TOMATOES UNDER GLASS. 



551 



is used to tap the blossom and shake out the pollen, the 

 end of the pistil being pressed into the accumulated pollen 

 in the depression at the same time. I have tried jarring 

 the plants and have seen a brush used, but do not consider 

 either as good as the above method." 



In my earliest experiences I was impressed with the 

 fact that indoor tomatoes are smaller than those grown 

 out of doors, and the midwinter fruits are usually smaller 

 than those produced in late spring. There is also a marked 

 tendency in house tomatoes to be one-sided. I finally 

 came to feel that this irregularity was often due to irreg- 

 ular or insufficient pollination. My former assistant, W. 

 M. Munson, pollinated two fruits upon the same cluster 

 with pollen from 

 one source, but in 

 one flower very lit- 

 tle pollen was used 

 and it was applied 

 upon one side of the 

 stigma only, while 

 the other flower 

 received an abun- 

 dance of pollen 

 over the whole sur 

 face of the stigma 

 T h e result i ; 

 shown in the cul 

 on this page. 



The large frui 

 received the more 

 pollen and it is 

 fully four times as 

 large as the other, 

 which received the 



small amount. Moreover, the large fruit was practi- 

 cally symmetrical, while the small one was one-sided. 

 This experiment has been repeated several times with 

 substantially the same results. The flowers, of course, 

 were emasculated in the bud and were securely covered 

 with bags to prevent any interference. 



The crop from the one or two or three trained 

 shoots of house tomatoes does not exhaust the vitality of 

 the plant ; consequently when the crop is well along, one 

 or two new shoots may be trained out from near the base 

 of the plant to produce a second crop. If the plant is 

 carrying a load of fruit when these second shoots are be- 

 ing trained, liquid manure should be given once or twice 

 a week, or a fresh mulch of old manure may be added. 

 In the dark days of midwinter it is better to delay 

 starting them until the fruit from the first crop is nearly 

 all full grown. But in late February and March the 

 new shoots may be allowed to become three or four 



The Effects of Pollin.^tion 



feet long before the old shoots are cut down. Of 

 course much will depend upon the distance at which 

 the plants are set, the lightness of the house and the fer- 

 tility of the soil. 



Any statement of the yield per plant of house tomatoes 

 is utterly valueless unless the method of training is given. 

 The yield from two-stemmed plants will be twice as 

 great as that from single-stem training, and the yield 

 from double cropping of one plant will be from two to 

 four times as much as from a single crop ; and much will 

 depend upon the time of year. The true way to estimate 

 yield is by the amount of floor space covered. 



In our experience we obtain from i \ pounds to 2 pounds 



per stem (or plant) 

 in midwinter and 

 about twice a s 

 much in spring, or 

 an average of 3 

 pounds or more for 

 the season. This 

 .1 mount is produc- 

 rd on \\ square 

 feet of space. Mr. 

 I'ennock obtains 

 from 8 pounds to 10 

 pounds to the plant 

 for the season, but 

 his plants cover 5 

 square feet. The 

 practical results of 

 the two systems are 

 therefore about 

 the same — about 2 

 pounds to the 



square foot ; but the box system has some advantages in 

 ease of manipulation, and the plants are so numerous that 

 the loss of one is not so serious as in the other case. 



We have forced Dwarf Champion, Lorillard, Ignotum, 

 Ithaca, Golden Queen, Golden Sunrise, Volunteer and 

 Beauty, and we are now growing Potato Leaf. Of these, 

 the Dwarf Champion is least satisfactory. 



The tomatoes are usually marketed in small splint 

 baskets holding from four to ten pounds of fruit. Each 

 fruit is wrapped in tissue paper, and if to be shipped by 

 rail the baskets should be lined with rolled cotton. In 

 midwinter our fruits average from i|- ounce to 2 ounces 

 each, but in late March and April the average will rise to 

 three ounces and more. In May, well pollinated fruits 

 often weigh seven or eight ounces. The weight of the 

 best fruits is often increased by cutting off the smallest 

 and most irregular ones. — L. II. BaiLy, in June Bulletin, 

 Cornell University . 



