710 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



occupy a south wall, and, if possible, 

 lay a mound of soil (the sweepings 

 of the potting-shed, or the old soil 

 saved from the renovation or re- 

 newal of Vine or Peach borders 

 will do) against the foot of the wall, 

 and plant in the mound. When 

 the fruits are swelling rapidly and 

 approaching the ripening stage, 

 gradually remove a few of the 

 leaves to let in the sunshine, and 

 in autumn, when frost is expected, 

 the late fruits will ripen off if 

 gathered and placed in a warm 

 kitchen, or in a warm position 

 anywhere. 



" Under Glass. — Given a light 

 house and a night temperature of 

 60° and the Tomato may be had 

 all the year round. In the open 

 air, in many places, it is a pre- 

 carious crop. Very frequently the 

 fruits refuse to ripen, and when they 

 get the colour they lack the flavour 

 of the fruits grown and ripened 

 under glass ; and very often, too, 

 the fruits fall a prey to a disease 

 not unhke in character and appear- 

 ance to the disease which causes 

 such destruction to its relative, the 

 Potato. Under glass I have had 

 one set of plants go through the 

 year without renewal ; but young 

 plants should be raised at least 

 every year, as young plants produce 

 the finest fruit, and they are so 

 easily raised that there is nothing 

 gained by a prolongation beyond 

 a year. The plants may be raised 

 from seeds, but I like cuttings best, 

 as I think they come into bearing 

 earlier, and the plants are so healthy 

 and strong in both cases that one 

 need not consider the question as to 

 whether we lose or gain in vigour. 

 The seedlings are sometimes over- 

 vigorous, and require curtailment at 

 the roots in order to moderate their 

 exuberance. The best time to take 

 cuttings is in summer, say in August, 



and they will strike anywhere — in a 

 shady place, in a frame, or under 

 a hand-light best, or on the shelf in 

 the greenhouse — in fact, anywhere. 

 They are best put into single pots 

 of small size, and shifted into larger 

 pots as required, until the time comes 

 to plant them out. If struck early in 

 August and grown on steadily, they 

 may be brought to a fruiting con- 

 dition in pots, and be transferred to 

 the Tomato-house in time to begin 

 bearing early in spring, when fruits 

 are most valuable ; so that really 

 there need not be any break in the 

 crop, as the crop in possession of 

 the house will go on bearing till 

 the time of its removal, if carefully 

 managed. To do them justice they 

 must have 



'A Light House. — It may either 

 be span-roofed or a lean-to, but it 

 cannot be too light. In either case 

 it should be wired, the wires being 

 about as close to each other as would 

 be necessary for vines, and about 

 9 in. from the glass. The provision 

 for the roots may consist of narrow 

 brick pits, or boxes, or large pots. 

 Where convenient, I think the 

 narrow pits are best, but they need 

 not be more than 18 in. wide, and 

 2 ft. in depth. Place 6 in. of drain- 

 age in the bottom, fill it with turfy 

 loam, inclined to be rather sandy 

 than heavy, and top-dress when 

 necessary, giving manure -water if it 

 should be needful to sw^ell off a crop 

 readily. 



" The best way to train is to pinch 

 out the leader when the stems are 

 6 in. high, and from the shoots 

 which break away train up two. 

 These will form the main fruiting 

 stems, and should be trained up the 

 roof, 15 in. apart. All side shoots 

 should be rubbed off, and when the 

 first cluster of flowers show, pinch 

 out the leader, Select the next 

 leader which breaks away, and nip 



