SUMMARY OF EXPERIMENTS IN PRACTICAL 

 HORTICULTURE. 



W. M. MUNSON. 



In the horticultural work of the Experiment Station two dis- 

 tinct lines are kept in view : a study of the principles and laws 

 affecting plant growth ; and practical investigations for immedi- 

 ate guidance in the culture of fruits and vegetables. Mere 

 variety testing, as such, has never occupied a leading place in 

 the plan. 



To be of value, work must extend uninterruptedly over a 

 series of years, and general principles can be established only 

 after repeated efforts ; so that immediate "practical" results are 

 not always possible. The following notes represent, in brief, a 

 summary of the more immediately practical phases of the work 

 which has received attention, with references to the particular 

 bulletin or annual report where the details are published in full. 



veIGETabi.e: gardening. 

 Vegetable gardening, while not of the commercial importance 

 of some other lines of horticultural work in Maine, is neverthe- 

 less of interest and direct value to every citizen of the State — 

 whether farmer or laborer or professional man. The leading 

 questions considered have to do with the tomato, cabbage, cauli- 

 flower, egg plant, corn, radish and celery ; also with the forcing 

 of vegetables under glass. 



Tomato. 



With the tomato, the following questions were considered : 

 The effect of trimming the vines ; effect of bagging the fruit to 

 produce early ripening; the effect of crossing; the cumulative 

 effect of culture under glass. 



It was found that a chill to tomato plants after setting is not 

 necessarily fatal to success, and that, other things being equal, 

 the earliness and productiveness of tomatoes were in direct ratio 



