t 



TOMATOES 



209 



In general, you might say that for the man who is produc- 

 ing early tomatoes, the staking will aid him greatly; for the 

 man who is growing for the cannery, it would be another 

 story. 



Evidently, from the canner's side, it does not pay to bother 

 with stakes. However, there is a different story to tell with 

 the early grower. Where did the large yield come from that 

 we find where there is no pruning? It came from the toma- 

 toes that began to bear July thirtieth. On July thirtieth the 

 tomatoes were fifty cents a bushel. The market gardeners 

 would not want to be considered very heavily there. They 

 want tomatoes, two, three, or four weeks earlier than this 

 date. 



Here are some conclusions that I have drawn from these 

 experiments as to the effects of pruning and staking. If you 

 wish early fruit, fewer culls and fewer seconds, but a smaller 

 yield, then stake and prune. If you wish a large yield, but 

 late, with a large number of culls and seconds, do not prune, 

 do not stake. 



Miss Miller: What would you advise for the home 

 gardener? 



Mr. Wilkinson: I would advise the home gardener to 

 have some of those early tomatoes and to have in another 

 place some that will be a little later. If the garden is very 

 small, say fifteen by thirty-five, I would advise staking al- 

 together. 



Question: In using the method of letting them run over 

 the ground, can you influence the number of culls by cultiva- 

 tion? 



Mr. Wilkinson: You can influence the number of culls 

 by cultivation, by improvement of seed, and by selection of 

 varieties. 



A Member : I have found by working my soil to the plants 

 and forming a small bed for drainage, I have a very small 

 per cent, of culls. 



Mr. Wilkinson : In every case where the tomatoes were 

 separated into the different classes, there were more first 



