TOMATO TURNIP. 89 



Drying. After being rinsed clean, seed is taken up 

 in small quantities, squeezed or pressed dry, and then 

 spread either on wooden trays or on screens or drying 

 frames of similar material and dimensions to the frames 

 described for drying cucumber. These trays or screens 

 are set in the sun and air to allow seed to dry. A clear, 

 dry day is chosen, so as to give seed as much drying 

 as possible before night. 



The screens are placed under shelter over night and 

 set in the sun again the following day; which is con- 

 tinued until seed has become thoroughly dry. While 

 drying, stir and turn seed frequently. From the 

 screens, seed is spread thinly on the drying room floor, 

 and there allowed to remain till it is perfectly dry; after 

 which before storing it is cleaned in the fan mill. 



Market. The seed trade at present handles in the 

 aggregate upwards of 250,000 pounds of tomato seed 

 yearly, it being sold largely to canners and to truck 

 farmers. 



It is all produced in this country by growers scattered 

 from the Atlantic to the Pacific. In a favorable season, 

 200 to 300 pounds of seed are produced to the acre; 

 average prices paid to growers range from forty-five 

 to sixty cents per pound, according to variety. 



TURNIP. 



Any kind of mellow, fertile soil, from a light, sandy 

 loam, to a heavy clay is adapted for a crop of turnip 

 seed; that which was fertilized for a preceding crop is 

 better than applying stable manure at time of sowing, 

 as by the latter course the crop is liable to be worm- 

 eaten. 



If it be necessary to use a fertilizer, it is advised to 

 apply wood ashes, bone meal, or super-phosphate. 



