120 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



United States. We need not go back more than ten years 

 when rough and ill-shaped tomatoes were offered for sale on 

 most of onr markets, while now it is seldom that rough 

 tomatoes are seen in the larger markets of our country. 

 Decided advancement has been made with other vegetables, 

 not only in regard to form or shape but with regard to qual- 

 ity. Growers are exercising much more care in the prepara- 

 tion of their 2:>roducts for market, and so far as sales are 

 concerned this amounts to as much, if not more, than the 

 mere question of quality. 



The application of science has enabled our vegetable 

 growers to produce with more certain results. With irriga- 

 tion, intelligent use of fertilizers and spray materials, better 

 tillage tools and improved seed, growers have been able to 

 produce with more certain results and to materially increase 

 profits in most instances. Thousands of farmers throughout 

 the country are now producing vegetables for commercial 

 purposes. In many instances they are grown in connection 

 with general farm crops, and taken to market along with 

 the weekly supply of butter, eggs and other farm products. 

 The advancement in this particular has been more marked 

 near the larger towns and small cities of the country. In 

 this connection reference should be made to the large num- 

 ber of city boys who have had college training and afterwards 

 engaged in market gardening. ^Numerous cases could be cited 

 of city-bred college men who are doing remarkably well in 

 the production and distribution of choice vegetables. 



Lime increases Yields and makes Production more 



Certain. 



In recent years there has been a marked tendency of our 

 growers to use lime more generally. Vegetable growers have 

 not applied lime so much with its general functions in mind 

 as for specific reasons. Every intelligent grower knows that 

 lime liberates plant food, neutralizes soil acidity, improves 

 the physical character of soils, and has other values of minor 

 importance which are considered by general farmers and 

 often by vegetal)le growers. In recent years, however, lime 

 has been used bv vegetable a;rowers with the idea of obtain- 



