TOMATO. 127 



Culture. — It is indispensable, in good gardening, to have 

 this popular vegetable fit for the table at the earliest possible 

 period. We therefore advise all to resort to the best and most 

 expeditious means at their command. Hotbeds, in March, are 

 generally used to grow a few hundreds, or thousands, as wants 

 require. Sow the seed very thinly, and cover it slightly. It is 

 generally sure of vegetating, and if the plants come up thickly, 

 they draw and crowd each other. In a few days they will be 

 three or four inches high, requiring to be freely aired, if in a 

 hotbed, at all favorable periods in time of sunshine. As they 

 advance in growth, transplant into other frames, under glass, 

 where they will stand two or three inches apart, to harden and 

 prepare for removal to the open ground. About the first of 

 May select some sheltered spot ; plant them three feet apart, 

 by the side of a close fence, or other erection, where they will 

 have the full benefit of the sun the whole day. When they 

 are about a foot high, draw earth to their stems and surround 

 them with branches for support. The earliest plants should 

 have a few inches taken off their tops as soon as they have set 

 their fruit. This will cause them to ripen more rapidly. 

 Where there is plenty of space under glass, it is a good plan 

 to pot a quantity of the plants in April, and encourage their 

 growth by every possible means, transplanting them into the 

 open air as soon as there is a possibility of settled, warm 

 weather, which is generally about the second week in May, in 

 this vicinity. 



Those who have not such convenient arrangements as above, 

 can place a small box or large pot. with good rich earth, in 

 their kitchen window, and sow in it a few seeds, about the 

 middle of March or the first of April. By this means they 

 will have the crop ready two or three weeks before those that 

 are sown in the open air; For a general crop, sow about the 

 last week of April, on a sheltered, warm spot of ground, in 

 light, rich soil. If the nights are cold, cover with a little 

 straw or other brush. Keep the plants thiia, that they may 

 6* 



