4 $ STOKES SEED FARMS COMPANY «x?a«» MOQRESTOWN, NEW JERSEY gj fe 



STOKES BONNY BEST 

 (Natural Size) 



No. 1000— Stokes Bonny Best 



Days to Maturity, 130. Originated by Mr. Middleton, of Mont- 

 gomery County, Pennsylvania, and introduced for the first time by 

 Walter P. Stokes in 1908. It is a selection from the older Chalk's 

 Early Jewel, the fruits being from ten days to two weeks earlier 

 than that variety, thus placing Bonny Best almost in a class with 

 Earliana. In the thirteen years since its introduction Stokes Bonny 

 Best has established a reputation amongst all classes of planters, 

 home gardeners, truckers and canners, which has scarcely been 

 equalled by any other tomato during the last twenty-five years. 

 At the time of its introduction, Mr. Stokes predicted that it would 

 soon be known from one end of the land to the other as the finest 

 shipping tomato ever introduced, and this prediction has certainly 

 proved to be more than true. A great many low-grade and ques- 

 tionable strains of Bonny Best are being offered at the present time. 

 All those, therefore, who desire to secure the introducer's strain will 

 do well to continue purchasing their supply directly from us. Every 

 year our seed is grown here on Windermoor Farm under the most 

 ideal conditions. The crop is heavily fertilized, repeatedly sprayed, 

 and given clean culture. Every possible care is lavished upon it, in 

 order to produce first-class seed. As a rule our fields of Bonny Best 

 produce a far greater tonnage per acre than the areas planted by 

 neighboring farmers, and in this community tomatoes are a staple 

 crop. Pkt. 10c, oz. 50c, K lb. $1.50, 1 lb. $5.00, postpaid. 



Stokes Bonny Best Tomato, when grown under ideal conditions, 

 should produce from ten to fifteen tons per acre. The plants attain 

 a height of about two and one-half feet. The foliage will be very 

 much heavier than the Earliana. The fruits will be borne in clusters, 

 and will be almost globe shaped, the structure of the fruit being 



very distinctive in that respect. They are thicker through from top 

 to bottom than the Chalk's Early Jewel. Individual vines will 

 very often produce as many as one hundred and fifty perfect fruits. 

 When sown in hot beds March 15th, there will be ripe fruits by 

 July 15th, and the crop will bear until September 1st. The intense 

 scarlet coloring will hold for the interior and exterior of the tomato. 

 Compared to Earliana the fruit is far more solid, in that the seed 

 cavities are small. In the eastern states Bonny Best is now one of 

 the foremost canning carieties for pulp and soup purposes. In its 

 present form we do not advocate it as a variety which should be 

 canned whole. Eventually we hope to produce a strain which will 

 satisfactorily can in that manner, but in its present condition there 

 is some danger of its not holding together under hot steam. As a 

 tomato for the truck grower for the early markets, Bonny Best is 

 unequalled. It will not compete with the extra early markets as 

 will the Earliana, but as a tomato to go between the Earliana season 

 and the later varieties, such as Stone and Baltimore, it has no 

 superior. If grown well, it will ship well and sell well, and eventually 

 be thoroughly enjoyed by the consumer. It is one of the sweetest 

 tomatoes under cultivation, having very little of the acidity which is 

 typical of the Earliana. As a home garden variety we know of no 

 superior to Bonny Best. Earliana will be slightly earlier, but its 

 quality is in no way comparable to Stokes Bonny Best, and the 

 difference in season is hardly to be considered for table purposes. 

 Stokes Bonny Best will cover a bearing period of six weeks, ending 

 September 1st, after which some of the later types will extend the 

 season on another four weeks. Its marvelous eating qualities, its 

 beautiful appearance and the ease with which it may be grown, 

 recommend it unquestionably for the home garden. 



69 



Stokes Bonny Best Tomato is now thirteen years old 



