1892 
53 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
ter-finished  fruit.  3.  My  experience  seems  to  indicate 
that  tomatoes  do  vary  in  this  way :  on  a  rich  clay 
soil  the  fruit  is  much  better  in  a  moderately  dry  sea¬ 
son,  and  on  such  soil  a  large  amount  of  nitrogenous 
manure  is  very  harmful,  while  on  a  lighter  and  thinner 
soil  the  same  application  is  generally  of  great  benefit 
both  to  flavor  and  productiveness.  4.  A  tomato  grown 
under  glass  is  totally  different  from  the  same  variety 
in  open-air  culture  in  the  summer  climate  of  North 
Carolina.  Under  glass,  when  properly  grown,  the 
fruit  ripens,  or  rather  colors,  more  uniformly  to  the 
stem,  and  never  cracks,  as  it  is  apt  to  do  outside.  But 
it  seems  to  develop  much  more  acid  than  the  open-air 
fruit,  and  in  flavor  would  not  be  recognized  as  the  same 
variety.  Tomatoes  grown  under  glass  are  solid  and 
meaty  and  ship  well,  and  are  better  than  the  miserable 
stuff  produced  in  Bermuda  ;  but  they  are  far  inferfor 
to  our  out-door  tomatoes.  They  are  much  prettier  to 
look  at  and  to  sell  than  they  are  to  eat.  w.  F.  massky. 
Winter  Tomatoes. 
Where  the  supply  comes  from.  When  picked;  best  kinds; 
crates;  prices,  etc. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  New  York  market  is  supplied 
with  fresh  tomatoes  all  the  year  round,  though  for 
six  months  of  the  year,  the  prices  xrule  so  high  that 
families  of  modest 
means  must  con- 
t  e  n  t  themselves 
with  the  canned 
article,  or  go  with¬ 
out.  Late  picked 
tomatoes  from 
New  Jersey  and 
Delaware  last  well 
on  towards  Decem¬ 
ber,  and  by  the 
15th  of  that  month 
the  first  shipments 
of  the  new  crop 
from  Key  West, 
reach  the  city. 
Key  West,  our 
readers  will  re¬ 
member,  is  one  of 
the  islands  of  the 
group  known  as 
the  Florida  Keys, 
and  lies  a  little 
southwest  of  Cape 
Sable.  A  few  of 
the  earlier  ship¬ 
ments  are  modest 
in  size,  but  they 
soon  grow  and  by 
January  1,  they 
run  from  1,000  to 
2,000  small  crates 
per  weekly  steam¬ 
er,  and  later  in 
the  season,  5,000 
crates  are  not 
infrequently 
reached. 
Two  sizes  of 
crates  are  used, 
one  called  the 
bushel  crate  (hold¬ 
ing  really  about 
three  pecks)  and 
the  small  crate 
holding  a  peck. 
The  trade  in  New 
York  generally 
prefer  the  larger  crates.  The  tomatoes  are  picked 
when  taking  on  the  whitish  cast,  just  before  they 
turn  red.  If  picked  earlier  than  this,  they  never  become 
well  ripened;  if  picking  is  deferred  until  the  color  be¬ 
gins  to  show,  they  are  apt  to  become  soft  before  they 
reach  consumers’  hands.  Each  tomato  is  wrapped  in 
straw  paper  and  they  are  then  snugly  packed,  so  that 
they  escape  bruising  and  consequent  premature 
decay. 
There  are  many  varieties.  Among  them,  and 
highly  valued  are  the  Acme,  Livingston’s  Beauty  and 
Livingston’s  Perfection.  There  seems  to  be  no  decided 
preference  in  the  market  for  any  special  sort,  and  the 
different  shades  of  red  sell  equally  well,  other  things 
being  equal.  There  is  one  sort  which  is  sometimes 
shipped,  of  a  yellowish  red,  the  name  of  which  we 
could  not  ascertain,  which  is  considered  undesirable  by 
the  trade. 
Prices  do  not  range  so  high  as  formerly,  but  they 
still  pay  very  well.  The  larger  crates  for  the  first 
month  sell  in  New  York  at  prices  ranging  from  $2.50 
to  84 — the  smaller  ones  from  75  cents  to  $1.25.  These 
must  pay  the  Key  West  growers  liberally,  as  freights 
are  low  from  that  point  by  the  Mallory  steamers, 
which  make  weekly  trips,  consuming  from  three  to 
four  days  in  the  trip.  The  freight  on  small  crates  is 
about  10  cents,  on  the  larger  ones  25  cents.  From  Florida 
proper,  freights  are  a  little  higher. 
The  next  tomatoes  in  earliness  in  our  markets  come 
from  Nassau,  capital  of  New  Providence,  one  of  the 
Bahama  Islands,  then  from  Florida  proper,  then  the 
Bermudas  and  after  that  in  their  order,  Charleston. 
Norfolk,  Baltimore,  Delaware  and  New  Jersey. 
The  Tomatoes  That  Seel. 
Our  leading  varieties  are  still  Livingston’s  sorts — 
Acme  and  Beauty.  I  think  the  highest  type  of  tomato 
at  present  is  the  Stone,  of  medium  size,  solid,  thick  and 
smooth.  I  think  the  medium  size  most  desirable,  and 
if  there  is  any  choice  between  solidity  and  keeping 
quality,  I  believe  the  public  prefer  a  solid  variety. 
j.  C.  VAUGIIN. 
We  find  the  largest  sale  for  the  Matchless  Tomato, 
but  this  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  we  recommend 
it  very  highly  in  our  catalogue  ;  to  our  mind  it  is  almost 
perfection  as  a  tomato  for  general  purposes.  The  fruits 
are  of  large  size  and  the  size  is  maintained  throughout 
the  season.  The  skin  is  remarkably  tough  and  solid, 
so  that  ripe  specimens  picked  from  the  vine  will  keep 
in  good  marketable  condition  for  two  weeks. 
W.  ATI,EE  BURPEE  &  CO. 
Of  the  eight  varieties  in  my  catalogue  of  which  1  sell 
most,  I  find  that  the  Paragon  heads  the  list,  leading 
the  next  highest  by  00  pounds.  It  would  not  be  cor¬ 
rect  to  infer  from  this  that  by  public  verdict  the  Para¬ 
gon  was  the  best  of  tomatoes  for  two  reasons :  first, 
because  the  quantity  of  seed  of  any  tomato  used  turns 
largely  on  the  length  of  time  it  has  been  before  the 
public  ;  and  secondly,  on  the  extent  to  which  it  has 
been  advertised.  1  find  that  both  the  Beauty  and  Red 
Cross  are  growing  in  popularity  as  fast  as  they  become 
known,  while  at  least  two  others  of  the  newer  scyts 
have  evidently  a  future  before  them.  j.  j.  H.  GREGORY. 
We  sell  most  of  the  following  varieties  of  tomatoes  : 
Acme,  Beauty  and  Essex  Hybrid  to  Southern  truckers; 
they  seem  to  prefer  the  Acme  color  to  the  scarlet. 
Amongst  amateurs,  the  Dwarf  Champion  is  the  greatest 
favorite  in  that  class.  We  also  sell  considerable 
quantities  of  the  Mikado,  Favorite,  Perfection,  Early 
Ruby,  Table  Queen  and  Trophy,  but  comparatively 
few  of  the  yellow  varieties  or  the  Peach  varieties  as 
compared  with  those  we  have  named. 
The  characteristics  of  the  No.  400,  now  named  Pon- 
derosa,  are  its  immense  size  combined  with  its  solidity, 
good  quality  and  freedom  from  seeds.  We  think  the 
public  like  a  large  tomato,  at  least  that  has  been  our 
experience,  and  if  they  can  get  solidity  and  good 
quality,  we  think  they  prefer  a  fruit  possessing  these 
qualities  to  either  extreme  earliness  or  lateness  with¬ 
out  the  good  qualities  we  have  named.  The  keeping 
quality  does  not  seem  to  enter  into  what  the  public 
desire  unless  it  be  for  shipping  purposes,  at  least,  this 
has  been  our  experience  to  date. 
PETER  HENDERSON  A  CO. 
We  sell  more  of  the  Early  Paragon,  Livingston’s 
Beauty  and  Brandywine  than  of  any  other  tomatoes  in 
our  list.  The  Brandywine  and  Paragon  are  both 
largely  grown  by  canners,  while  the  Beauty  is  quite 
popular  as  a  shipping  variety.  We  think  the  public 
desire  solidity  in  a  tomato  rather  than  keeping  quality, 
but  with  the  large  growers  who  make  a  business  of 
growing  and  shipping  tomatoes  the  keeping  quality  is 
the  greatest  desideratum,  hence  there  will  be  much 
larger  sale  for  a  tomato  that  has  good  keeping  and 
shipping  qualities  than  for  one  that  is  solid  and  of  fine 
flavor.  Johnson  &  stokes. 
We  sell  most  of  Thorburn’s  New  Jersey,  and  all 
those  of  the  Acme  color.  Size,  color,  smoothness, 
solidity,  sweetness  and  long-keeping  qualities,  will  be 
the  characteristics  of  the  coming  tomato.  It  will  also 
be  as  large  as  is  consistent  with  smoothness.  The 
public  prefer  solidity  in  a  tomato  to  long-keeping 
quality,  because 
keeping  qualities 
have  not  been 
thought  of  by  the 
public. 
J.  M.  THORBURN&CO 
My  soil,  in  north¬ 
ern  Wisconsin,  is  a 
black  sandy  loam 
with  a  yellow  san¬ 
dy  subsoil.  The 
varieties  that  have 
done  best  with  me 
for  some  years 
past  are  as  fol¬ 
lows  in  the  order 
named:  The  Acme, 
Livingston’s  Per¬ 
fection  and  the 
Optimus. 
J.  M.  SMITH. 
1.  With  us  (D. 
&  Co.) 
the  relative  quali¬ 
ties  of  the  dif¬ 
ferent  varie  ties 
sold  vary  from 
year  to  year  ;  but 
for  the  past  two 
years  we  have  sold 
much  more  of  the 
Optimus  than  of 
any  other  sort, 
Essex  1 1  ybrid,  Per¬ 
fection  following 
in  the  order 
named.  2.  We 
think  the  general 
types  of  the  pop¬ 
ular  varieties  o  f 
the  future  will  be 
much  like  those  of 
the  present.  Im¬ 
provement  will 
come  in  the  way  of 
better  vines  which 
will  produce  a 
smaller  proportion  of  waste — that  is,  small,  imper- 
fect,  cracked  and  rotten  fruit — and  in  fruit  which  will 
have  a  larger  proportion  of  pulp,  which  will  be  thicker 
or  more  solid  and  of  better  flavor,  while  the  flesh  will 
be  less  firm  and  of  better  color.  3.  Generally  a  medium 
size  is  best,  but  there  is  a  demand  for  some  large, 
smooth  fruit,  and  also  for  some  which  are  below  the 
average  size.  4.  The  market  gai-dening  “  public”  de¬ 
sire,  above  every  thing-,  a  fruit  which  shall  be  attractive 
through  the  longest  period ;  that  is,  which  can  be 
marketed  when  immature  and  be  still  sold  when  fully 
ripe.  It  is  this  quality  which  has  made  the  Essex 
Hybrid  so  popular  with  them.  The  consuming  “pub¬ 
lic”  would  generally  place  solidity,  beauty  and  flavor 
above  keeping  quality.  w.  w.  TRACY. 
Here,  in  western  New  York,  I  have  not  seen  the  kind 
of  tomato  that  would  not  thrive  with  me.  The  only 
questions  are  those  of  quality  and  quantity.  If  you 
ask  me,  which  variety  I  consider  the  most  profitable 
for  market,  I  would  answer,  unhesitatingly,  the  Early 
Ruby.  Of  course,  it  is  not  a  perfect  tomato— far  from 
it.  It  has  many  faults.  In  fact,  we  have  a  great 
number  of  better  ones  ;  but  it  has  one  quality,  which 
(Continued  on  pages  6 >2  and  6‘j.) 
STONE.  Fig.  49.  See  page  50,^ 
i POTOMAC.  Fig.  50.  See  page  50. 
M .  Ferry 
STONE.  Half  Section.  Fig.  51.  See  page  50. 
POTOMAC.  Half  Section.  Fig.  52.  See  page  50. 
