264 



GAKDENING FOR THE SOUTH. 



Soda and the phosphates are the most abundant elements, 

 and may be supplied hy common salt and bone-dust if 

 wanting in the soil, but any soil almost will produce 

 tomatoes. 



Culture. — The tomato likes a light loamy soil, moder- 

 ately rich. Common salt may be applied as" a manure in 

 small quantities. If the soil is too rich, they will run to 

 vines, and the fruit ripens late. The culture of the tomato is 

 very easy in this climate, as abundance of seed will sow 

 itself if it is once introduced into the garden. But the 

 finest fruits are not gathered from volunteer plants, but 

 produced from the seeds of the best specimens maturing 

 early, and this vegetable is so desirable that it should be 

 produced as early as possible. A few plants should be 

 started in the house in boxes, or in a cold bed under glass 

 in the latter part of February, or early in March, giving 

 them air, except when there is danger of frost. They can 

 be sown thinly in rows eight inches apart, and transplanted 

 into the open ground as soon as frosts are over. Plants should 

 be kept in reserve, in case of a late frost. The seed may be 

 sown in the open ground from the middle of March to the first 

 of May ; sow in drills eight or ten inches apart, and when 

 they come up, thin them to three inches. Protect them 

 from frost, as they are exceedingly tender. They are the 

 easiest things in the world to transplant, and can be safely 

 removed from the time they are an inch high until the 

 blossoms appear. It is best however to take them up care- 

 fully with a trowel, that their growth may not be checked. 

 Plant them three feet apart each way, or more in very 

 rich ground. When the young plants come into blossom, 

 support them by sticks as you would peas. The fruit is 

 thus earlier and better flavored ; mulching with leaves or 

 straw is beneficial. Plants for early use should be set out 

 in a warm exposure, and as soon as the lower fruit is half 



