Vol. LIX. No. 2626. 
NEW YORK, MAY 26, 1900. 
J1j.PER;yEAR. 
NURSING; THE BABY TOMATO PLANT 
MAKING A COMFORTABLE BED. 
It Must Be Pushed Steadily Along. 
“Come down and see the hot yard while it is at 
its best!” said C. C. Hulsart, of Matawan, N. J., re¬ 
cently. The R. N.-Y. is always on the lookout for 
expert methods of doing useful things, and so on May 
8 we were in the “hot yard.” It is located at the 
back of Mr. Hulsart’s farm, in a low place, well shel¬ 
tered from the wind. The “yard” is a collection of 
long hotbeds in which tomato, pepper and egg plants 
are growing. Farmers around Matawan grow toma¬ 
toes extensively—the very early crop being very prof¬ 
itable. As a rule the grower does not try to produce 
his own plants—leaving that to experts like Mr. Hul¬ 
sart. It is one thing to produce a fine, stocky plant 
all ready to be set in the field, and quite another to 
feed and handle that plant out of doors, so that it 
will develop ripe fruit in 40 days after it is set out. 
That is the job cut out for the early-tomato grower, 
and it usually takes two different men to do it, though 
Mr. Hulsart is an exception. 
There were about 50,000 tomato plants 
in sight. They stood in the beds four or 
five inches apart. A wagon was being 
loaded with plants. One man stood in 
the bed, and with a sharp knife cut great 
slices, holding two rows each, across the 
bed. These slices were then cut up into 
squares, each holding four plants. A 
fork was thrust in under each piece and 
lifted gently, so as to take up about four 
inches of soil, which stuck securely to 
the roots. Just before digging the bed 
was wetted so that the soil held in a 
firm block. These cakes, each holding 
four plants, were placed gently on the 
wagon and the fork pulled out. When 
setting in the field the cakes are cut into 
four pieces, so that each plant has a 
small square cake containing just about 
all its roots undisturbed. If properly set 
in warm weather there is no reason why 
it should ever stop growing. If the 
roots were shaken free from dirt, or if 
the plants had been crowded close to¬ 
gether, there would have been a delay 
of at least two weeks in tbe crop. 
“When were these plants first start¬ 
ed?” 
“The seed was sown on February 24 
in one of the beds. On March 28 the 
plants were pricked out where you see 
them. Now, on May 8, they are ready 
to be set out as soon as the weather is warm enough.” 
“How are these beds made?” 
“It is just as necessary to have the bed right as it 
would be to make the sleeping quarters of a cranky 
boarder comfortable. Of course the beds are cleaned 
out after the plants are sold. When starting again 
we put first a light layer of cornstalks at the bot¬ 
tom. This is to prevent too much water from coming 
up. Then we put in about 16 inches of manure, and 
on top of this about five inches of soil. As they take 
out these plants you will see that they cut down just 
about to the manure.” 
“What is this ‘soil’ you speak of?” 
“There is a sample of it now,” said Mr. Hulsart, as 
he pointed to a large pile or mound. “I let it weather 
and rot for over a year before putting It in the beds. 
We scrape up sods or rich soil, mix it With year-old 
manure, and the manure that is taken out of the beds. 
It is worked over and thoroughly pulverized, and 
this year I am adding lime, as I think it likely that 
will help destroy or stifle the germs of blight and 
other diseases. When the plants are pricked out we 
roll the beds down and put on a half-inch of sand, 
which prevents evaporation. These quick-growing, 
tender plants contain more water than an average 
sample of milk, and, like a baby, must be fed on 
soluble food. Moisture and heat are absolutely neces¬ 
sary to them.” 
“Some of these plants have already begun to bloom. 
How long before they will bear fruit?” 
“That depends on the grower and the weather. I 
have grown good tomatoes in 40 days from the set¬ 
ting, but this can only be done when everything is 
just right. A fair average would be 50 days. A few 
days’ gain in the early season will make a wonderful 
difference in the price.” 
“How are these early plants handled in the field?” 
“I can tell you the way I do it. We take the large 
cakes containing each four plants into the field on a 
wagon, and put them in the center of each square of 
four hills. This year’s field had corn last year. It 
was well manured after the corn, and thoroughly 
worked with Cutaway and plow. It is marked and 
furrowed. The setter comes along with his knife. 
THE OPALESCENT APPLE. Actual Size. From a Photograph. Fig. 106 
See Rurallsms, Page 370. 
and cuts the large cake into four parts, so that each 
plant has a block of soil four or five inches square. 
Without shaking a bit of this earth off, the plant, 
with its block, is put down into the furrow at the 
proper place. The idea is to draw enough earth 
around the plant to cover this block about an inch 
deep, but it does not pay to try to do too much work 
with the hands. Workers follow with hoes and quick¬ 
ly pull the earth around the plants. With the late 
crop, usually grown for the canneries, early forcing is 
not so necessary, and it would not pay to give the 
plants so much care.” 
“Do you use any fertilizer?” 
“As I have said, we broadcast manure after the corn 
crop. Before setting we broadcast per acre 100 pounds 
of muriate of potash and 250 pounds of acid rock. At 
the time of setting we use about 75 pounds per acre of 
nitrate of soda—put at the side of the plant—about 10 
inches away from it. About two weeks later we use 
125 pounds per acre of nitrate on the other side of 
the plant, and a little farther away. I have found 
nitrite of soda the best form of nitrogen to use.” 
One might well call this “hot yard” a nursery for 
baby plants. From start to finish they needed con¬ 
stant care and attention. A single chill or a day of 
thirst, may put them back for a week in their mis¬ 
sion of acting as the early worm to catch the dollar 
of the market bird. As the sun was going down the 
men came with sash and mats, like nurses, to tuck 
those babies away in their beds for the night. 
h. w. c. 
HOW CLOVER HAY IS DRIED. 
Let the Plant Dry Itself. 
“What is the philosophy of curing clover hay?” 
“I do not think that farmers care much for the ‘phil¬ 
osophy Of it,’ ” said the scientific man. “The man 
with the mower and the hay rake does not care much 
for the opinion of the man who sits in the shade and 
tells the ‘how’ of it.” 
“That may be true, but tell us how the water is best 
taken out of the green plant.” 
“Well, of course, everybody knows that hay is dried 
grass; that is, the water is taken out of 
the grass. Of course we cannot put 
water on the hay and have grass again 
When clover hay is cut as it should be, 
it contains almost as much water as an 
average sample of milk, and the problem 
is to get this water out of the plant a3 
quickly as possible.” 
“Most farmers believe that the best 
way to do this Is to spread the grass out 
in the sun. Is that right?” 
“No, not at all; it is not the sun that 
takes the water out of the grass. The 
sun will bleach and discolor it, and may 
do a positive damage when clover hay is 
spread directly out in the hot rays of 
the sun. The water is driven out of the 
grass chiefly by the wind. That is, by a 
circulation of warm dry air through the 
grass. This, however, is not the only 
way to cure clover hay, for the clover 
plant may partly dry itself.” 
“Dry itself, how can that be possible?” 
“Hold up a green clover plant, and 
have a look at it. There is a large sur¬ 
face of leaf, and a thick, heavy stem. 
Now, the leaf of the plant is, as you 
know, its lungs, and through the leaf 
surface, a great deal of water is thrown 
off. There are few if any pores in the 
stem, and the only exit for this moisture 
is through the leaves. Plants throw off 
an immense amount oi moisture in this 
way. The object in curing clover is to keep the leaf 
green and healthy as long as possible. When you 
spread the plant out in the hot sun, the leaves quick¬ 
ly shrivel and lose their power of sucking water out 
of the plant. The stem is left with a large amount of 
water, and no means of getting rid of it except by 
exposure to the wind, which is, as we all know, a 
slow process except in first-class haying weather.” 
“You mean to say, then, that if the leaves are kept 
green, the plant will really dry itself or suck out most 
of the water?” 
“Yes, that is true. As a familiar illustration, you 
may cut down two trees, say in June, when the leaves 
are in full vigor. Take two trees of about the same 
size; as soon as one has been cut down, take your ax 
and lop off all the limbs or branches so that no 
leaves are left. Leave the other just as it fell, and 
you will notice that the leaves retain their vigor for 
several days, or until they have sucked the moisture 
out of the tree. Examine the two trees two or three 
weeks later, and you will find that one trunk con¬ 
tains far more water than the other. One tree was 
