166 



NEW ENGLAiJD FAKMER. 



April 



the plants out till after the 2oth of May, and 

 the iirst week in June is preferred by many 

 who '^i-t their fruit as early as those who set a 

 fortnight earlier. 



Ilorf^e manure is the main thing to depend 

 upon for heat. It should be saved separately 

 from other uiaiun-e and not be allowed to heat 

 very nuieh during the winter. A few days be- 

 fore wanted it nuist be forked over and thrown 

 up in a high i)ile so as to induce fermentation. 

 It may be necessary to work it over two or 

 three times. When well warmed up it may be 

 put in the beds. 



Many beginners fail by not having the ma- 

 nure dee}) enough in the beds. If for the 

 earliest planting, I Avant it at least twenty 

 inches deep after it is well settled and gently 

 trodden down. Others fail by having their 

 bods where water can get in and cool the ma- 

 mire. If the manure is put below the surface 

 the soil should be well drained. After the 

 manure is deep enough and well levelled olF, 

 there should be from four to si.K inches of good 

 soil laid over it, in which to grow the plants. 

 The deeper this soil can be and not smother 

 the heat in the manure below, the less care 

 will be needed in watering the plants. I used 

 to have bad luck with my plants by using a 



i)oor quality of soil in which to grow them, 

 f it is very loamy the plants are ai)t to "damp 

 off" after being watered, especially if the 

 weather is such as to require the beds to be 

 closed. 



I now use a compost made of the top soil 

 from the last gears' beds, with enough of the 

 old manure from the bottom to make the soil 

 quite rich, and add clear sand enough to make 

 the whole light and porous, so that it can 

 never bake in the sun nor hold enough water 

 to rot the plants. I tliink I use about one- 

 third sand, one-third old soil of last year and 

 one-third old manure from last year's beds, 

 which make the new soil about half manure 

 and half sand. In such a soil plants grow 

 right along. If one wants to sell plants that 

 he can warrant true to name he should save 

 his own seed. 



I buy some new kind nearly every year, but 

 am often disappointed. The Lester''s Per- 

 fected and the Tilden are about good enough. 

 The main thing is to have them of good size, 

 smooth and tolerably early. The books say 

 let the bed remain a few days to warm up or 

 to let the greatest heat pass olT before sowing 

 the seed. I generally sow the same day the 

 bed is made. 



When the young plants begin to appear 

 above grou7ul is a critical time with them. 

 An hour of hot sun on a closed bed will often 

 kill the whole. They must be watch(;d pretty 

 closely for a few days, and the sashes will 

 sometimes need moving several times in a day. 

 This is work that can only be learned by ex- 

 perience ; but after a while one can tell at a 

 giance if the jilants are needing protection or 

 air. 



I find it less trouble, and get better plants 

 to make a small seed bed and start them very 

 thickly. Then as soon as they are well up 

 and growing, begin to make a much larger 

 bed with a less depth of manure, and when 

 the top soil of this gets well warmed iq), and 

 the plants have on their second leaves, I trans- 

 plant them all izito the new bed, setting them 

 about one-iuvlf under ground. Then shade a 

 day or two, but am careful not to water much 

 till the plants commence to grow. After the 

 j)lants get to l)e four inches high, and too thick 

 to grow strong, I again transplant into a still 

 larger bed, and as the season has advanced 

 less heating numure will be needed, a. d al- 

 most any sort of old sash will answer. 



I think I get very much better plants by 

 transplanting them two or more times, set- 

 ting their stems about two inches under the 

 soil e- ery time. I take up the plants from 

 the first bed, sort them over, throw out all 

 weeds, put their roots in a pan of water and 

 let them stand till they take up water enough 

 to make them firm and crisp; then, beginning 

 at one end of the new bed, I make with my 

 hand a little trench across it, lay the plants 

 in two or three inches apart and an inch or 

 two deeper than they were before, about as 

 fast as one woidd drop peas, and with one 

 stroke of the hand the dirt can be moved over 

 the roots. It should be gently pressed down, 

 then go on as before and finish the bed. Af- 

 ter shading a couple of days at most, I water 

 the bed toward evening and the next day give 

 air, and find my plants gi'owing and looking 

 nearly as well as before transplanting. All 

 of the stem that is put under the ground will 

 throw out new roots, making the plants many 

 times stronger than if they had stood in the 

 bed where they were planted. 



After they have been transplanted two or 

 three times in this way they may be taken up 

 and after wetting the roots planted out where 

 they are to stand, and every one warranted 

 not only to live but to grow, even if set in the 

 middle of a hot day ; or they may be laid into 

 boxes as thickly as they can be j)acked and 

 their roots coveie<l with dirt, well watered and 

 carried to the village for sale, in a hot sun, 

 without scarcely wilting. 



If plants are to be sold early, before it is 

 time to put them out, it is well to put them in 

 boxes of one or two dozens at the second 

 transplanting. After the boxes are filled they 

 are placed on a heap of warm manure for a 

 few days to let their roots get warm, after 

 which they will do well in cold frames. If 

 ])ut in boxes, tlie boxes nmst be moved away 

 from each other as the plants grow. A good 

 plant must have room to grow. 



I do not want anything better for a tomato 

 plant than one si.x inches high, l)road and 

 stout, with from six to ten times its natural 

 supply of roots, and I do not care for it till 

 the first of fJinie. "Then I would set it in a 

 good shovelful of old well rotted manure 



