TOMATOES. 141 



PRUNING. 



There is, probably, no other vegetable in cultivation 

 that has received as much attention as tomatoes, al- 

 though it is one of the last that has been introduced. 

 There are two reasons for pruning tomatoes. The first 

 is to bring the earliest fruit in earlier than would be 

 done without pruning. The second, is to develop the 

 fruit to its fullest extent. The earliest form of pruning 

 was to remove all the side shoots, and then train the 

 plant up to the main stem, or vine, as it is usually 

 called ; this being either tied to a stake or fastened 

 to a trellis. While this does much toward producing 

 a good crop, it does very little in the way of bringing 

 the crop in earlier. From experience, it has been prov- 

 en that the earliest tomatoes can be forced to ripen a 

 week or even two weeks earlier than where the toma- 

 toes have not been topped. By topping or cutting 

 out the terminal bud at just below the second cluster 

 of blossom, before the first cluster has begun to open, 

 the growing force is thrown into the first cluster. It 

 is not at all uncommon, under such treatment, to have 

 this cluster produce from five to seven berries, and all 

 of these ripen at nearly the same time. While the crop 

 is much smaller than it would have been as a whole, 

 if no topping had occurred, the earlier crop comes in 

 so much earlier that it more than compensates for the 

 loss in quantity. 



Pruning should not be carried too far, however, as 

 the leaf surface of the plant must be sufficient to as- . 

 similate the crude nmterial that is absorbed by the 

 roots. If the leaf surface is too small, so much ab- 

 sorbed matter will be sent to them that the tissues and 

 cells become swollen and unable to perform their func- 

 tions. It should always be kept in mind that we want 

 to check further growth of the stem and further forma- 



