ON TOMATO CULTIVATION. 



425 



Hon. C. W. Drury, Minister of Agriculture (who attended the 

 meeting as head of the Agricultural Department of Ontario), 

 stated "that this destructive bird was no longer under the pro- 

 tection of the Act of Parliament respecting insectivorous birds, 

 and that everyone was at liberty to aid in reducing its numbers." 



Reasoning on the same grounds as to procedure in this 

 country, we believe that similar action is, without any reason- 

 able cause for doubt, called for here. The amount of the 

 national loss, by reason of ravaged crops and serviceable birds 

 driven away, may be estimated, without fear of exaggeration, at 

 from one to two millions a year. 



We do not pretend to offer suggestions as to what may be 

 considered fitting to do by Government authority, but much of 

 their own protection lies in the hands of farmers and gardeners 

 themselves ; and sparrow clubs, well worked, and always bearing 

 in mind that it is only this one bird that is earnestly recommended 

 to their attention, would probably lessen the load to a bearable 

 amount ; and we believe that subscriptions, whether local or 

 from those who know the desirableness of aiding in the work of 

 endeavouring to save the bread of the people from these feathered 

 robbers, would be money wisely and worthily spent. 



ON TOMATO CULTIVATION. 



A Paper based on Experiments carried out at the Cheshire Agri- 

 cultural and Horticultural School, Holmes Chapel, in 1896 

 and 1897. 



By Mr. W. Neild, F.R.H.S. 

 Tomatos have been grown in this country for a period of more 

 than 300 years, but it is only in comparatively recent years that 

 the public have begun to appreciate them. In former years it 

 was only in large gardens that they were grown, and they were 

 then used for soups and sauces. At the present time the taste 

 for them has undergone a complete change, and, instead of 

 their consumption being restricted to the affluent, they are eaten 

 by nearly everyone. To meet the increasing demand for good 

 fruit some of the large growers for market have covered acres 

 of land with glass erections, and each year these are being 

 added to ; yet with all these, and the surplus from private 



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