The Tomato 



263 



Tomatoes are now grown on a very large scale for can- 

 ning factories. They are then a field crop, and are given 

 no greater care than corn. A rather light warm soil is 

 chosen. Frame-grown plants are used and they may be set 

 with a transplanting machine. Thereafter no special treat- 

 ment is given the crop except to keep the land well tilled. 

 Plants are usually spaced 4 feet either way. The yield of 

 the " can-house crop " varies 

 greatly, from 3 tons to 13 and 

 even 14 tons to the acre; 5 to 8 

 tons is a good crop. The legal 

 weight of a bushel of tomatoes 

 runs from 45 to 60 lbs. in dif- 

 ferent States; a yield of 8 tons 

 is 320 bu. at 50 lbs. 



Harvesting is simple with to- 

 matoes. They are hand-picked. 

 For a near-by market and home 

 use, they should be picked fully 

 ripe, but for more distant ship- 

 ment when they begin to color 

 well. They are marketed in 

 baskets or crates. If gtaded and 

 of excellent quality and in- 

 tended for the best market, the 

 fruits should be wrapped. Early choice fruit is often sold 

 in small splint baskets, like large berry boxes, about four 

 or six baskets being contained in a carrier. 



Kinds. 



Varieties run out or vary, and fashions in tomatoes 

 change frequently. Because the name of an old variety 



163. Detail of leaf of var. 

 commune (X V°)' 



