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EDIBLE PRODUCTS. 



Tomato Cultivation in the Tropics. 



The Tomato is one of the best salad fruits that can be grown in the 

 tropics. It is always popular and in demand for salad making, and is also an 

 excellent fruit for culinary purposes, being cooked in various ways. It is a matter 

 of surprise that tomatos are not more extensively grown in Ceylon, for they 

 will always find a market, and well-grown fruit, of good shape and flavour, 

 will fetch enhanced prices among European buyers in Colombo, Kandy and 

 Nuwara Eliya. 



At present in Ceylon the tomato is not grown sufficiently extensively ; 

 adequate care and cultivation is not given to the plants, and poor kinds only 

 are grown as a rule. The varieties that would pay best locally are those having 

 medium-sized fruit, of good shape, and with smooth skins. Seed should be 

 obtained from a reliable English seedsman, and varieties recommended for field- 

 growing selected. In England glass is used extensively for tomato growing, but 

 in Ceylon they can be easily raised from seed and grown in the open at all 

 elevations. The following cultural directions have given excellent results in 

 another part of the tropics — Cuba — and should be studied by anyone thinking of 

 growing tomatos to advantage in Ceylon. They are from a pamphlet on "Tomato 

 Culture " by Messrs. C. P. Austin and E. W. Halstead, published by the Cuba 

 Central Agricultural Station in its bulletin (Havana Province). 



GROWING THE PLANTS. 



It has been found best to have some form of seed beds where the seed can be 

 sown and the young plants transplanted once before they are set in the field. For 

 this country (Cuba) we have found that a simple board frame made five feet wide 

 and forty or sixty feet long is the most convenient style- The sides should be from 

 eight to ten inches high. 



These frames are useful for all kinds of garden plants that are grown from 

 seed and transplanted. One who is growing tomatoes for commercial purposes will 

 find it convenient to have the frame in which the seed is sown located near the house 

 where the seedlings can be looked after carefully. The frames into which the seed- 

 lings are to be transplanted should be placed in different parts of the field, — say two 

 frames, five by seventy feet, to the acre, for it is much cheaper to distribute the 

 young plants for transplanting than to distribute the grown plants at setting time, 

 as must be done if the frames are all in one place. 



The soil for the frames should be made very fine, loose and mellow for a 

 depth of three to five inches. The best results are obtained if the soil contains a 

 good per cent, of sand. Give each of the beds a top dressing of one or two inches of 

 well rotted stable manure. The manure should be screened through a one-half inch 

 mesh to get it as fine as possible, and should be thoroughly incorporated into the soil. 



A few shades should be provided for use when sowing the seed to keep the 

 soil moist and also to use when transplanting, to protect the young plants from the 

 sun. A shade made on a frame three by five feet is of a convenient size. The lumber 

 for these frames should be from two to three inches wide and one inch thick. We 

 cover our frames with a cheap grade of cotton cloth. 



The length of time required from the sowing of the seed until the tomatoes 

 begin to ripen varies with the variety, season of the year and the soil. Usually from 

 eighty to one hundred days should be allowed ; that is, if tomatoes are wanted for 



