ee UAT 
1 May, 1900.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 341 
the soil ig admittedly a good and fertile one, no manure need be added to it in 
© Operation of digging ; if, however, through cropping or any other cause the 
‘iis impoverished, a good dressing of thoroughly rotted manure should be 
ed; and if the scrapings of virgin jungle land are available, they are an 
Murable and valuable manure for the tomato plant. 
PLANTING OPERATIONS. 
| 4 Having thoroughly prepared the soil and obtained the first indication of 
_ | °Wer buds, the plants are now ready for permanent planting, and the exact 
} ™thod to be adopted comes up at once for consideration. The best method of 
} tllfor the production of fine quality large tomatoes is on single stems—that is 
Say, one plant one stem, and therefore no laterals; but this will the better be 
clear by an example, Suppose the cultivator selects a piece of ground 50 
| £t wide and 100 feet long, and plants 1 foot apartin the lines, and the lines one 
™M the other 3 feet apart. The plot will require 1,600 plants, and this 
| ‘Mmber may be so planted for single stem-plants ; or each plant be allowed to 
| thine two or, at the most, three stems each; but it comes to much the same 
} (“hg, as the three stems will require room, and there must be a reduction in 
| Mmbers to allow for this ; and the fruits, moreover, are not calculated to come 
| “0 fihe on three-stem plants as on one. I would, therefore, select’ the best and 
| Wost profitable Tsien for exceptionally fine fruits—namely, single-stem plants. 
= i fo uingly, large-sized drills or small trenches may be got out, and the first 
| hetsbuds got as near the surface as possible, in order that the fruiting may 
| eo from the bottom. It may be advisable to lay some plants in slanting to 
| “ect this end, which is a very good plan. Any buried stem will be certain to 
} Mot later on, which is no disadvantage whatever. Suppose this example is 
| pred out, there will be sixteen rows of 100 plants, each 1 foot apart and 3 feet 
} “teen the rows or lines; and this involves a system of training, each plant 
} .“Ng grown perfectly vertical. No doubt the best and most economical method 
| € end is by posts and strained wires—two terminal posts, and one in the 
| {tte for each line; but failing this posts may be driven in at intervals 6 feet 
yes or more, and by a system of horizontal and vertical lacing of split-up 
‘mboo, hurdle or gate fashion, a substantial training fence be made and easily 
14 Ken down, and the wood stored for another season when done with, merely 
| es the permanent posts in the ground, or even these may be taken up. 
‘ving planted the young plants, previously soaking the boxes before trans- 
‘4nting and doing the planting well, we come to a thorough system of after- 
7 “8gement. 
—MUUUUAU UI 
PRUNING AND TRAINING. 
i Now, whether the grower elects to have one, two, or three shoots to each 
| Pant, all else should be regularly and systematically destroyed as it appears ; 
| every new point there will inevitably be a couple or three lateral shoots. 
| th © moment these are large enough take them out, and at the same time secure 
| .¢ plants as they grow to the trellising with a loose tie. In practice this work 
| val be very simple, but it should on no account be neglected at any time, but 
i joularly and systematically attended to, and the lateral shoots taken com- 
Uetely out when quite small. Then no other growth can ensue; if it does, it 
mee be removed. At intervals, all up the main stems, there will appear a 
pearous bunch of flowers at about 9 inches to 1 foot apart. Now, even the 
all kinds of tomatoes are in the habit ot giving some faulty flowers. Do not 
, W these to waste the energy of the plants, but take them out with a fine- 
horce pair of scissors. This will not be ‘extensive work, but nevertheless 
wid be attended to, and this work will go to the end of the chapter. There 
ot thus be a given number of main stems; and nothing else, absolutely 
else, should be tolerated for a moment. It will happen that some 
ranch out and become very long: these, too, may be reduced if they 
ss Wd each other, taking away one or two pairs of the leaflets. But this must 
“tbe overdone, as healthy, vigorous foliage is essential to the plants; bat the 
ee 
min) Te 
] 
TTT 
ltt (ist‘“‘™O™OSO™OCO™C™:”:” GG 
