THE 
GARDEN YARD 314 
size, and take longer to ripen; therefore anyone taking 
the trouble to raise plants and set them out, and neglect- 
ing them afterwards, is acting very foolishly. 
“Continue to gather the fruits as ready, keeping a 
sharp look-out after the end of September for signs of 
frost. When this is feared, gather all the full-grown 
fruit on the plants whether green or not—they will 
ripen in-doors; but exercise some judgment, and do not 
gather fruit which is not full grown. This may color, 
but even if it does, it will be shrivelled and a bad color, 
and will spoil the market for better fruit. It is better to 
leave the immature fruit on the plants, as the frost may 
pass without doing any material damage, and there may 
be several weeks more of mild weather, which will give 
several more pickings of full-grown green fruit. I have 
picked in this way until the first week in November, 
some years. 
“The fruit must be graded into ‘best smoothing,’ 
“small smooths,’—which description does not include 
very small fruits, but only those just too small for an 
even sample,—‘seconds,’ and ‘thirds.’ Seconds are 
good sound fruit, but include all the misshapen ones. 
Thirds are sound odds and ends—it is better to avoid 
the grade if possible. The fruit is sent to markets in 
baskets. 
“Tomatoes may be obtained from the open in July 
by sowing the seed a month earlier, and growing on with 
more room in pots. If each plant has 9 in. square 
of space, and is properly attended to, it will have small 
fruits set when planted out, and ripe fruit can be gathered 
in July. 
