THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



65 



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mi 



way as for outdoor culture till handled 

 the last time. 



GROWING TOMATOES OUTSIDE 



Among the many varieties of toma- 

 toeo that are grown in the field, it is diffi- 

 cult to say which is the best marketable 

 variety. Much time has been spent 

 experimenting for the discovery of some 

 early variety. I find that no variety 

 gives more satisfactory results in this 

 district, for earliness and yield, than the 

 EarHana. The best late varieties for 

 ome use and market are Plentiful, 

 which gives general satisfaction but not 

 as early as some others. Success, Perfec- 

 tion, Purple Dwarf, Favorite, and a 

 number of others. 



The preparation of land for tomatoes 

 is much the same as preparing for many 

 other crops. Many people claim that 

 tomatoes do not need high cultivation. 

 To my mind tomatoes require one of 

 the highest grades of cultivation of any 

 vegetable that is grown for market pur- 

 poses. The soil must be well fertilized 

 with rotted manure, which should be 

 put on in the fall. Avoid stiff, hard, 

 clay land, as it has a tendency to spoil 

 the crop in a wet season. Soft loam, or 

 sandy loam, well enriched, or black land, 

 gives the best results. 



My reason for advocating the use of 

 well enriched soil for tomatoes is that 

 the majority of the crop is forced into a 

 marketable size while the moisture is in 

 the land. Should dry weather set in 

 before the crop has had a chance to 

 develop, the fruit and crop will be small. 

 Often a first -class strain of tomatoes is 

 condemned more for want of proper culti- 

 vation than the qualifications of variety. 

 Sow the seed about the end of March 

 or the first week in April. When the 

 plants are three and four inches high, 

 transplant into quart strawberry boxes. 

 These are placed in a hot bed with a 

 nice,, steady growing temperature, with 

 about three inches of soil in the bed. 

 When the plants are all in, cover the 

 boxes so as to prevent drying out by the 

 sun. They are left there until the 

 danger of frost is over. 



When planting in the field run a deep 

 furrow with the plow, in which set the 

 plants four feet apart each way, allowing 

 room for sun and cultivation. Break 

 the comers of the boxes as they are put in 

 the furrows and thus prevent the dis- 

 turbing of the roots. Draw the soil 

 around the plants with a trowel to keep 

 them in position until all are planted. 

 Then use the horse and cultivator and 

 complete the work. The crop will be 

 ready for summer cultivation in a few 

 days. 



By planting in squares it gives one a 

 chance to work both ways with the 

 cultivator. It thus lessens labor, re- 

 duces expenses and increases the profit. 

 For harvesting, the bushel crate is the ,' 

 most satisfactory package. I 



Veg'etables in New Ontario 



AN interesting letter was received by 

 The Canadian Horticulturist 

 from Benjamin Hammond, of Fish- 

 kill-on-Hudson, N.Y., a gentleman who 

 has travelled in Canada several times 

 and is interested in horticulture in all 

 its branches. Mr. Hammond is sec- 

 retary of the American Rose Society. 

 The following is his communication: 



"Wabigoon is in the wild country 

 of western New Ontario. It is a sta- 

 tion on the C.P.R., 204 miles west of 

 Port Arthur, and is located at 

 the head of Lake Wabigoon. 

 At this station last October, I 

 saw a cabbage and cauliflower 

 patch, that for perfect speci- 

 mens attracted much attention. 

 Since boyhood, I have always 

 been fond of cauliflower, but 

 for real flavor, it has not been 

 my privilege to eat as good 

 vegetables as the ones that I 

 ate there. In that rigorous, 

 wintry chniate, on sandy clay 

 soil, they are doing wonders in 

 garden products. 



"In the spring of 1905, before 

 the ice was broken, I left Wabi- 

 goon in a primitive sled to go 

 through the bush and over the 

 lakes a distance of 30 miles. 

 About a mile on the journey, 

 I came to a clearing where two 

 log buildings were built ; one a 

 bam and the other a settler's 

 cabin. An acre or two of the 

 light timber around the build- 

 ings was down. It was being 

 gathered by a boy with a cow 

 and a sled; the settler had no 

 horse. This industrious man, 

 Herbert Wright by name, had 

 taken up the land and settled 

 with his young family to clear up 

 and make a homestead. They 

 were intelHgent workers. Last fall at 

 the agricultural exhibition of the Rainy 

 River district, held at Fort William', 



Mr. Wright placed his products on ex- 

 hibition. He was successful in secur- 

 ing first prize for parsnips, early Egyp- 

 tian beets, early round cabbage, white 

 celery, intermediate stump carrots, earlv 

 red onions, globe Danvers and winter 

 set onions; second prize for early point- 

 ed cabbage, and third prize for pota- 

 toes, 'Carman, No. 1.' How is this 

 for new land in the so-called wilder- 

 ness west of Lake Superior? Two 

 years ago I saw a celery patch that ex- 





"V^^'vjJOO-VV^ 



■5' fM\-\/i(y /* 



A New Ontario Home and Garden 



ceeded in strength, crispness, and flavor 

 anything of the kind that I ever saw 

 in New Jersey or Kalamazoo." 



PotasK for Potatoes 



For growing potatoes, which gives the best 

 results, muriate of potash or sulphate ?— -T. H. P., 

 Appleby, Ont. 



I do not know as there is any great 

 difference in the effect of the two differ- 

 ent fertilizers upon the growth of the 

 crop, but the muriate of potash does not 

 give as nice a potato as the sulphate. 

 The former substance is inchned to 

 make the potato waxy and the flavor 

 is not so satisfactory as where the sul- 

 phate is used. — Answered by Prof. R. 

 Harcourt, O.A.C., Guelph. 



Hard or Soft "Wood AsKes 



Which is the best, hard wood ashes or soft 

 wood? — W. B., Ayr, Ont. 



The ashes of hard and soft wood are 

 very much alike, except that the former 

 are heavier. Soft wood ashes are bulky. 

 A great deal depends upon the position 

 of the wood in the tree. The hmbs and 

 branches contain more ash and conse- 

 quently more potash than that from 

 the tmnk of the tree, and the limbs more 

 than the twigs. As you pass upward and 

 outward you find more potash than you 

 do in the trunk of the tree. 



The first blossom on the tomato plant 

 usually is double, and always should be 

 picked off.— -J. Gibbard, Doncaster. 



Manure for hotbeds should be uniform 

 in composition and texture. 



