SOLANACEOUS CROP PROJECTS 43 



4. Obtaining seed. — The greatest care should be exercised in 

 procuring seed. Inferior seed is often the cause of a poor crop. 

 Saving home-grown seed is common. It is an exceedingly inter- 

 esting proposition and might be tried in a limited way even by 

 beginners. Selections should be made from healthy plants, bear- 

 ing a heavy crop of large, well-shaped tomatoes. The cluster of 

 fruit shown in Fig. 2 is of the type from which seed should be 

 selected. The actual saving and curing of tomato seed is a simple 

 matter. Only ripe specimens should be chosen. They are cut 

 or broken and placed in any convenient vessel. Fermentation 

 will soon loosen the mucilaginous covering of the seeds. It is 

 well to stir the mass of pulp and seeds several times until the cov- 

 ering of the seeds is loose, then the seeds are readily separated from 

 the pulp by washing. The pulp and light seeds rise to the top of 

 the water and are poured off. A few changes of water will result 

 in clean seed, which should then be spread on a cloth to dry before 

 being stored. Any living room will furnish suitable conditions 

 for storing tomato seed. If the seed is not saved at home, it 

 should be piu-chased from reputable dealers, and the order should 

 be placed as early in the year as possible. An ounce of tomato 

 seed should produce at least 4,000 plants. 



1. Where can you buy good seed of the varieties selected? 



2. How much seed will you need for your tomato project? 



3. Is it desirable to buy a surplus for next year ? If so, why ? 



4. How and where should tomato seed be stored? 



.5. Does it pay to save seed at home f When and why f 



W-VG : 456. W-VG : 92. W-VG : 96. L : 16. 



