purpose has ever been discovered, though many attempts have been made. 



