272 VEGETABLE GARDENING 



even earlier than tomato seeds, in the greenhouse or hot- 

 bed; but when only a few plants are wanted it will be 

 found best to buy the plants, as they require delicate 

 handling. The plants are set in rows three by two feet 

 apart, after the ground is well warmed up, which is seldom 

 before the 10th of June. 



The fruit attains marketable size by the last of August. 

 The plants are very liable to the attacks of the potato 

 beetle. 



The best variety is the New York Purple, but the 

 variety known as the Long Purple is somewhat earlier. The 

 New York Improved Black Beauty, Black Pekin, Early 

 Long Purple, and Ivory, the white variety, are the prin- 

 cipal kinds grown for the market. 



TOMATO (Ly coper sicum esculentum) 



Description. Native of South America. A perennial, 

 but generally treated as an annual. The tomato is a 

 branching plant, generally with flexible stems that require 

 support to grow erect. Its flowers are yellowish and 

 grow in loose clusters on the stem; opposite or nearly 

 opposite leaves, not axillary; fruit a true berry, red, pink, 

 or yellow in color; seed kidney-shaped, flat, with a rough- 

 ened surface. In many parts of the country the tomato 

 can be successfully grown as a market crop, and there is 

 no place where it can not be grown in sufficient quantities 

 for home use. The cultivation of this vegetable for can- 

 ning purposes is already occupying the attention of farmers 

 in a few localities in this section, and it is an industry that 

 is destined to greatly increase in the future. It is one of 

 the easiest and surest crops to grow, providing one has 

 good plants to start with. 



