TOMATOES 267 



lion is of great value in the productiveness and the early maturity of the 

 plant. .'Prof. Yoorhecs recites the results at the New Jersey Station in the 

 use of nitrate of soda as a special fertilizer for the tomatoes grown for the 

 early crop, and that the results showed that when used at the rate of 160 

 pounds per acre at one application, or 320 pounds per acre at two applications, 

 it increased the yield materially and not at the expense of maturity, and this 

 was a Is:) true when it was used in a complete fertilizer mixture, with phos- 

 phoric acid and potash. But when the whole of the 320 pounds was applied 

 at once with a sufficient proportion of phosphoric acid and potash, the yield 

 was increased at the expense of early maturity. It was found that nitrate 

 of soda was better than barnyard manure or mineral fertilizers alone, but 

 when used alone was less effective than when a component part of a com- 

 plete fertilizer. We have found, here, that the best fertilizer application for 

 the tomato crop is made by mixing acid phosphate, 900 pounds; dried blood, 

 600 pounds, nitrate of soda, 200 pounds, and high grade sulphate of potash, 

 300 pounds, to make a ton. Of this we would use 700 pounds per acre 

 broadcast before setting the plants. North of Virginia we would reduce 

 this to 500 pounds per acre. When growth is well under way, and fruit is 

 setting, we find it an advantage here to give a further dressing of nitrate of 

 soda at rate of 100 pounds per acre. On land that had been heavily manured 

 the previous year for garden crops, or on which a crop of legumes had been 

 grown the previous season, we would reduce the amount of the dried blood 

 and increase the amount of acid phosphate proportionately, or would substi- 

 tute cotton seed meal for the dried blood. A light, mellow loam inclined to 

 sand is the best soil for the early tomato crop, and it is useless to try to grow 

 it on a heavy clay or a cold and poor soil. 



As to the source of the plant foods used, the nitrate of soda and the dried 

 blood we prefer as the sources of nitrogen, and we think it an error to depend 

 on nitrate alone for this crop if a continuous growth and productiveness is 

 desired. The phosphoric acid can be supplied by superphosphate made from 

 rock, or bone black, as may be most available in the locality, and the potash 

 is best furnished by the sulphate free from chlorides. In any crop in which 

 sweetness of the fruit is a desirable feature we have found the sulphate the 

 best form in which to use potash. If it is desired to get the best use of the 

 nitrate of soda it would probably be better to mix the other constituents and 

 reserve this to be applied alongside the plants after setting. But the second 

 application of the nitrate should be over the entire surface, since by that time 

 the roots are running far and wide. Where stable manure is abundant and 

 cheap we would greatly prefer here to plow under a heavy coat, mix it well 

 with the soil, and then add simply the phosphoric acid and potash, with a 



