into practice by our large market gardeners. Too rich a soil, how- 

 ever, should be avoided, inasmuch as the plant is likely to run too 

 much to vines, and the foliage will display peculiar pathological feat- 

 ures characteristic of over feeding. 



Experiments have been made by investigators on the influence of 

 chemical fertilizers upon the growth and development of tomato 

 crops. W. J. Green* found no advantage in using nitrate of 

 soda and other chemical fertilizers upon the growth of tomatoes 

 grown in a well prepared compost. J. Troop' experimented with 

 various fertilizers on outdoor and greenhouse crops of tomatoes. 

 His results show some gain in yields by the use of fertilizers on out- 

 door crops but no material gain is noted on greenhouse crops. 



Drs. E. H. Jenkins and W. E. Britton* found that the yield of 

 tomatoes from benches in rich composted loam averaged larger when 

 no chemical fertilizers were added, although they found when using a 

 soil composed of coal ashes and peat a larger crop was obtained by 

 the use of chemical fertilizers than from a rich compost of turf and 

 manure. They obtained the best results with 6.4 lbs. of nitrate of 

 soda : i lb. of dissolved bone black and 2.4 lbs. of muriate of potash 

 per 100 square feet of bench space. 



E. B. Vourhees'' found that the crop may be materially increased 

 by the use of chemical fertilizers, especially nitrate of soda, but that 

 this result depended upon the method of application and the presence 

 in the soil of a full supply of potash and phosphoric acid. He found 

 that maturity was not affected when a small quantity was used 

 in one application, but a large quantity similarly applied affects 

 maturity. These results have been substantiated by A. T. Jordan^ 

 who maintains that nitrogen is the ruling element in the growth of 

 tomatoes. 



L. H. Bailey' observed that tiie early application of nitrate of soda 

 produced early maturity, whereas intermittent and prolonged applica- 

 tions delayed the crop. Nitrate of soda being an incomplete fertilizer, 

 he recommends that it should not be used to the exclusion of other 

 fertilizer, unless the soil is rich in potash and phosphoric acid. 



* Ohio Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. No. 43, 1892. 



1. Ind. Agr. Exp. Sta. Rpt. 13, igoi, p. 56-70. 



2. Conn. Agr. Exp. Sta. Rpt. 21, 1897, p. 293. 



3. N. J. Agn. Exp. Sta. Bui. No. 79, 1891. 



4. N. J. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. No. 141, 1899. 



:. N. Y. (Cornell Univ.) Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. No, 



