2 BULLETIN 290, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



October 15 to January 1. In southern California the tomato shipping 

 season can be extended the year round, as the tomato grows there as a 

 perennial. 



The Texas and Mississippi territories are followed by west Tennessee 

 and New Jersey, the former overlapping the Texas and Mississippi 

 areas, while New Jersey usually comes on the market when the 

 shipping seasons close in these two States. Shipments from other 

 States may be said in a general way to move over shorter distances 

 and to be of importance in a smaller number of the large markets. 



Cuban, Mexican, Florida, and south Texas tomatoes, as a rule, 

 have been luxuries or semiluxuries. The first shipments from Mis- 

 sissippi and northeastern Texas generally bring high prices, but when 

 the shipments from these areas reach their height, tomatoes may be 

 said first to come within the reach of the general purchasing public. 



METHODS OF CULTIVATION AND SHIPPING. 1 



The system of cultivation in practically all of the southern tomato 

 districts is not calculated to result in the greatest possible production 

 per acre, but is designed to hasten maturity and to give a crop of 

 uniform smooth tomatoes which can be marketed within the shortest 

 possible time. Plants are staked, trimmed, and topped, and the 

 fruit even may be thinned to limit the quantity, hasten maturity, 

 and perfect the appearance of the individual specimens. 



Large quantities are wrapped individually and packed very 

 carefully in what the consumer would call a perfectly green state. 

 The producers, however, consider a tomato "mature" when it has 

 reached full size and appears smooth and well filled out. They are 

 called "ripe" when they show the first tinge of pink or reddish color. 



Green wrapped stock is shipped long distances under ventilation 

 without refrigeration; but nearly all ripe stock, whether wrapped 

 or not, is shipped under refrigeration. The last of the southern crop 

 frequently is wasted because it does not sell to advantage in competi- 

 tion with locally grown northern tomatoes. The latter are larger, as 

 a rule, than those grown in the South, where varieties are selected 

 for early production and smoothness rather than for the size of the 

 fruit. 



METHODS USED IN COMPILING DATA. 



In this publication an effort has been made to list largely by rail- 

 road stations the actual shipments of tomatoes for table use in 1914. 

 Practically all of this information has been obtained from, or checked 

 by, transportation companies, and while this tabulation may not be 

 complete, it is believed to approximate very closely the actual car- 

 load movement. 



1 Farmers' Bulletin 642, "Tomalo Growing in the South," by H. C. Thompson, 1915. 



