236 MAKING HORTICULTURE PAY 



ship at this stage. If for home market I wipe and 

 pack, then hold them until fully ripe. 



" There are several advantages in picking 

 tomatoes at this stage. I have no cracked fruit, or, 

 as they are called, leaky packages. The energy of 

 the plant can go toward ripening the next largest 

 specimens, and last, but not least, I always have 

 a goodly supply on hand and need not to go in bad, 

 rainy weather to pick for next day's sales. I con- 

 sider an early start with an early variety on early 

 land, with proper grading and packing, the key to 

 success with early tomatoes." 



EARLY TOMATOES 



Mrs. C. Browning of Rhode Island gives the fol- 

 lowing successful plan for raising early tomatoes in 

 southern Rhode Island, where fruit ripens the mid- 

 dle of July, fully a month earlier than formerly: 

 " First, get the best seed ; Maule's Earliest we like 

 best. As early as March I have ready a shallow 

 box of sifted loose soil, chip dirt, or leaf mold and 

 sand, with a little fertilizer mixed in. Press hard 

 and wet thoroughly. Scatter the seed on and cover 

 about twice the depth of the seed ; cover with a pane 

 of glass and set behind a stovepipe, if possible, 

 where the soil will not get cool, and keep sprinkled 

 with warm water. 



" The plants should be well started in three or 

 four days, and ready to set in the sunny window. 

 When four leaves are well grown, transplant to 

 larger, shallow boxes or 4-inch paper pots, that can 

 be bought for 10 cents or less a dozen. We used 

 them last year and found them very satisfactory. 

 By the middle of April we set the potted plants in 

 a cold frame, letting them get used to the air gradu- 



