TILLAGE TOMATO 223 



minute or fine the soil most completely without compacting 

 it or leaving it in ridges or in furrows. In garden work, a 

 fine rake is the ideal thing; whereas in field work, some 

 of the wire -tooth weeders or smoothing harrows are ex- 

 cellent. In fields which are hard and lumpy, however, 

 it will be necessary to use heavier and rougher tools. 



In order to break down hard clay soils, one must ex- 

 ercise great care not to work them when they are wet; 

 and also not to work them very much when they are dry. 

 There is a time, shortly after a rain, when clay lumps 

 will break to pieces with a very slight blow. At this 

 time it is well to go over them with a harrow or a Steelrake 

 rake. After the next rain, they can be gone over again, 

 and before the end of the season the soil should be in fine 

 condition. An excellent way of breaking down clay land is 

 to plow or spade it in the fall and allow it to weather in 

 the winter. In such cases the land should not be raked or 

 harrowed, but allowed to lie rough and loose. Very hard 

 clay lands sometimes run together or cement if handled in 

 this way, but this will not occur if the land has stubble or 

 sod or a dressing of manure, for the fibrous matter will then 

 prevent it from puddling. Lime sown on clay land at the 

 rate of twenty to forty bushels to the acre also has a dis- 

 tinct effect in pulverizing it. This may be sown in fall, 

 or preferably in spring when the land is plowed. 



One of the most important ways of ameliorating laud is 

 to work vegetable matter into it so as to give it humus. 

 Soils which are loose, black and friable contain much of 

 this vegetable mold. In many cases the chief value of 

 stable manure is to add this humus to the soil. Many soils 

 need humus more than they need plant-food, and hence 

 stable manure gives better results in those cases than com- 

 mercial fertilizers. The farmer secures the humus by plow- 

 ing under stubble and sod, and occasional green crops. 



Tomato. The early fruits are very easily 

 grown by starting the plants in a greenhouse, hotbed or in 



