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Crops for Pickling and Preserving. 
Mr. Watkinson agrees with the foregoing, for in his reply he 
says : — 
I do not think tomatoes are worth growing as an open-air crop, without 
you can make fine weather for them. 
I have known of several successful crops grown in the open 
air, but of a great many more which, owing to disease, or to 
lack of warmth to mature the fruit, have been unsuccessful. 1 I 
am inclined, therefore, to think that tomatoes are not likely to 
prove a reliable crop unless the situation and local climate are 
very favourable. 
The large importations of tomatoes, which have increased 
very much of late, keep the market constantly supplied, so that 
very high prices are not probable in the future. Still it must be 
admitted that the English-grown fruit is the choicest, and is 
likely to maintain its position as the best on the market. From 
January to May, before the English fruit is ready, there is a 
large supply from the Canary Islands. Jersey sends consider- 
able consignments from May to the end of October, and from 
July to the end of the year large quantities arrive from Valencia, 
Bordeaux, Belgium, and Holland, those from the Netherlands 
being nearly equal to the fruit grown at home. Thus, through- 
out the year there is a steady supply. 
Those cultivated under glass are, doubtless, the most profitable 
of the English-grown tomatoes, for they are under the control 
of the cultivator, and by good management can be relied upon 
to make a steady return. The expense of putting up glass is, 
however, a great consideration, and a hindrance to most people. 
The outlay on glazing is a very heavy one, and any means of 
lessening the cost of construction would doubtless be welcomed 
by gardeners. Mr. G. F. Strawson, of Newbury, the inventor of 
the ingenious machine which takes its name after him, has given 
much attention to this subject, and he recently showed me an 
original method of fastening glass, which he was using in his 
own houses. He has since told me that he has been so success- 
ful with the tomatoes grown in a house which he finished in 
May last that the cost of construction had been repaid by one sen- 
son's produce. He has not quite perfected his plans, but will do 
so shortly, and will then make them public. I would strongly 
recommend those who are thinking of using glass for tomato- 
growing in the future to consult his report when it is published. 
When tomatoes are planted in the open air, they should be 
first forced under glass, then hardened. It is absolutely neces- 
sary that the plants should be strong and well grown, so that 
they may be able to take the fullest advantage of the short 
