TOMATO 127 



the detriment of colour and flavour, and with the additional objection 

 of rendering the skin disagreeably tough. Imported Tomatoes are 

 indeed only tolerable to an educated palate when English-grown 

 fruit cannot be obtained. This remark does not apply to the fruit 

 obtained from the Channel Islands, where Tomatoes are skilfully 

 grown, carefully packed, and so expeditiously conveyed to the 

 London market that there need be no appreciable deterioration in 

 quality. 



In a private garden the object to be aimed at is a daily supply, 

 commensurate with household requirements, commencing on the 

 earliest possible date in spring, and extending far into autumnal days, 

 without interval or waste from beginning to end. And it will be 

 obvious that the methods which are adapted for securing this 

 desirable object can be indefinitely extended to meet a great public 

 demand. 



Almost every imaginable glass structure can be employed for 

 growing Tomatoes, from the small suburban greenhouse to the vast 

 span-roof, hundreds of feet in length, devoted to their culture in 

 Guernsey and Jersey. And it is not essential that the crop should 

 be grown alone. Potatoes, French Beans, Strawberries and Vines 

 may be forced in the same building, provided there be no obstruction 

 to light and air, nor any interference with the conditions which 

 experience has proved to be imperative for sustaining the plants in 

 vigorous health. For very early gathering there must be a service of 

 hot-water pipes, but as the spring advances it is easy to ripen fruit in 

 cool houses, and later on plants in borders will in ordinary seasons 

 yield an abundant return without artificial protection of any kind. 



Tomatoes can be propagated from cuttings, and for a winter crop 

 this method offers the advantages of quickness and certainty of 

 setting. The disadvantage is that the plants are less robust in 

 constitution than seedlings, and this is a serious addition to the 

 difficulties of winter culture. We therefore leave the system of 

 propagation by cuttings to those who need no advice from us. Seed 

 may be sown at almost any time of the year, but the most important 

 months are September, December, February, and March. In gardens 

 favourably situated in the south of England and furnished with the 

 most perfect appliances, seed is sown in all these months and in 

 others also ; but in smaller gardens sowings are restricted to 

 February and March. Whenever a start is made sow thinly in pans 

 or boxes, and do not allow the seedlings to remain in them for an 

 unnecessary day. Immediately two or at most four leaves are formed 



