The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1906-06-01
A NEW TOMATO CULTURE.
GUY ELLIOTT MITCHELL.

About the first Of June is the time
10 stake your tomatoes, speaking gen.
orally for the United States. This
asncle would have been more timely
had II been printed a month ago. but
even II II can be remembered for next
years operations in tomato growing.
the writer will feel more than com
pensated, since for at least small
tomato patches the plan here sug-
gested has been proven by him TO have
several advantages
Some years ago attempted to grow
seven acres of tomatoes In Southern
Florida-Polk COunty-for the north
ern winter market. The tomatoes
were planted in November. 1t was the
winter of the great freeze, which swept
Florida from stem to stern and obliter-
ated all frost lines"-the first oc-
CURED December 2Sth, just on top of
q Dalmy Christmas Eve spent on the
piazza In summer clothes. On that
DAY, the thermometer in this frost
proof region descended to ISF with
biting northwest wind. Thousands
OF acres of tomatoes and eggplant
Were cut down to the ground For
tunately for my partner and myself we
were from the region where Jack-Frost
holds annual sway and we had main
tanned seed bed in spite of the jeers
of our neighbors BY the use of fer
tiliZef sacks all the bed quilts. sheets |
and clothing we had, and half a dozen |
fires to windward, we managed to |
save some seven or eight thousand |
young tomato plants and thus when |
the frost king had passed on his way, |
we bad start over our neighbors of |
from eighteen to twenty-four days in |
growth.
A SECOND FREEZE.
We had visions OF wealth. Instead
o seven acres, it is true. we had
pants for only about single acre
each, but we expected eight ten or
twelve dollars crate for our toma-
toes, instead of two or three dollars,
because all Florida had been wiped
out. Unfortunately, In this instance,
the lightning struck twice, and in Feb
ruary, just as our plants were bios
soming and beginning to form fruit,
second and equally severe freeze
struck into our midst, and again the
entire agricultural section of Florida,
/ ,
acreage on the southwest keys was
frozen to the roots. However, in this
instance the Weather Bureau was on
the lookout, and about nine o'clock in
the evening we had information that
a severe northwest blizzard was rapid
ly moving down the State.
Necessity, as usual, proved itself
the mother of invention, and my part
ner, Mr.. G. g. Stephenson, of Herndon ,
Va, and myself strapped lanterns to :
our left legs. and with big cotton I
hoe each, tramped up and down our :
long rows of tomatoes and with a !
single dig and pull, for each plant, COW 4
cred the blossoming tomatoes with
nearly a square foot of the loose
Florida upland sand, in which the !
winter tomato is grown. I.
BY two o'clock we had finished our I
task, and we thought we were some |
what tired: but this effort was nothing =
to the job Of digging out the plants on :
The two succeeding days The small 1
Of my back still creaks in remem, +
orance of the Strengthening up periods v
1t the end of each row. !,
Finally, after the two freezes had u
lone their worst. and the genial sun n
If Southern Florida began to warm Il
he air. as upon a rare day in June, we
ZACH found ourselves with about u of
IN acre of rather dilapidated but still i
hrifty and little damaged tomatoes, q
ar advanced over those of the sur !,
ounding fields. :,
PRUNING TOMATO VINES. 4
The tomatoes were beginning to r,
brow out numbers of axillary suckers n
ust above each leaf. 1t was my turn, Il
me day, to drive the white mare to 81
own and get supply of grub--we c;
rere camping. BY chance, | ran IN
cross an old stager who had drffted al
own to South Florida from the region Ell
-