June, 1891. 
111 
ORGHRRD :gPMo%, GRRDEN 
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ii order to get a full supply from June till 
November. The plants forwarded early 
under glass give the earliest fruit of course, 
but generally are exhausted by July.— W. 
F. Massey. 
Trellises for Tomatoes. 
The tomato plant not only presents a 
more attractive and ornamental appearance 
when properly trained to some support 
but, we believe, is more productive, and, 
we are sure, the fruit is in better condition 
than when the vines are permitted to 
sprawl about on the ground. Nicely trained 
tomatoes will always be a source of pleas- 
ure and satisfaction, and the amateur, with 
his few plants to care for, should always 
train them in some way. We illustrate two 
simple ways of supporting tomato plants in 
Figs. 583 and 584. The first consists merely 
iff stakes with three cross-pieces nailed upon 
them. Not less attractive is the trellis 
made of hoops, which requires but three 
stakes ana three barrel hoops to form it. 
The common wire poultry netting, now so 
cheap, makes an admirable trellis for toma- 
toes as well as for many other vegetables. 
— 
About Peas. 
Unquestionably, Mr. Massey is right in 
saying that in crossing Carter's First Crop 
on Dan’l O'Rourke I was merely crossing 
varieties of the same pea; — and the same 
might be said of McLean’s L'ttle Gem and 
Stratagem, — or any number of other seeds- 
men’s varieties. I think, myself, that the 
Kentish Invicta type gives a pea of better 
qualitydmt twenty years ago, when my cross 
was made, the Invicta was not known here. 
That my cross was a marked improvement 
on both parents was testified to by Mr. Car- 
man of the Rural New Yorker, who praised 
its productiveness; while Mr. Horsford, 
(originator of H.’s Market Garden Pea), 
^wrote me that in ^competitive test on his 
grounds “it proved the earliest of them all.” 
But before these gentlemen gave their ver- 
dict Mr. B. K. Bliss had visited me, seen 
the pea in the field, and bought it. I still 
have the strain, nominally, — that is to say, 
there has been no crossing; but I made the 
mistake one season of riddling the seed and 
planting only the largest peas, — with the 
result of making the variety more than a 
week later. I am now growing in my mar- 
ket garden Rawson’s Clipper and Maud S, 
for first earlies. The Clipper is a blue 
smooth pea, and the best in quality; yet it 
is not as profitable, for the pods are smaller 
than Maud S., and buyers invariably choose 
by the eye. I have made early peas, beans, 
and sweet corns a specialty for now nearly 
a quarter of a century, — being particularly 
well located for such work, — and many of 
my varieties have passed into the hands of 
wholesale seedsmen; but by my own choice 
m'y name has never been connected with 
any of these productions. — T. H. Hoskins. 
Improving Varieties. 
In a general way it may be said that the 
best and most permanent results are not 
obtained from violent crosses, but by near 
crosses accompanied by careful selection, — 
with no attempt to increase the stock of 
any new form until the type is well fixed. 
Many of the new varieties which are intro- 
duced “go all to pieces,” and disappear in 
a few years, in consequence of a too early 
introduction. This will explain, in some 
cases at least, the greater permanence of 
European novelties in the garden vegetable 
line. Closeness of relationship in crossing 
is no bar to marked gain in special charac- 
ters of great value to the market grower. 
This is seen very plainly in new turnip 
beets, — the Edmands particularly, — which 
has every desirable character very firmly 
fixed, with scarcely a variation in a large 
field of them. To the private gardener this 
beet may not appear of very special worth, 
as compared with Eclipse or Bastian; but 
our bunchers and drivers will tell a differ- 
ent story. I do not know Mr. Edmands, 
but if he reads O. & G. I want to compli- 
ment him warmly on his beet, and would 
The Hoop Trellis. Fig. 584. 
be glad if he would give you a sketch of 
his method. I take it for granted that all 
successful improvers must work on sub- 
stantially the same lines; but each practi- 
cal man’s experience, if frankly detailed, is 
of positive value to every other worker in 
the same field. — T. H. Hoskins. 
Early Tomatoes. 
The tomato is a very profitable crop if 
got into market early, for then sales are 
quick and prices high, and for this end 
growers endeavor to obtain the earliest va- 
riety, but from my experience in tomato 
culture I find there are other things more 
essential in obtaining early fruit than the 
planting of early varieties. 
Cultivate the plants every four or five 
days if possible; this hastens growth and 
early fruiting. As soon as suckers appear 
take them off. When the plants get twelve 
or fifteen inches high set a stake at each 
plant and keep the plant well tied up to 
these stakes. As soon as fruit forms on the 
vines go through the rows every few days 
and take off all imperfect fruit, for such 
will not give satisfaction, and, moreover, 
take strength from the~roct to make them, 
which lessens the size and impedes the ma- 
turity of the remaining fruit. — T.D. Baird. 
Water Melons. 
The soil that I have found best adapted 
to the watermelon is a light, warm, sandy 
loam. Whatever tends to compact the soil, 
whether it be rainy weather or a deficiency 
of vegetable matter, is detrimental to the 
crop. I have found that the richer the soil, 
provided it be warm and light, the surer 
will be success. If the soil is not rich, ma- 
nure it, and the more liberally given the fin- 
er the crop. I like the ground broken deep- 
ly and well pulverized before planting. I 
prefer marking both ways thatthecrop may 
be cultivated better. Besides a liberal ma- 
nuring broadcast, I usually put two shovel- 
fuls of good manure at each crossing. The 
best manure I ever had was well rotted leaf 
mould and stable manure composted in al- 
ternate layers of equal proportions; this all 
well rotted and turned occasionally until 
thoroughly mixed. This may not rush the 
plants while young so much as pure stable 
manure, but it will bring more and larger 
fruit. and of better quality. Bones dissolved 
in ashes make the best fertilizer to mix in 
the hills. In this section six feet between 
the hills is sufficient, if plenty of land, 
eight feet might be better. As soon as the 
plants are up hoe them carefully so as not 
to disturb them. I like deep cultivation for 
the first three plowings, then shallow until 
finished. Melons should be cultivated as 
often as once a week until the vines inter- 
fere. I plow the ground at each plowing 
thoroughly between the rows, as close as 
possible without breaking vines. The less 
the vines are molested the better. One sea- 
son I had the vines turned after they had 
melons set which give them a severe check. 
As the earliest melons are the most profit- 
able I have often forced a few hundred 
hills by cutting sod into pieces five inches 
square and placed them inverted in the hot- 
bed made for the purpose, and then planting 
five or six seeds upon each piece. After the 
weather becomes settled and there is no 
more danger of frost, and when the plants 
nave three or four leaves, they are removed 
to the hills. Moisten the sods thoroughly be- 
fore taking them up. It is better not to set af- 
ter a rain until the weather becomes warm. 
After the melons are grown there is much 
in picking at the right time. The rind of a 
watermelon when ripe generally becomes 
hard and the pulp brittle. The part in con- 
tact with the ground will be changed from 
a white to a pale yellow and, upon close ex- 
amination, numerous small pimples some- 
what like measles will be noticed on the 
surface, particularly on the outer edge. 
With these signs, if the melon be gently 
pressed and it crackles inside, it may be re- 
garded as ripe. The top side of a melon 
when ripe is of a dull, lifeless, brown color. 
— Thos. D. Baird. 
