314 THE PEOPLE'S FARM AND STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



and expense is not necessary, but the seed may be sown in a 

 cold frame the middle of April, and no sash used. Boards or 

 mats must be provided, however, to cover them in case there is 

 danger of frost. The plants must be thinned so as to prevent 

 them from becoming spindled. 



The m;iin crop may be grown on ordinary land by which I 

 mean that rich garden soil is not necessary by manuring the 

 hills well. It is claimed by those who grow the crop largely 

 for the factories, that they bear better on rather thin land, the 

 manure giving the plant a thrifty start, and when the roots ex- 

 tend beyond it and reach the poor soil, the check in its growth 

 induces fruitfulness. From two to four hundred bushels to the 

 acre can be grown in field culture, and I have known market gar- 

 deners, by extra care, to sell an average of a bushel from each 

 plant on a plot containing several hundred plants. 



I would never plant closer than four feet apart each way, 

 and on rich soil they will cover the ground if planted five feet. 

 In growing them largely it is wise to leave a road for the 

 wagons every ten rows. The roads can be used for growing 

 some early-maturing crop, so that the land need not be idle. 

 The advantage of this is that you need not carry the tomatoes 

 far, and as they are very heavy, this will be a great relief in 

 the labor of gathering them. The first week in June is season- 

 able for planting the main crop, and as it often happens that 

 the late gathered fruit brings a high price, it is wise for the 

 gardener to plant late as well as earl}''. 



There are few garden products that vary more in price than 

 tomatoes, the earliest bringing almost any price you may ask 

 for them. In the flush of the season the market is often glutted, 

 and the price is sometimes down to twenty-five cents a bushel. 

 At forty cents they are a profitable crop, and as the very early 

 and late ones will sell high, the average price will usually be 

 considerably above forty cents. New varieties have been 

 brought out nearly every year, with claims that they were 

 earlier than any that had preceded them, but on trial, very little 

 difference in this respect is found among the leading varie- 

 ties, the earliness depending more on the treatment the plants 



