FERTILIZERS AND TOMATOES. 59 



lack of nourishment. Up to this date the plants had been 

 growing in the natural soil three weeks longer than in the 

 artificial soil. The total yield of the plants in natural soil, 

 up to July i6th, is also given, though after the middle of 

 April there is little or no profit in forcing-house toma- 

 toes." The tabular results are as follows : 



Peat and ashes 



with fertilizers. Natural soil. 



To April i;th To April I7th To July i6th 



Yield per plant (grams) . . . 2087 976 1820 



Yield per plant (pounds) . . 4.59 2.15 4.00 



Number of fruits per plant . 21 10.4 22.7 



Weight of fruits (grams) . . 99.1 91.7 82.4 



Yield per square foot (grams) 904 847.0 1583 



Yield per square foot (pounds) 1.99 1.86 3.5 



"The table shows that up to the time when the fertilizers 

 in the artificial soil were proved (by the chemical analyses) 

 to be exhausted, the plants in artificial soil had produced, 

 per square foot of bench space, 7 per cent more tomatoes 

 than those in the natural soil, while the latter had, up to that 

 time, three weeks more of growing season. It is possible 

 that the plants in natural soil, if they had been set further 

 apart, would have, in the same time, made a larger crop per 

 foot of bench space. It is possible, too, that with an in- 

 creased supply of fertilizers the plants in artificial soil would 

 have given a largely increased yield. We cite these figures 

 only to show that the tomato crop can be successfully grown 

 in a soil made of ashes and peat, such as we have described, 

 with the aid of commercial fertilizers." 



While these experiments were inaugurated "solely to 

 determine how much nitrogen in the soil was necessary for 

 the full development of the tomato plant," the experimen- 

 ters nevertheless " feel justified in calling attention to certain 

 apparent advantages in using the artificial soil." In this 

 artificial soil there is less liability to fungous troubles and' 

 insects, and the cost is less than for natural soils. "For 

 every 100 square feet of bench space, about 2,200 pounds of 

 sifted coal ashes and 63 pounds of dried peat or leaf mold 



