I. TOMATO GROWING IN NEW HAMPSHIRE 



F. WM. RANK AND LEIGH HUNT 



At the Tilton and Rochester fairs, last fall, it was evident 

 that tomato growing was well understood by many gardeners, 

 especially by those who made exhibits. Many were able to 

 name at sight a large proportion of our fifty-six varieties on 

 exhibition. Not having fully completed our notes at that time, 

 we were unable to state the average yield, and much of the 

 information asked for, especially regarding the newer varieties. 

 The office of this bulletin is to present the results of our study 

 of the varieties named during the past season. Our deductions 

 and notes apply only to our New Hampshire conditions. The 

 varieties best suited to our state are those having an early 

 maturity, ripening the bulk of their fruit before September. 



SOIL AND CULTIVATION 



The soil of the tomato field was a good loam, practically 

 level. A crop of millet was grown upon the land in 1S95, 

 and potatoes in 1894. In the spring of 1896 a light coating of 

 cow manure, and a heavv application of a complete tomato fer- 

 tilizer were used. The plants which were started from seed in 

 the greenhouse, March i6th, had been transplanted twice, 

 once from the seed boxes into trays, two inches apart each way ; 

 and again into the cold frame, six inches apart, thus giving 

 them a stock}' growth. They were transplanted into the field 

 May 25th and 26th, in rows five feet apart, the plants three 

 feet apart in the row ; or, at the rate of 2,904 plants to the acre. 

 Ten plants of each variety were selected upon which to base 

 the experiment. 



The land was cultivated frequently until the plants were of 

 fair size. The method of training was to tie each plant to an 

 ordinary bean-pole sufficiently to keep it from the ground. 

 This necessitated a slight amount of pruning to improve the 



