LESSOXS OX TOMATOES FOK liUKAE SCHOOLS. 5 



suited for the home garden, while the others are of good quality and 

 are especially suited for canning. 



Study questions: What varieties of the commercial group are 

 gTowTi ? Which have been most successful ? What variety is gTown 

 by the cannmg-club members? Have at hand a few specimens of 

 each variety fomid in the community. Compare them as to size, 

 shape, color. Record answers in a notebook. 



Eeferences. — Farmers' Buls. 220, pp. 5, 6, 15, 18; and 642, p. 11. 



Practical exercises. — Have each member of the class bring a few 

 specimens of each variety of tomatoes growai in the community. 

 These should be used in connection with the stud}' questions. Re- 

 quire the pupils to practice until they are able to recognize each 

 variety at sight. 



Correlations. — Language: Have members of the class describe the 

 fruits of the different varieties of tomatoes found in the community. 



Drawing: Require the pupils to make drawuigs of the tomatoes 

 brought to class for stud}'. 



LESSON THREE. 



TOPIC: HARVESTING. 



month: SEPTEMBER. 



Lesson outline. — Condition of finiit : If intended for home use, 

 local market, or canning the fruit shoidd be allowed to fully mature 

 on the vine; if for distant market, the fruit should be picked as soon 

 as it begins to turn red. 



Picking: Exercise care in handhng to avoid bruismg or otherwise 

 injuring the fruit. Remove stems to avoid puncturing the ripe fruit. 



Packing: Rough, cracked, and deformed fruits should be separated 

 from those intended for market. The best prices are received for 

 those most nearly uniform m size, shape, and color. For a fancy 

 product wrap each fruit in thin paper and pack in half-peck peach or 

 tomato baskets. Fruit for canning should be thoroughly ripe but 

 not soft. Underripe tomatoes give a straw-colored product. Over- 

 ripe give a mushy product . 



For seed, carefully select those plants on which the largest propor- 

 tion of the crop is of desirable form and color, and save the best fruit 

 from each plant separately. Such seed will give much better results 

 than that from superior individual fruits from plants on which much 

 of the fruit was inferior. Let the fruit get fully ripe, quite past con- 

 dition for table use. Squeeze out the pulp and seed, throwing away 

 the skins and flesh. Allow the seed to stand in a warm place for 1 to 3 

 days, according to the weather conditions, then add four or five times its 

 bulk of water. Stir vigorously, allow it to settle, then carefully pour 

 off the water carrying what pulp it wiU, and repeat until the seed is 



