228 
THE AMATEUR’S KITCHEN GARDEN. 
Towards the end of the season the plants will cease to bear, 
and the later fruits will not ripen out of doors. Those of 
them that are fully grown may be ripened by cutting them 
with a length of stem attached and hanging them up in a 
sunny greenhouse, and the smaller green fruits may be appro- 
priated, while plump and good, for pickling. 
The Winter Supply can only be secured by skilful manage- 
ment and suitable conveniences. Tomatoes are supplied to 
Covent Garden Market all the winter through, but from the 
end of February to the middle of April they are decidedly 
scarce, and it is not unusual for the supply to cease utterly in 
the month of March. To 
obtain a winter crop it is 
advisable to sow the seed 
from the middle of June 
to the middle of July, 
and there should certainly 
be two sowings. They 
must be grown in pots 
out of doors from the 
'first, and shifted on as 
they require more room, 
until they are in nine-inch 
or ten-inch pots, beyond 
which it will not be safe 
to go. A rich loamy soil 
must be employed, and 
the pots must be drained 
with extra care. The pots 
must not be plunged, but 
rather be exposed to the 
sun, as the plant can 
bear roasting with ad- 
vantage if taken care of 
in respect of watering. Do 
not stop until fruit ap- 
tomato trained to hoops. pears, and then nip out 
the points of the fruit- 
bearing branches. Keep them securely staked, and move 
them occasionally, to prevent the roots finding their way into 
the bed or border they stand on. House them in September 
in a structure that will afford them plenty of light and a 
