THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 12J 



with us than tomatoes. While we have not always 

 been in the market with the first locally grown 

 tomatoes, ours have usually been acknowledged to 

 be the best. Livingston's Stone is grown almost 

 exclusively. Seed is sown in the greenhouse from 

 February 15 to 20. When the plants are 2 or 3 inches 

 high they are transplanted to the beds in the green- 

 house, or preferably to the hotbeds, 6 inches apart 

 each way. This gives room for a large, stocky 

 growth, and, by May 10, the plants are usually 12 to 

 20 inches high, and showing their first blossoms. We 

 transplant to the 

 field during the first 

 favorable weather 

 after May 10. 

 Sometimes the 

 plants have to be 

 covered to protect 

 them from frost, 

 but the possible 

 gain in earliness is 

 worth the risk. If frost nips these early-set 

 plants we lose only the small money cost of plants 

 and the value of the time required to set ; whereas 

 if the plants thrive we gain greatly because of the 

 extra early fruits secured. 



" The distance apart will depend upon whether 

 the plants are to be staked or allowed to lie on the 

 ground. Those intended for the early market are 

 usually staked and planted 20 to 24 inches apart in 

 rows 2 J / 2 feet apart. The latter crop is usually 

 allowed to lie on the ground, and the plants are set 

 2 feet apart in rows 3 to 3^ feet apart. In both 

 cases, however, the vines are carefully pruned to 

 one or two stalks. This pruning consists in re- 

 moving the shoots from the axils of the leaves as 



BARREL TRUCK 



