36o 



TOMATOES AT CORNELL EXPERLMENT STATION. 



the forwarding of the plants under glass was of no ad- 

 vantage in the early production of ripe fruit, though 

 every market gardener of experience knows that exactly 

 the opposite is the fact, and the grower who would ex- 

 pect to compete with his neighbors in the production of 

 early tomatoes without the use of glass would be looked 

 upon as an ignoramus. In the experiment referred to 

 it appeared that the "forwarding" under glass referred 

 to was sowing the seed about middle of April in a hop 

 bed and transplanting these at same time with plants 

 raised outside. That such " forwarding" is useless any 

 practical gardener will admit, for these tender, small- 

 rooted plants underwent a check which gave the robust 

 out-door plants a decided start and they should have 

 been called "retarded" plants. Professor Bailey's ex- 

 periment showed that ■ ' plants started under glass about 

 ten weeks before transplanting into field gave fruits from 

 a week to ten days earlier than those started two or three 

 weeks later, while there was a much greater difference 

 when the plants were started six weeks later. Produc- 

 tiveness was much increased by the early planting." 



This is "forwarding" under glass, properly speaking. 

 Plants from seed some ten week? before setting in the 

 open ground must perforce be transplanlanted two or 

 three times under glass, and at each transplanting and 

 gradual change to a coolor atmosphere make a gain in 

 vigor and hardiness. This is a point which Professor 

 Bailey does not mention, but which is of importance in 

 the production of the best and earliest plants — that while 

 the plants should be started in a high temperature they 

 should at each transplanting be placed in a cooler tem- 

 perature, with plenty of ventilation to secure a stout and 

 stocky growth. 



My practice is to sow the seed in boxes in a hot-house 

 (65° night temperature), about two and a half months be- 

 fore time to set in open ground. (This would make it here 

 the last week in January.) As soon as the plants are up 

 large enough to handle, they are transplanted into other 

 boxes about two inches apart and placed near the glass in 

 a house where a night temperature of not more than 50° is 

 maintained. As soon as they make two pairs of leaves 

 above the cotyledons the growing tip is pinched out, and 

 about four weeks before putting in the open ground they 

 are transplanted into cold frames, putting about 65 plants 

 to a sash, 3x6 feet size. Every effort is then made to 

 give them exposure to the outer air on warm days and 

 finally full exposure a few days before final transplanting. 

 They will then be found to be stout plants, with two or 

 three branches, and a main stem as thick as one's finger,- 

 but not more than eight or ten inches high. They will 

 easily lift with a mass of roots and soil larger than a 

 man's fist, and will go right on growing and making fruit. 

 The pinching has caused an early development of the 

 side shoots which always produce the first fruit. 



Professor Bailey well says that a ' ' tall weak plant witn 

 a cluster of bloom at top" is not worth planting. Such 

 clusters of bloom do not give the earliest fruit, if they 

 give any, and the plant stands still until the side shoots 

 appear. Another point in which my experience corrob- 

 orates Professor Bailey's conclusions, is that liberal ma- 

 nuring not only does not retard to any appreciable extent 

 the earliness of the crop but largely increases the smooth- 

 ness and quantity . The exception to this is the case of a 

 heavy clay soil. In such a soil, naturally fertile, a heavy 

 coat of manure made too rank a growth of vines and a 

 greater tendency to rot : even then there was an improve- 

 ment in smoothness and solidity. 



Professor Bailey says varieties " run out." No doubt 

 this is usually the case, because of the tendency of toma- 

 toes to "sport" continually, thus requiring great care 

 in the saving of seed to keep a type pure. But that they 

 necessarily run out, I am not ready to concede. Our 

 improved tomatoes are composite varieties, and therefore 

 have a tendency to break toward some one or other 

 of their ancestral stock. But did Professor Bailey ever 

 know an original variety of the tomato to run out ? The 

 Cherry, Plum and Pear tomatoes are as pure to-day as 

 ever, and the old, big, rough, Mexican tomato will al- 

 ways reproduce itself, the "Garfield" for example. 

 But put the Mexican tomato into the smooth skin of the 

 Cherry, and it at once tries to get out. 



Professor Bailey names as best for market, Ignotum, 

 Beauty, Mikado, Perfection, Favorite and Potato-Leaf. 

 I do not object to any of these except Mikado ; with us it 

 is entirely too rough and uncouth for a market tomato, 

 but is good for table and very productive. Neither can 

 I agree with him in condemning Dwarf Champion for 

 market. With me, and I grew several thousand of it 

 last year, the Dwarf Champion is the earliest, smoothest 

 tomato of good and even large size I have ever grown. 

 While not of the best quality for family use, its tough 

 skin and the fact that it gives nearly the whole of its crop 

 early make it valuable for distant shipments. With us 

 it is by no means small, being from good medium to 

 large. It is evidently a recent cross between Acme and 

 the French Tree tomato, as last year many plants in our 

 patch reverted to these two types, and some others had 

 the fruit of the French Tree with the vine of the Acme, 

 and its rotting quality, too, while the pure Dwarf Cham- 

 pion, was as free from rot as any I ever grew. For 

 strictly early market sort I think the Dwarf Ccampion 

 is as yet at the head of the list. 



Bulletin X is one of those practical papers for which 

 the Cornell station is becoming noted, and for distribution 

 to the class of cultivators for which it is intended is 

 worth a great deal more than scientific formulas and tables 

 which they cannot comprehend. 



N. C. College of Agticulture. W. F. Masse Y. 



