14 BULLETIN 392, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Pmning: Prune the plants to one or two main stems. Remove 

 all shoots that grow in the axils of the leaves; that is, between the 

 leaves and main stems. To keep the shoots pinched off, go over the 

 plat once ever}" week or 10 days. 



Cultivating: Give the tomato plants frequent shallow cultivation 

 to keep down weeds and maintam a soil mulch to prevent evapora- 

 tion. Cultivate as soon as the soil is sufficiently dry after each rain. 

 Do not allow a crust to form, A small-tooth cultivator is suitable 

 for tomato cultivation. By the use of the hand hoe keep the soil 

 loose and the weeds between the plants do"v\m. 



Study questions: What materials are used for stakes ? Are frames 

 used ? How are they made ? What points are to be gained by 

 pruning plants to one or two stems and supporting them to stakes ? 

 Does the fruit mature earUer? Is the fruit larger? Are the plants 

 and fruits as subject to disease when tramed in this way? What 

 are the shoots that develop in the axils of the leaves ? When do the 

 fruit stems iievelop ? What is a " mulch ? " What is a " soil mulch ? " 

 How produced ? 



References.— FsiTBievs'Buh. 220, pp. 8, 9, 16; 642, pp. 7, 8; 255 

 and 647. 



Practical exercises. — Preparing stakes, making frames, setting 

 stakes or frames, prunmg plants and cultivating the plat provide 

 work for the members of the class with tomato plats as home or 

 club work. 



Correlations. — Written work is provided by copying in the note- 

 book answers to "study questions.^' 



Drawing: Make sketches of a frame; a properly prmied and staked 

 tomato plant. 



Arithmetic : Find the cost of material and labor in staking a tenth 

 of an acre of tomatoes. Fmd the cost of material and labor m 

 making frames for 200 tomato plants. 



LESSON TEN. 



TOPIC: PESTS— DISEASES AND INSECTS. 



month: may. 

 Lesson outline. — Diseases: Among the principal diseases of toma- 

 toes are blossom-end rot, leaf spot (leaf mold), fruit rot, wilt, and 

 root-knot. To prevent diseases practice a rotation course extendmg 

 through three or four years and not mcluding tomatoes, eggplants, 

 and peppers more than once in this period. Fertihze and cultivate 

 the plants well to keep them in a thrifty condition. Avoid the use 

 of fresh manure. Pull up and burn all diseased plants when disease 

 first appears. Begin spraying the plants with Bordeaux mixture as 

 soon as they are set out and keep this up at intervals of 10 days for 

 five or six applications. Fruit rot is combated by pruning and 

 training, together with the destruction of diseased fruits. Rotation 



