TOMATOES: INDOOR AND OUTDOOR 359 



apply water when the soil is already sodden. Give the plant a 

 chance to absorb the moisture and then supply water when it is 

 needed. Syringing is sometimes recommended, but this had better 

 be avoided save in the hottest weather, and then only in the early 

 morning, since the practice of syringing too often induces disease. 



The fruit should be cut a few days before it is quite ripe ; the 

 proper time is just when it is turning from a dark golden colour to 

 a bright red. 



For outdoor culture the principal object to aim at is to secure 

 for the plants a bright, sunny position. In this case also the 

 temptation to make the soil too rich at the outset must be avoided. 

 Dig a hole about a foot square and eighteen inches deep. Loosen the 

 subsoil and place at the bottom of the hole a layer of well -decayed 

 manure. If a supply of fresh fibrous loam can be obtained so 

 much the better for the future prosperity of the plants, but failing 

 this insert it in ordinary garden soil that has been well broken up. 

 The stems may be trained against a fence or wall, care being taken 

 to see that they are tied securely, so as not to be damaged by the 

 wind. 



Provided the young plants have been thoroughly well hardened 

 off in a cold frame they may safely be planted out in the open from 

 the middle of May. The directions for indoor culture are equally 

 applicable to outdoor work. Firm planting is essential, and over- 

 crowding must be avoided. If the plants are set at a distance 

 of fifteen inches apart they will thrive, but the space between them 

 should certainly not be less and may with advantage be a little 

 more. 



The mistake must not be made of turning the plants out from 

 their pots in a dry state. They should be well watered an hour 

 or so beforehand and then be planted deeply, burying the stem 

 at least six inches lower than it stood in the pot from which it is 

 taken. A subsequent watering will settle the roots in their place. 

 If the operations of training, thinning, defoliation and feeding 

 be efficiently carried out there will be an excellent prospect of 

 gathering in a good crop of fruit during August and September in 

 a normal summer. 



