Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1895-05-16
TOMATOES PROFITABLE.
THEY ARE RATED AT s3oO.o 90 FOR
FACE ACRE
The Greatest Drawback In This Country h
Strong Winds. Always Bring u Dollar a
Bushel, Generally More.

bushei, SenerAuy hore.
A paper read by L. c. Corbett, before the State
horticultural meeting At VermiIion.
From Dakota armer.
In recent years market gardening
has become a prominent and paying in
iustry for a considerable percenta. e of
our rural population, and in this in
serve a higher rank of rating than does
the tomato. In the census year 1890,
we find hat there were 25, SOC acres OF
tomatoes grown In the United States,
and hat the net income per acra was
more for his ha1 f.r any osnsr crop
grown by the vegetable gardener.
Census Bulletin No. Al rivs the net
income for tomatoes as $500. 90 per acre
IN New England, while celery, which
is considered one of the best paying
crops of this class, is only rated s2G6. sc
for the same district. The cost of la
Dor is only sl7.0O per acre more or
tomatoes than for celery in the above
mentioned district.
The cultivation of the tomato. il
! must be remembered, is not confined
to the truck-patch alone. but it is one
of the leading winter products of the
growers near large cities of the East.
Although there arc many difficulties TO
be overcome in growing a successful
crop of winter tomatoes, yet when well
grown they are very profitable. as the
prices range from 50. so TO So rs and
even as high as 81 per pound. The
chief profit from the tomato, however,
arises from growing it in the open
| ground and on a commercial scale.
And, although the canning factories
use immense quantities of the fruit,
putting up 3,405, 365 cases Of l dozen
cans each in 1891, yet the prices paid at
these factories do not average much
above 500 or So 5 per bushel, even
at these figures tomatoes can be grown,
under favorable conditions, at q profit.
1t is the production of early fresh
| fruits that go to supply the demand of
| the city and local markets, hat brings
to the grower his just reward. This is
the character of the work the South
] Dakota tomato-growe" tndS before
him, good local and city market that
| will consume a larger quantity of first
quality homegrown tomatoes. What
we want is a local grower for each
town of 1900 inlia oitan.S or more, to
supply it's demand. Why not retain
within the State the money which an
nually goes to tomato growers of the
states south and east of us? People
are 10 satisfied with the prices of
cereal crops and rightfully so, but why
| will not some one avail himself of the
opportunity that is opened before hin.
| Tomatoes yield many times as much
| per acre as do the grains, and instead
of &0.45 per bushea they never, in this
State, bring less than 81.
A lcsal grower in Bryant sold his
| crop in 1893 at the rate of so. 20 per pix.
| One who purchaser fruit of him told
me that she paid that price for thir-
| teen wears. 1t is not necessary that
these prices be realized, however, 20
insure a financial success. For if the
results at the Experiment Station r
| TO be accepted as an index, it appears
that if the seasons never keep open la
ter than August %, that the crop will
be such as to warrant the cultivation
| of the fruit. There is no reason why
we may not obtain So to 60 bushels of
fruit of first quality per acre, and at
81 per bushel this is much better than
any other crop grown in the State on
an equal area.
| | am aware that this is not Dakota
| style of farming, it is intensive rather
| than extensive, but extensive farming
in South Dakota has not always paid,
and we may as well accept the lessons
Of the older states, namely--that in
tensive rather than extensive indus
tries are returning the greatest profit.
| People of the southern part have long
since earned the lesson, and instead OF
freighting away the raw produce of
their farms they now send only the
concentrated products in the form of
beef and hogs. This is intensive farm
ing.
One remark is true of both, however,
| and that is, that only a few can enter
any one industry unless there is an in
| creasing demand for the product of
that industry. There is a demand for
homegrown garden products, and this
will grow as soon as there is a supply
for its encouragement.
So far have spoken only to market
| gardeners near the towns, but the
farmer who lives some distance should
| by no means be discouraged, for he can
| create a local demand among his
| neighbors and besides supplying his
own family with an abundance of one
of the best fruits that grows, he can
sell enough to more than defray his
expenses. This is not guess-work or
| con: ~ecture, but the deductions from
actual experience and observation.
One of the discouraging features to
gardening is that it requires prepare
| tion and 1T also requires attention, but
neither of these should discourage any
one. The preparation needed is TO
know what to do, and what is needed,
then go ahead, and with the neces-
sary amount of determination success
is certain.
WHAT TO DO.
Sow the seed of the tomato in a rni-
form temperature of about 20 degrees
F., not later than the 18th of March.
| When the plants are three inches high,
transplant them into boxes, tomato
cans, or discarded b~erry-boxes. Keep
them growing, not too vigorously,
until May IS, when they should be
planted in the field four feet apart each
way. Cultivate thoroughly but not
Iaan1r TN~,s. rnaf &c ,.-.