178 Commercial Gardening 



outer rind and as much of the seedless pulp as possible. The remain- 

 ing portion, full of seeds (there are from 100 to 300 seeds in each fruit), 

 should be rubbed between the hands and afterwards placed in a vessel 

 containing cold water. Hot or even lukewarm water should not be 

 used, or the seeds may be caused to sprout. The liquid should be churned 

 round and round with the hand or a stick. This will detach a certain 

 amount of pulp, which can be skimmed off. The liquid may then be 

 left for a few hours, at the end of which more pulp will be detached 

 by churning, and can be removed. By repeating this operation on large 

 quantities of seed and pulp, the latter is eventually separated from the 

 former. The seeds should then be laid out on sheets of glass or tin 

 or stiffish paper and allowed to dry. They should, however, be moved 

 about with a knife blade occasionally to prevent them sticking to the 

 surface. When thoroughly dry they may be rubbed between the hands 

 with some silver sand and thus freed from all traces of dry mucilage. 



Another method is to cut the fruits in half and then prick out the 

 seeds with the point of a penknife on to a piece of glass, afterwards 

 washing and drying as before. The pulp may be converted into jam. 



Diseases and Pests. The insect pests afflicting Tomatoes are not 

 numerous, but some of them are exceedingly troublesome. Young plants 

 are sometimes afflicted with Aphides and Ghost Flies, but these are easily 

 checked by dipping or syringeing with a solution of quassia chip, soft soap, 

 and nicotine (see pp. 216, 217, Vol. I.). Red Spider sometimes appears when 

 the atmosphere is too dry, and is best kept down by gentle syringeing. 



Eelworms. These are often very troublesome to market growers. 

 One kind (Heterodora radicicola) attacks the roots, causing large warty 

 or pea-like swellings on them. The presence of these Eelworms is indi- 

 cated by the leaves drooping and turning yellow, and the whole plant 

 becoming limp sooner or later. As the young Eelworms are very small 

 T ^ in. in length they can only be seen with the aid of a good pocket 

 lens or microscope. They resemble minute eels, pointed at each end, and 

 easily pierce the tissues of the tender roots. Wounds are caused on these, 

 and with the exudation and coagulation of the sap the knotty swellings 

 are produced. As the Eelworms suck and destroy the tissues the sap 

 is unable to flow upwards to the leaves, hence the ultimate collapse of 

 the plants. In due course the eggs of the pest hatch into tiny Eelworms, 

 which pass into the soil, seeking the roots of other Tomato plants. They 

 will, however, attack the roots of Cucumbers, Peas, Beans, Potatoes, Beets, 

 Cabbage crops, Lettuces, and others, so that it would be dangerous to grow 

 any of these crops after Tomatoes in the soil that is already infested. 



Several remedies have been suggested, amongst them the following: 

 (1) Saturate the soil three times, at intervals of a fortnight, with a solution 

 of 1 part of carbolic acid in 20 parts of water. (2) Mix fresh gas lime 

 thoroughly with the soil, which must then be left uncropped for at least 

 six weeks. Quicklime may be used instead. (3) Water the soil thoroughly 

 with lime water. (4) Water the soil with Little's Soluble Phenyle, 1 oz. 



