Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1878-05-29
Tomato Culture.

In orr observation Of gariqnlng We
have found very few people who get
the best results out Of their tomato
plants. Either they are selected with
on. knowledge, or the supposlIlon that
there is not much choice IN varieties
or they are allowed TO lie on the
ground aud have their fine flavor
spoit or the vines are left unpruned,
to sprawl over several square feet of
room, aud waste their energies in pro
ducing dwarftd fruit and useless stalks
aud blossoms until frost comes.
Now, there is just as much differ
encc between a large, solid, smooth
hcshed tomato, and little, wrinkled
combination OF seeds, water aud skin,
as there Is between natural and grated
apples, or a "prickly pear" and the
BARTLETT
We have raised q dozen varieties in
one season. and never found anything
better than the Eureka sand Trophy,
though the Gen. Grant was good
during its "6rst born" Some sorts
will degenerate, like n polaloi The
plants should be stocky, AID well sea'
soncd to the air, before setting out.
In most soils they should be set deep
half way up the stem; indeed, the
Jersey gardeners put them in nearly up
to the top, as the stalk makes more
feeding roots, and they stand dry
weather better. 1t is an exploded no.
ton that tomatoes do not need rich
soil. If well fed, they will grow
rankly, to be sure, but the pruning
shears will take care OF that. The
most vigorous plants will give the
greatest weight and best quality Of
fruit. Cultivatine, to keep the soil
loose and free from weeds, does the
young plants almost as much good as
it does cabbages
But it is from lack Of training and
trimming that the most failures are
made. For garden culture we believe
the single stake system the best,
though frames will answer, and it is
u good plan 10 let some plants lie low,
on bushes or sticks near the ground,
for in very dry seasons they do well.
As in our short seasons sarly tomatoes
are desirable, select half a dozen Of
your best and earliest poisoning
plants for forcing; tie them loosely
with large Irvine to stake four feet
high: as soon as the first cluster Of
blossoms appears, pinch out the up
ward-tending stem, and nip all the lat
eral branches that start out from time
to time above the leaves. In short,
concentrate all the g:owth OF the
plants into one cluster of fruit, and
you will have ripe tomatoes two OF
three weeks earlier than would other
wise be the case. And nearly all
plants should be treated after the
same fashion, though not so severely
pruned. We have trained plant OF
the "Trophy" five feet high, to stout
stake, having ross.pieces for sup
ports it bore a cluster of fruit to
each foot-the bottom one containing
twenty-three tomatoes, mostly of large
size Zone of them weighing over a
pound) which began to ripen on the
Goth of July. By the stake or frame
system the fruit is kept cleaner, has
better ventilation, rpens more evenly,
and IS better favored.
The usual fault in trimming toma-
toes consists in cutting off leaves,
which should never be done, or nip
ping the ends of lateral branches after
they have grown. The plant should
be kept clean Of lateral sprouts from
the first; they are. in our climate,
mere robbers, unless you are after a
yield of green fruit.
It is much easier to meet with
error thai to find the truth error is
on the surface, truch is hidden in