FORGING DWARF TOMATOES UNDER GLASS 



BY F. WM. RANE 



The varieties of tomatoes commonly used for forcing pur- 

 poses are the tall or standard sorts. The Lorillard is gen- 

 erally considered the best standard variety although various 

 other varieties are grown.. Experience has proven that under 

 ordinary conditions best results are obtained by training these 

 varieties to one stem. 



The Dwarf Champion and other dwarf varieties have been 

 thought of little value for forcing under glass other than to util- 

 ize them to some extent on side benches, or in places where 

 overhead space was not sufficient for training up the others. 



The purpose of this bulletin is to emphasize the value 

 of the dwarf varieties. It is believed that the value of the 

 dw^arfs when trained to one stem has never heretofore received 

 sufficient attention. 



A few years ago when carrying on some soil exhaustion ex- 

 periments under glass one of the dwarf varieties of tomatoes 

 was used in the test. In order to make the conditions uniform 

 each plant was trained to a single stem. The behavior of 

 these plants indicated certain advantages over the taller grow- 

 ing varieties. They ripened fruit early, the plants were more 

 stalky, the fruit clusters were much nearer together and the 

 plants did not reach the glass nearly so quickly as the tall- 

 growing sorts. 



In discussing varieties for forcing in Bulletin No. 28, 

 '' Experiments in the Forcing of Tomatoes," the Cornell Ex- 

 periment Station, after naming a list of varieties used in the 

 test, says: ^^ Of these the Dwarf Champion (the only dwarf) 

 is least satisfactory. It does not grow high or free enough to 

 allow of convenient training, and the fruit is small and ripens 



