2L0 
November. 1889. 
/" O RCH RRD ? R ndC CARD E N 
Tracking Willi Commercial Fertilizers. 
Those of us who date our gardening ex- 
perience back thirty years ago, will remem- 
ber when it was considered essential to suc- 
cess in market gardening to be situated 
near enough to some city to get full sup- 
plies of stable manure for the crops. For 
many years after the introduction of Peru- 
vian guano it was thought that although it 
might pay a farmer to use it, the market 
gardener must have the more bulky stable 
manure. But the extension of railroad fa- 
cilities southward, and the growing of veg- 
etable supplies for the northern cities in 
these regions, made it necessary to find 
some substitute for the manure which 
could not be had. In the meantime North- 
ern gardeners. led by such advanced spirits as 
Mr. Peter Hendei son. were getting out of 
their old fogy ism and were using the con- 
centrated fertilizers freely and their success 
stimulated the heavy use of these fertilizers 
at distant points. But it has been foimd 
that the constant cultivation of a thin soil, 
and its exposure to the summer suns of a 
hot climate, lead to serious difficulties and 
the necessity for increastd application of 
fertilizers. The necessity soon became ap- 
parent for a proper rotation in which some 
recuperative crop should be grown to shade 
the land and by its decay to add vegetable 
matter to these light soils, thereby prevent- 
ing the baking of the surface and its ten- 
dency to wash into gullies even on the 
slightest slopes. The experience of an Eng- 
lish gardener near Baltimore some years ago 
first opened my eyes to the perfect feasa- 
bility of growing large crops of vegetables 
by the use of commercial fertilizers and at 
the same time to rapidly improve the qual- 
ity of the soil. The gardener referred to had 
bought a piece of very thin land about ten 
miles from the city and soon found 
that he could not afford to haul stable ma- 
nure that distance except as a return load 
when otherwise going home empty. He 
therefore determined to grow 7 his crops with 
the commercial fertilizers, and in order to 
accumulate humus in his land, he plowed 
every vacant spot late in the fall and sowed 
German Kale broadcast, giving a dressing 
of fertilizer to increase it« growth. During 
winter and spring if Kale happened to com- 
mand a good price North he shipped some 
of it with profit. But his chief object was 
to furnish all the vegetable matter he could 
get into his soil during the season when not 
demanded by the spring and summer crops. 
His success with this partial method of 
green manuring set me thinking and I soon 
became satisfied that an extension and im- 
provement upon his system was what was 
needed by the light sandy soils used for 
growing vegetables for early shipment. 
Further experience has satisfied me that 
it is perfectly practicable to grow heavy 
crops of vegetables and at the same time to. 
rapidly increase the capacity of the soil 
The constant exposure of the soil to a tor- 
rid sun by the clean cultivation of cotton, 
brought sterility to many a fair acre of 
Southern land, and 'the necessity for recu- 
perative crops to cover and shade the land 
is apparent to all thinking men. Such crops 
are fully as important to the vegetable grow- 
er as to the cotton planter. To carry out 
the idea of our Baltimore friend to its best 
development the following system will be 
found perfectly practicable and economical. 
The area proposed to be devoted to market 
garden purposes should be divided into two 
equal portions for rotation purposes. On 
one of these portions plant such vegetable 
crops as are proposed to be grown, using 
fertilizers in liberal quantity. The second 
part with a lighter dressing should be sown 
in cow-peas. These peas are to be allowed 
to attain their full development and then 
“hogged" down. The eating of the peas on 
the land by hogs will result in a greater im- 
provement than plowing them under. In 
fact on any light s il I feel sure that the 
turning under of green crops in warm 
weather is wrong practice and frequently 
works serioi s injury to soil and crops. Of 
Dwarf Champion Tomato. Fig. 1063. 
course the hogs are taken off before the wet 
weather of late fall. This plat is heavily 
treated with fertilizers and used for the 
next season's vegetable crops. The first 
portion on which the early market crops of 
the season were produced, is plowed in Sep- 
tember and sown with Kale broadcast. 
Bart of this may be cut for shipment if 
prices are good, and the rest plowed under 
early and allowed to stand until decayed 
and then sown in pt as to be hogged w hen 
ripe in the fall just as the preceding 
plat was. The following season the process 
is repeated with the other plat and the good 
effects of the hogged peas will soon become 
apparent. In fact so much so that in a few 
years it will be found more profitable to 
keep one plat in clover for two years, as it 
will by that time grow the heaviest kind of 
clover. Of course there are some crops 
grown for Northern shipment which by this 
practice would soon grow too rank for profit 
such as sweet potatoes, melons, etc., but for 
most other crops the accumulation of hu- 
mus would have none but beneficial results. 
The growing of ‘"truck” crops in many 
places South has been prosecuted without 
any view to solid improvement. It is time to 
change.— W. F. Massey. 
Forrlng Tomaloen l uder Glam. 
We had intended to give more explicit 
directions early in the fall for tomato forc- 
ing but the hints we have already given 
will enable any one to make a start in that 
direction. Tomato forcing is still in its in- 
fancy in this country, and there is much 
room for experiment both as to the best va- 
rieties and the best modes of treatment. 
When the writer, only about ten years ago, 
prophesied that the winter forcing of toma- 
toes would soon assume large and profitable 
proportions, some of his gardening friends 
were disposed to look upon him as a vision- 
ary enthusiast, but when we showed an aver- 
age sale, in competition with the Bermuda 
trash at low figures, of 75 cts. per pound for 
the forced fruit, they began to think that 
there might be something in it, and tomato 
forcing is now 7 becoming common in the vici- 
nity of all the large cities. In my first experi- 
ments in forcing I used plants struck from 
cuttings taken from the open ground. These 
however are not near so satisfactory as the 
plants grown from seed sown in September, 
and now 1 never use any plants from cut- 
tings except the Dwarf Champion, which 
seems to be somewhat of an exception to 
the rule and which gave me a fine crop 
from cutting plants. The Lorillard has 
been highly recommended at the North for 
forcing but I have not yet tried it. With 
us the Dwarf Champion so far “fills the 
hill” more perfectly both out doors and un- 
der glass, than any other sort. Vick's Cri- 
terion is the most productive sort I have ever 
grown, but its poor quality w ill make it un- 
profitable in our markets. Another ques- 
tion still unsettled is whether it pays best to 
plant out and train under the glass or force 
in pots. As greenhouses are ordinarily con- 
siructed I am inclined to thing that the 
method of pot culture is best, and that 
eight or nine inch pots are large enough for 
fruiting. The Dwarf Champa n is particu- 
larly adapted to pot culture. But I also 
feel sure that in the development of toma- 
to forcing it will be found that very nar- 
row, lean-to houses, w ith very steep glass, 
sloping nearly to the ground, with an in- 
side border, with the vines trained under 
the almost perpendicul >r g!a=s,will give the 
best results. For this culture the best va- 
riety is yet to be developed. Such a house 
I should heat by steam or hot water pipes 
passing over the surface of the border in 
which the plants are set. 
Those who are starting with tomato forc- 
ing either in pots or on benches or borders, 
m ed only to observe the g neral practice of 
grow ing tropical plants. A night tempera- 
ture of not less than 65° isneeded, a full ex- 
posure to the sunlight, and careful syring- 
ing. Tobacco stems strew 7 ed under the ta- 
bles and frequently renewed will keep down 
aphides better than fumigating which mu-t 
be avoided. Plants from September sown 
seed snould give ripe fruit early in January. 
Another season’s experimenting wall doubt- 
less give new ideas on the subject.— W. F. 
Massey. 
» 
For a Disordered Liver try Bekcham’s Fills. 
