THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



31 



with water until the soil is wet, N and the 

 plants put in during the afternoon. If 

 the furrows run north and south and the 

 plants are to set on the west side, the beds 

 will hold moisture longer and a stand is 

 easier secured. For general cultivation 

 with a plow the furrows should be at least 

 three feet apart and plants set three feet 

 in the rows. If only a small path is 

 desired, and hand cultivation the method, 

 the vines may stand two feet either way. 



Thorough cultivation is necessary for 

 success in tomato culture. When the 

 plants reach one foot they should be 

 trellised, if that plan is desired. Some 

 use poles, tying the vines up, others have 

 frames and some use wire poultry netting. 

 As a general rule the vines will do as well 

 without trellises, if topped when about 

 two feet high. This is done by clipping 

 back all the shoots with sharp shears. If 

 the blight or black rot appears the vines 

 demand thorough watering, which in most 

 cases will destroy the causes of disease. 

 When the vines become a very dark green 

 they must have water to make the fruit 

 set. 



Picking is best done in the morning 

 after the vines are drv. All fruits show- 

 ing even the slightest color should be 

 picked and placed in dark boxes to ripen. 

 The most successful gardeners pick the 

 fruits as soon as the under side gets white 

 and store in boxes to ripen. This insures 

 a more uniform color and enables the 

 grower to market in large quantities. For 

 home use the solid, half ripe specimens 

 are the best, if put in large five gallon tin 

 <;ans and sealed, instead of using the 

 smaller bottles. 



JOEL SHOMAKER. 



TO TRY RAISING TEA ON IRRIGATED 

 LANDS. 



Prof. Elwood Mead, irrigation expert in 

 charge of irrigation invetigations. has 

 been advised by the Department of Agri- 

 culture that he is to take charge of the 

 proposed experiments in tea culture by ir- 

 rigation in the United States. Dr. C, U. 



Shepard, special agent, who has been in 

 charge of the preliminary work, has been 

 directed to report to Expert Mead for in- 

 structions in conducting the experiments. 

 He is authorized to expend $700 for the 

 necessary apparatus for the work. A sum 

 of $5,00fr is now available for experiment- 

 ing in this matter. 



Secretary Wilson of the Department of 

 Agriculture, is greatly interested in this 

 new work, and every effort will be made to 

 determine whether tea can be successfully 

 and profitably grown in the United States 

 with the aid of irrigation. 



The annual importation of tea into the 

 United States amounts to 90,000,000 

 pounds, valued at $15,000,000. At the 

 present time no tea for commercial use is 

 grown in the United States. Thebestteas 

 are grown by irrigation in climates, at 

 elevations acd in soils similar to those 

 which, it is believed, may be found in the 

 United States. 



BIG SALE OF MARSH LAND. 



The Northwestern Grass Twine Co. of. 

 this city has bought 5,000 acres of marsh 

 land from the Northern Pacific Railway, 

 located some 50 miles west of Duluth. 



This land has never been supposed to 

 be of the slightest value. The company's 

 large factory there, which will make this 

 worthless grass into a valuable binder and 

 other twine, will be finished the coming 

 winter. 



TO BE SENT TO THE ORIENT. 



Southern California will this year make 

 its first shipments of apples to a foreign 

 country, the Orient being the country 

 looked to for an outlet for what is sure to 

 be a leading product in the course of a few 

 years. 



This is an abrupt change in the apple 

 market, for until recently the country has 

 not been self-sustaining in the apple line. 



During recent years there has been a 

 heavy planting of apples on mountain 

 land, and the trees are now coming into 

 production. There is no prospect of the 

 state consuming the entire crop. 



