56 STORRS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 
show signs of ‘‘ ripening off’’ long before frost comes in the fall. 
All tomato plants, whether early or late, would continue growth 
for a longer period than our season permits, if the life of the 
plant were not reduced by parasitic diseases. 
In order to test this theory, a plot of tomatoes was set about 
May 25, 1904. ‘The variety used was Earliana. ‘The plot con- 
sisted of six equal rows. ‘Two of them were kept pruned to 
one stem and tied to stakes. The next two rows were sup- 

Fig. 16.—Sprayed and unsprayed tomatoes. 
ported by stakes and wire trellises, while the other two rows 
were left to grow unsupported. All plants were given the same 
fertilization and cultivation. Bordeaux was applied on the fol- 
lowing dates: June 1, 11, 18; July 2, 13, 25, 30; August 6, 20. 
On August 5 the foliage of the unsprayed plants was badly 
spotted with tomato-leaf blight (Septoria licopersica). By 
August 20 the unsprayed plants had lost practically all their 
leaves from this disease. When frost came, September 21, the 
unsprayed vines were dead and dry, but the sprayed vines were 
still green. Unfortunately, the data of weights of tomatoes 
from the respective rows were not kept accurately enough to 
be of value. The difference in yield was not so great between 
the sprayed and unsprayed plants as was the difference in qual- 
ity. At first the quality of all the fruits was the same. When 
the leaves of the unsprayed plants became diseased, the fruits 
on them ripened just the same as those on the sprayed plants, 
Ve ao 
‘ ee 
