THE TOMATO INDUSTRY OF TIIE ARKANSAS VALLEY. I 5 
September and the greater portion of it will not ripen 
until about October ist. It can be readily seen what an 
advantage there is in having the fruit ripening by the 
last of July. It means that the heaviest deliveries can be 
made about the middle of September, before frost does 
serious injury to the tomato, thus insuring a good uniform 
pack with much less loss than in the late one. 
After the middle of September, the nights beorin to 
get quite cool and usually the tomato ripens slowly. 
The results as a whole indicate that soil conditions 
play considerable part in tomato growing. The tomato 
seems to prefer a virgin soil, and a sandy soil is prefera¬ 
ble to a clay. Considerable adobe is not desirable. 
Increase in vigor and productiveness evidently are 
closely associated with careful handling and good tillage. 
There can be no question that transplanting, properly 
done is invaluable. Stocky plants, vigorous and growing 
well are better than simply early plants. This was plainly 
shown in our tests of 1902. On the other hand, trans¬ 
planting does not avail anything over early plants well 
grown unless the transplanting is done a sufficient time to 
increase the root system of the plant, together with its 
strength and general vigor. 
Good healthy plants started medium early and kept 
growing vigorously are preferable to early plants allowed 
to get too thick in the bed, which causes them to become 
spindling and stunted in their growth. They are also 
preferable to a transplanted plant that has been stunted. 
A good tomato plant, at time of setting in the field, is 
one which is stocky enough to hold the weight of itself, 
together with a considerable amount of dirt, about the 
diameter of a lead pencil and 6 to 8 inches in height. A 
tall, weak plant is not worth setting. The desirable thing 
to secure in this country of short seasons and cool nights 
is a plant having age. It stands to reason that the older 
the plant the sooner it will commence to bear—it takes 
about so long for a plant to come to the bearing age. 
The most successful way to accomplish this is by trans¬ 
planting. If this is not done care should be exercised 
that the plants do not become crowded and “leggy” be¬ 
fore time of setting. 
We must bear in mind that the tomato will not give 
profitable returns without more care in the selection of 
seed, plants and soil than is given most of our staple crops. 
Special preparation must be made for the crop. A small 
acreage grown under the most favorable conditions is 
