1260 



FORCING 



FORCING 



strong lateral should form the second stem. The 

 lateral just above the first blossom cluster is usually 

 the strongest. All other side branches should be 

 removed. The pruning requires careful attention and 

 consumes much time. If the laterals are allowed to 

 grow to a large size before they are removed, it will, 

 not only require more time to cut them off but they will 

 take needed strength from the main branch. 



Pollination. 



As honey bees do not work on tomato blossoms it is 

 necessary to do more or less hand pollinating, the 

 amount depending on the time of the year, the number 

 of blossoms open and the varieties grown. If the 

 weather is such that the ventilators can be kept open 

 wide most of the time during the day, frequent and 

 systematic jarring of the plants will be fairly satisfac- 

 tory. Artificial pollination is more necessary when the 

 plants first begin to bloom than when the amount of 

 bloom is abundant. Some of the English types of for- 

 cing tomatoes do not require much attention in the 

 matter of pollinating. However, it is better to be on 

 the safe side and do more pollinating than necessary 

 rather than not enough. The camel's-hair brush is 

 used by some growers and the wooden spoon and 

 spatula with handles 15 to 18 inches in length are used 

 by other growers as a means of transferring the pollen 

 from one flower to another. 



Grading and packing tomatoes. 



Unless they are to be shipped a long distance, forc- 

 ing-house grown tomatoes should not be picked until 

 they show considerable color. The more nearly mature 

 the fruits are when taken from the vines, the better 

 the quality. Picking should be done every other day 

 or at least three times a week. The fruit should be 

 handled with care to avoid bruising, as injuries impair 

 the keeping quality of the fruit. 



In grading, unless the fruit is unusually rough or too 

 variable in size, only one grade need be made for the 

 average market. All very rough and otherwise inferior 

 fruits should be withheld from the market. Some growers 

 make a fancy grade for special trade. This stock should 

 be of medium and uniform size, even in color and very 

 smooth. The hotels and clubs which give orders for 

 such stock are willing to pay an extra price for it. 



Tomatoes are handled mostly in baskets. These 

 are seldom larger than a half bushel and usually con- 

 siderably smaller. The basket used by the Ashtabula 

 growers is the same as they use for lettuce and holds 

 ten pounds of tomatoes. A very satisfactory package 

 for use in warm weather is the four-basket carrier or 

 crate. The baskets which are put in this carrier hold 

 five pounds each. When properly selected as to size, 

 color, and smoothness, tomatoes packed in this con- 

 tainer are very attractive. The chief objection to their 

 use is that they are too much like the package used by 

 the southern tomato-growers and thus not distinctive 

 enough for the forcing-house tomatoes. During cold 

 weather or when the tomatoes are to be shipped a long 

 distance, each fruit should be wrapped in paper to 

 protect it from the frost and to prevent bruising. 



Dealers who have not handled forcing-house-grown 

 tomatoes are sometimes slow to pay the price which 

 the stock, if well grown, graded and packed, should 

 demand. When they have once learned that forcing- 

 house-grown tomatoes are of superior quality and will 

 stand up much better than those which have been 

 shipped a long distance and of necessity must be 

 picked green or nearly so, they are usually willing to 

 pay much more for the forcing-house-grown than for 

 the outside-grown tomatoes. 



Forcing of radishes. 



Radishes have been forced by many growers but 

 they have not become generally popular. This is no 



doubt due largely to the fact that the growing of them 

 and preparation for market necessitates a large amount 

 of hand labor; and the requirements of the crop are 

 exacting. 



The turnip-shaped sorts are most satisfactory for 

 forcing in the forcing-house. The seed should be sown 

 thickly in rows which should be marked 4 inches apart 

 and about % inch deep. The Skinner system of water- 

 ing is very satisfactory for radishes if the watering 

 is properly done. The soil should be kept moist but 

 not too wet on the surface. The watering should be 

 done only when the weather is bright. Some growers 

 have found it more satisfactory to allow the radishes 

 to remain quite thick in the rows until a part of them 

 are large enough to market and then pull the market- 

 able ones and allow the others to develop, than to 

 thin them enough when they are small to permit the 

 radishes to mature nearly at one time. This method 

 of thinning will enable the gardener to grow many 

 more radishes in a given area than when the old 

 method is used. 



Some of the essential factors in successful radish 

 forcing are: good seed, carefully sown; an abundance 

 of light; plenty of ventilation; sufficient water and 

 heat to keep the plants growing rapidly but not enough 

 to cause damping-off ; neatness and cleanliness in bunch- 

 ing, washing and packing. 



Other forcing crops. 



Space will permit only of a classification of other 

 forcing crops than those previously mentioned. Nearly 

 all kinds of vegetables which are grown in the open 

 can be grown in the forcing-house. Whether it is 

 practicable or not to force a vegetable in a commercial 

 way depends principally on two things: cost of produc- 

 tion and market demand. 



The following lists include practically all vegetables 

 which are forced commercially, either extensively or 

 to a limited extent. The vegetables included in these 

 lists are divided into two classes, the "cool" and the 

 "warm" plants. 



By cool plants is meant those for which the proper 

 night temperature is from 40 to 55 and by warm 

 plants those for which the night temperature should 

 be from 55 to 70. With either class of plants the day 

 temperature on bright days should be at least 10 

 higher than the night temperature. 



"Cool" forcing vegetables: 



Asparagus Cress Pea 



Beet Lettuce Radishes 



Carrot Onion Rhubarb 



Cauliflower Parsley Spinach 



Celery 



"Warm" forcing vegetables: 



Bean Eggplant 



Cucumber Muskmelon 



Pepper 

 Tomato 



C. W. WAID. 



The forcing of fruits. 



The forcing of fruits under glass has increased con- 

 siderably in recent years and particularly so in the 

 private establishments. Grapes probably occupy more 

 space than any other class of hothouse fruits. Records 

 of cultivating the vine may be traced back some thou- 

 sands of years. Nevertheless, the greenhouse grape-vine 

 has not been improved to the same extent through 

 systematic hybridizing that many other fruits have 

 been. Some of our oldest varieties still hold a promi- 

 nent place in the forcing-houses. Some worthy claimants 

 have been added to the list from time to time. Madres- 

 field Court was raised over forty years ago by crossing 

 Muscat of Alexandria with Black Morocco, producing 

 a distinct Muscat grape with the Morocco coloring. 

 Of later introduction may be mentioned Lady Hutt, 



