THE TOMATO 



147 



Art. 4. — Culture of the Tomaw< 



The Tomato being at the present time so much 

 esteemed as an excellent fruit, and its use in cook- 

 ery in various ways, as sauces, catsups, &c, 

 and as a pickle when green, induces me to give 

 some hints on its culture. 



The plant is an annual, and a native of a warm 

 tropical climate, requiring about the same heat to 

 grow to perfection as the cocumber. 



The best mode of culture, to have the plants ear- 

 ly, is to sow the seed in pots in a cucumber frame, 

 about the middle of February or first of March. 

 When the plants have two or three rough leaves, 

 they may be potted into small pots into a light rich 

 soil, and treated as cucumber plants ; after they are 

 well rooted in these small pots, they may then be 

 shifted into smaller sized, to obtain a strong growth 

 before being planted out into a fruiting bed. As 

 the weather grows warm, the beginning or the latter 

 end of April, the plants should be placed into a 

 separate frame to harden off, and plenty of air given 

 as the warm weather advances ; and finally the sash- 

 es may be wholly taken oft previous to their being 

 planted into an open exposure for fruiting, which is 

 about the twentieth, or latter end of May. 



The situation and soil to grow the tomato early, is 

 a side bank facing to the south of a poor gravelly 

 or sandy nature. Prepare the ground for planting 

 in the usual way by digging or ploughing. This 

 done, make holes five feet apart in rows from each 

 other, by taking out two shovels full of earth, 

 and placing thereon the same quantity of good 

 rotten manure ; then carefully turn out the plants 



