498 



MANUAL OF GARDENING 



They should be set in rows 4 or 5 feet apart, the plants being the 

 same distance in the rows. 



Some support should be given to keep the fruits off the ground and 

 to hasten the ripening. A trellis of chicken- wire makes an excellent 

 support, as does the light lath fencing that may be bought or made at 

 home. Stout stakes, with wire strung the length of the rows, afford 



an excellent support. A very 

 showy method is that of a frame 

 made like an inverted V, which 

 allows the fruits to hang free ; 

 with a little attention to trimming. 



316. A good form or type of tomato. 



317. A tomato trellis. 



the light reaches the fruits and ripens them perfectly (Fig. 317). This 

 support is made by leaning together two lath frames. 



The late fruits may be picked green and ripened on a shelf in the 

 sun ; or they will ripen if placed in a drawer. 



One ounce of seed will be enough for from twelve to fifteen hundred 

 plants. A little fertilizer in the hill will start the plants off quickly. 

 The rot is less serious when the vines are kept off the ground and the 

 rampant suckers are cut out. Varieties pass out and new ones come 

 into notice, so that a list is of small permanent value. 



Turnips and Rutabagas are little grown in home gardens; and yet 

 a finer quality of vegetable than most persons know could be secured 

 if these plants were raised on one's own soil and brought fresh to the 

 table. They are usually a fall crop, from seed sown in July and early 

 August, although some kitchen-gardens have them from spring-sown 

 seed. The culture is easy. 



