Field Truck Crops 253 



to spread it during the winter, in order that the soluble 

 portions may become thoroughly distributed throughout 

 the soil. As soon as the land is ready to work in the spring, 

 it should again be plowed shallow and then deeply tilled, 

 in order both to thoroughly warm up the soil, and to in- 

 corporate with it coarser portions of the manure. 



Upon light, sandy soils coarse manure may be used, 

 provided it is spread broadcast some time before working 

 the soil; whereas, upon heavy, cold soils, well-rotted 

 manure should be used and its application confined to 

 the hill. 



Fertilizers for late tomatoes. 



In manuring and fertilizing for the late crop, the charac- 

 ter of the crop and the season of its growth should be 

 remembered. In the first place, the plants for this crop 

 are not put in the soil until summer, when the conditions 

 are most favorable for the rapid change of organic forms 

 of nitrogen into nitrates. Thus, if the soil has been 

 manured or is naturally rich in vegetable matter, the ad- 

 ditional application of nitrogen in immediately available 

 forms is not so important. In the second place, the object 

 of the growth is not early maturity, but the largest yield of 

 matured fruit ; hence it is more desirable to grow a larger 

 plant than in the case of the early tomatoes. The fer- 

 tilization should therefore be such as to furnish an abun- 

 dance of all the elements of plant-food ; and, inasmuch as 

 the tomato belongs to the potash-consuming class of 

 plants, any fertilization should be particularly rich in this 

 element. It is not to be understood, however, that it 

 is not necessary to apply nitrogen, for frequently soils 

 are used that are either not well adapted for the plant 

 or are poor, not having been previously well supplied 



