456 VEGETABLE GARDENING 
648. Seed. — Some of the canning and catsup factories 
save and place on the market large quantities of seeds 
which are mixed lots of unselected strains that are sold 
to seedsmen at relatively low prices. Seed of this char- 
acter should never be planted on placed on the market. 
However, a few canning companies maintain breeding 
plats and produce excellent tomato seed for distribution 
to their growers. Breeding plats are maintained by 
many seedsmen, or contracts are made with reliable and 
expert growers, in order to secure the best seed for the 
trade. There is an increasing tendency among skillful 
growers to save their own seed. 
649. Starting early plants. 
The proper time tc sow de- 
pends upon: (1) The facilities 
available for growing the 
plants; (2) climatic condi- 
tions; (3) purpose of the crop; 
(4) land available; and (5) 
market conditions. In most in- 
stances the tomatoes that ripen 
first command the highest 
prices, so that the majority of 
growers desire to place their 
product upon the market at 
the earliest possible date, al- 
though they may be unwilling 
to provide the equipment or to 
make the expenditure of time 
and money necessary to grow really early tomatoes. It 
is expensive to grow such plants as shown in Figure 106. 
The cost and the value of the space which they occupy in 
frames or greenhouses should always be taken mto ac- 
count in determining profits. An increasing number of 
gardeners, however, find it profitable to grow extremely 
earlv tomatoes. The following plans (there are 
