282 VEGETABLE FORCING 
fruit and in the larger total yield. There is but slight 
difference in the average size of fruit produced under the 
two methods of training, but on the whole the fruits of 
the single-stem plants seem to be slightly the larger.” 
The advantages of single-stem training over two-stem 
training are not so marked, and yet the fact that prac- 
tically all of the most extensive growers of forced to- 
matoes use the single-stem system is a strong testimony 
in its favor. It is doubtful whether growers are ever 
justified in using any other system of training. It is the 
simplest and most satisfactory in every respect. 
There are various ways of supporting the plants. The 
commonest is to tie them to twine or cord stretched from 
the base of the plants to wires or rafters above the plants. 
Many growers stretch wires above each row, running the 
full length of the house. They may be secured at the 
ends in any convenient way and fastened with staples to 
the rafters, or by other means if desired. Sometimes 
wires are also stretched across the beds at the surface of 
the ground, but they interfere with tillage and are an un- 
necessary expense. Twine (binder twine is excellent) 
looped to the base of the plants and tied taut to the wire 
above will be very satisfactory. Waid recommends the 
use of “screw wires” of No. 10 or 11 wire which are 
screwed 4 or 5 inches into the soil close to each plant. 
These are provided with a loop at the top to which the 
twine is tied. Waid gives the following description in 
the Market Growers’ Journal of a simple device for the 
making of these wire screws: 
“It consists of a piece of inch and a quarter pipe about 6 inches 
lorig, through which a 34-inch pipe is run, extending out at one 
end far enough to attach a handle, and at the other about 5 inches. 
Two holes are bored in the smaller pipe, each just large enough 
to admit the wire. One hole is near the end of the pipe and the 
other about 4 inches from the end or close to the end of the larger 
pipe. The larger pipe is placed in a vise and the device is ready 
for operation. The wire is cut 10 to 12 inches in length, one end 
