214 The Canadian Horticulturist, 



RIPENING TOMATOES. 



N the opinion of Mr. Eli Minch, tomatoes ripen earlier and are better 

 in quality when kept from the ground. He trains to good stout brush, 

 sharpened at one end, and cut off square foot or two long. These 

 stuck around the plant make a level, even-topped support for the vines. He 

 also advises twisting or splitting the vines between the fruit and the root, thus 

 forcing the fruit to early ripening. 



A few years ago Prof. Bailey, then in Michigan, recommended a rack for the 

 market plantation which he described as follows : About every six or eight feet 

 a stout stake was driven on either side of the row and 1 5 inches from the plant, 

 the stakes when firmly driven standing over a foot high. A strip of old boards 

 was nailed near the tops of the posts along on either side of the row. Then 

 edgings were tacked across from one side to the other, four about each plant 

 and a foot apart. Upon this rack the tomatoes needed no tying or training, and 

 they spread themselves freely to the sunlight. The circulation of air under the 

 racks was so free that there was no unusual danger of rot. This is decidedly 

 the best rack which we have tried. We noticed, also, that the fruit ripened more 

 uniformly here than on the plants which were tied to stakes. We shall try other 

 methods of training next year. It appears advisable to try but a very few sorts 

 each year in order that they can be tested upon a larger scale. 



The Emerald Gem Musk Melon. — We like melons, especially good and 

 spicy ones, such as for instance the emerald Gem, the superior of which in 

 flavor we have never met. Some of our neighbors grow Hackensack, and sim- 

 ilar sorts for market. We find most of these ordinary sorts too late for our 

 climate and grounds, unless started early under glass and transplanted. But we 

 do not see what we could gain by growing these later sorts merely to get size 

 and insipidity when we can plant the Emerald Gem in open ground in' its pro- 

 per season, and get quality, sweetness and spiciness. 



The Emerald Gem is early, consequently we can plant it confidently expect- 

 ing a long season of the most luscious melons imaginable. And this variety 

 well deserves even a little extra painstaking to make it earlier. Our way is to 

 dig a hole for each hill and fill it with a mixture of sand, rotted manure and 

 loam, and plant the seed in this. Some of the hills are started even before the 

 time for general planting, and covered with a little frame with a pane or two of 

 glass on top. 



If you have never tried the Emerald Gem, it is time you should. If planted 

 in June they will still give you ripe melons before frost, even in a locality with 

 as short seasons as ours. — Exchange. 



