2 BULLETIN 1099, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Table 1. — Production and value of tomatoes shipped from the principal ship- 

 ping States in 1919, according to statistics prepared by the Bureau of Mar- 

 kets. 



Production. 





State. 



1 Tons. 



i 



Value. 



Florida 





j 58, 520 



$9,714,320 

 1 692 800 



Mississippi 





1 18,400 



Texas 





j 17, 700 



l' 62s' 400 



California 





1 17, 380 



729 960 











Total 



! 119 nnn 



13 765 480 







The heaviest of these car-lot shipments are made during the 

 months of March, April, May, and June, although in Florida ship- 

 ments in car lots begin in December. Smaller quantities of toma- 

 toes are also shipped from Mexico, Cuba, and the Bahamas. These 

 very early grown fruits supply the holiday markets in the large 

 cities and represent a comparatively high money value. Michigan, 

 Colorado, Iowa, New Jersey, and Virginia also produce large quan- 

 tities of tomatoes, but their crops are grown chiefly for local con- 

 sumption and canning. Their period of production extends from 

 about June until the vines are killed by frost in the fall. (Table 2.) 



Table 2. — Statistics compiled hy the Bureau of Crop Estimates and the Na- 

 tional Canners' Association on tomatoes used in the United States for manu- 

 facturing and canning in 1918, 1919, and 1920. 



Items of comparison . 



Area grown acres. . 317, 102 



Yield tons.. 1,323,0.59 



Cases (each containing 24 No. 3 cans) 15, 882, 372 



195,645 



724,912 



10, 809, 660 



1920 



244,745 



1,003,358 



11,368,000 



Somewhat over half of our tomato crop, then, exclusive of can- 

 ning tomatoes, is grown in the South and Southwest and shipped 

 to the northern markets in the winter and spring months, when a 

 good part of the product in transit and on the market is in constant 

 danger of freezing. A considerable portion of the crop is usually 

 cut short in the fall b}^ early frosts while most of the vines are still 

 producing vigorously. 



Many data covering a period of three years have been accumu- 

 lated in the Bureau of Plant Industry on the freezing points of a 

 number of varieties of tomatoes, in both green and ripe stages; also 

 data bearing on the freezing of tomatoes in the field. These results 

 are incorporated in this bulletin. 



VARIETIES STUDIED AND RESULTS. 



Freezing points, or the temperatures at which tomatoes freeze, 

 were determined on authentic varieties grown by the Department of 



