November, igog 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



245 



wrapped in thin paper and dropped into 

 the jar. When Hberating the gas take 

 levery precaution. — VV. S. Blair, Mac- 

 ionafd College, Que. 



The Forcing of FalljTomatocs^ 



M. M. Miesse, Lancaster, Ohio 



Market Gardening 



At the convention of the Greenhouse 

 Vegetable Growers' and Market Gard- 

 eners' Association of America, at Ash- 

 tabula, Ohio, in October, a splendid ad- 

 dress was given by Mr. H. B. Fuller- 

 ton, director of the Long Island Rail- 

 road Experiment Farms, Huntington, 

 L.I., on the subject, "From Farm to 

 Family Fresh." 



Mr. Fullerton spoke of the market 

 conditions in the city of New York, the 

 greatest market in America, and de- 

 clared that while producers were getting 

 little or nothing for their products, con- 

 sumers were suffering from a lack of 

 fresh and healthy vegetables. He at- 

 tempted to find out why and as a result 

 of his investigations declared that it 

 was a case of "too much middleman." 



He then developed the idea of the 

 "home hamper," a six-basket carrier, 

 which he filled with various vegetables 

 and shipped direct to consumers. These 

 baskets he uniformly sold at $1.50. Mr. 

 Fullerton told how this industry, which 

 he started without hope of it reaching 

 great proportions, had developed and 

 how the idea had been taken up by 

 growers in other sections of the 

 country. 



Grubs in Greenhouses 



Specimens of grubs which cause much 

 [: damage to lettuce, as they pull the 

 young lettuce down under the ground, 

 were received from a grower in Pennsyl- 

 vania by Professor Surface. Should 

 grubs be troubling growers in Canada, 

 the following reply that Professor Sur- 

 face .sent to his correspondent will be of 

 interest : 



"We received the worms or larvae 



^ which you sent to us from your green- 

 houses and find them to be white grubs. 

 These may be the young of one of sever- 

 al species of beetles ; it is difficult to tell 

 exactly which until they mature. It is 

 probable that they get into your green- 

 house by eggs laid by the adult or fly- 

 ing beetles in the manure which you are 

 using as a fertilizer. I would certainly 

 recommend nitrate of soda as a fertili- 

 zer for lettuce. This and dried blood 

 will make an ideal combination, as the 

 nitrate of soda is immediate in action 

 and the blood is a little slower, and 

 thus you will have a prolonged feeding 

 ration for the plants. 



"These larvae or grubs can be killed 

 by putting holes in the soil about one- 

 half foot deep, and two or three feet 

 apart, and pouring one-third teacupful 

 of carbon bisulphide into each, and clos- 

 ing it with damp earth. The fumes from 

 this will kill the pests." 



TO grow a good crop of fall tomatoes 

 it is necessary to have good plants 

 of some good variety or varieties. 

 We sowed our seed on August nth 

 and transplanted into flats on August 

 24th. The plants remained in flats until 

 September 8th. Then we potted them in 

 two and a half inch pots where they re- 

 mained until September 28 and 30 when 

 they were planted in their permanent 

 beds. 



The beds were mulched on August 15th 

 with good stable manure to the depth 

 of three or four inches which was kept 

 moderately damp and in good growing 

 condition. Two houses were plowed 

 twice ; the second plowing was back fur- 



days and keep the ground well stirred to 

 let the sun and air into the soil. This puts 

 on a healthy green luster and vigorous 

 growth. 



WATERING 



We are particular not to overwater, 

 but just enough to keep in a good grow- 

 ing condition until the time comes for 

 the plants to set their fruit. Then we keep 

 them on the dry side until they are well 

 loaded with fruit. We follow then with 

 plenty of water while the fruit is develop- 

 ing. We think the black rot is caused 

 by not enough water at the proper time. 



POLLENIZING 



We pollenize the first two clusters by 

 hand, using a spoon and a small stick. 



Yonn( Tomato Plantt in a Forcing House in the United States 



Establishment of Mr. M. M. Miesse. Lancaster, Ohio. 



II 



rowed. The other house was plowed but 

 once. Forks were used to draw the 

 mulch into the furrow where it was 

 tramped. 



We liked this method better than the 

 two plowings as the beds worked down 

 better and were in finer condition for 

 planting. We marked out our beds six- 

 teen by thirty-two inches. 



PLANTING 



We distribute our wire anchors at 

 every cross than the plants. In planting 

 we use the trowel and place the plant 

 on the anchor and plant together. 



CULTIVATION 



We cultivate our tomatoes every few 



•A paper read at the convention of the Green- 

 house Vegetable Growers' and Market Gardeners' 

 Association of America, held at Ashtabula, Ohio, 

 last month. 



The third, fourth and fifth clusters get 

 pollenized in trimming and training. 



FEEDING 



After fruit is well set we use bone and 

 sheep manure, half and half, worked into 

 the soil lightly between the rows. 

 MULCHING 



We mulch with stable manure to the 

 depth of three or four inches. Then we 

 use plenty of water. The tomato is a 

 heavy feeder. The varieties grown are 

 French Marvel, Hippard's No. i and 

 Early Dawn. 



There is pleasure and profit in garden- 

 ing. 



Photographs of market gardens are 

 wanted for publication. 



