stableton] gardening AT BLOOMINGTON, ILL. 75 



Tomatoes;" and a printed letter with a return letter asking the 

 parents to join with us in the tomato growing scheme, and to 

 indicate their interest by signing the return letter and sending 

 it to us. 



The parents entered heartily into the work, thus making us feel 

 that Bloomington would be a great garden of Grand Pacifies. 



The following are copies of the instructions "How to Grow 

 Grand Pacific Tomatoes" and of the letter to parents. 



How TO Grow Grand Pacific Tomatoes 



Select a spot of ground with full exposure to the sun. When the soil will 

 crumble nicely, spade the ground the full depth of the spading fork. 



After the ground has been carefully prepared set the posts or stakes for 

 the trellis making it from six to eight feet high. 



If the plants are to be set along a fence or building they can be fastened to 

 the fence or building in place of a trellis by using strips of cloth around the 

 vines and tacking the cloth to the wall or fence. 



Set the plants one foot apart in a row along the trellis, fence, or wall. 

 As they grow, trim them to single stems or not more than two stems. Con- 

 tinue the trimming throughout the whole season. Close trimming turns the 

 sap of the plants to the fruit clusters and produces fine clusters of fine large 

 tomatoes. 



Keep the ground well cultivated. After every shower stir the surface 

 soil with a rake so as to keep the surface covered with finely broken up soil. 



Should the summer be dry, once a week thoroughly saturate the ground 

 about the tomatoes with soap-suds or water and a day later rake it. The cut 

 at the head of this letter shows the possibilities with this variety of tomatoes. 



J. K. Stableton. 



Bloomington, 111., April, 1914. 

 Bloomington Public Schools, 

 Dear Patron: 



With the hope of arousing a deeper interest in gardening we have planned a 

 contest in growing tomatoes the coming summer. In order that the work may 

 be of greater value we would like the co-operation of parents. 



The plan is to give each scholar of the city schools in the grammar grades 

 ten Grand Pacific tomato plants for his home garden. With each ten plants 

 we will give printed instructions on how to grow them. 



Then in order that we may know whose plants produce the greatest quan- 

 tity of tomatoes we wish each scholar to have all tomatoes gathered from his 

 vines weighed at one of the nearby groceries or at any grocery that is willing 

 to keep lists of scholars growing tomatoes and to weigh and record the weights 

 for them. Prizes will be given. A first prize, $5 for the greatest weight of 

 tomatoes from any one ten plants and a second prize of $2 for second greatest 

 weight from any ten plants. 



