The Washington herald., 1909-01-07

West Palm Beach, Jan 6.-Here, in
the midwinter truck garden OF the last
eTn portion Of the United States, the to
Tnato Is hailed as the king Of vegetables.
It is possible 20 net a profit Of Sl.690 from
a single acre Of tomatoes In one year.
Il has been done. This seems a great
deal OF money 10 make on one acre. but
il doesn't sound at all improbable 10 the
man who pays 50 cents a portion Tor
tomato salad in his New York restaurant.
Tho man who pays 50 cents for one to-
matoo may be inclined 10 the opinion
that the Florida tomato grower ought
20 be content with a little less profit
But the Florida grower. naturally. takes
another view OF the case.
Not every acre Of tomatoes nets Sl.60o
a year. Some OF them do not make $50.
i all depends upon the man who grows
the vegetables. There is plenty OF good
truck gardening land, but those parcels
which are convenient TO the railroad and
which have the necessary transportation
and packing facilities are not 10 be had
for a song. When the land is purchased,
IT requires money and time 10 clear 1t
aad grub it. Then It must be prepared
for seed, and expensive fertilizer used n
scientific chemical proportions Then the
tomatoes are planted
Every morning the farmer must be up
betimes on the lookout FOR enemies Man
IS not the only animal who likes to
natoes. The rats are great pest
Grains of corn, carefully boiled in a
solution OF paris green, are scattered be-
tween the rows of tomatoes. They I'm
ISL the rats. but there VIII be more rats
next week and there must Be more paris
green hominy for them 10 eat
COtt0nSeed neal, carefully mixed with
arsenic. must be sifJed under the plant
where the weight Of the tomato is bend
ing it nearly 10 the earth. That Is 20
furnish the earthworms such q feast that
they VIII die happy without going into
the salad course Then there are the
land crabs; little fellows. but very fond
OF tomato plants and tomatoes. The far
ner must provide himself with "a supply
OF little pills OF calcium carbide, each
about the size Of pea. Then he must
peer all around under his precious to-
maJo plants for crab holes When he
dHds one, in goes pill and the hole is
stopped with a clod- The calcium car
bide, coming in contact with the mois-
Jure Of the earth. forms a gas which
penetrates TO all parts OF 4Ir. Crabs sub
Jerra-iean abode and painlessly launches
him into another world where there may
be tomatoes, but where there IS no mar
ket for the Fl0rida-grown variety.
After one has done all these things.
has T--a --sr-7 r--1-V- 7ar- for L-z
and after he has fought a winning bat
tie with the millions OF weeds that veX
the farmer in this land Of lUxUTiaut vege-
Jati0n. after he has gathered each tomato
as carefully as If he were taking a baby
from its crib. after he has wrapped that
tomato in tissue paper and laid il IN p
specially prepared crate and then, after
he has shipped Il away 10 the lobster
palace zone OF New York. he is apt 70
think hat he deserves a good round sum
as a reward for his zeal and vigilance
Il IS almost enough 70 reconcile one 10
the tariff Of 50 cents a portion on mid
winter tomato salad
Some growers here permit their vines
70 run out or the ground and they lose
much by rot. Some do not fertuIze prop
erlv. Some fail 10 take good care 70 keep
out the insect pests. Some 90 not pick
the fruit al the exact moment Tomato
growers Of this class are just like all
other unsuccessful farmers. business. or
professional men, the world over. They
say the tomato business is a failure They
rarely ascribe the failure 20 their own
shortcomings. But It seems 10 be a fact
that II requires a greater amount OF en-
and a greater amount OF patience 10 be
q successful truck farmer than il does
TO be successful IN almost any other
branch Of agriculture II the rewards are
greater. the effort and the toll has been
greater.
But witness the pride Of this successful
truck gardner, There he stands on tip
toe, reaching up 10 touch the topmost leaf
Of the tomato plant which is one Of the
thousands growing up against the stakes
he has provided one stake bears the
weight OF q whole crate OF beautiful to-
natotes- They are worth dollars. That
truck gardner has made a fortune since
he came TO Florida ten years ago. He IS
rich and he knows the winters crop viii
add SIG0o0 more 10 his fortune. Is he
thinking Of that2 Not at al. He Is
thinking Of the fact that he can show the
visitor q tomato field without a weed.
a tomato field without rOtting fruit. a
truck farm that is as clean as a Dutch
canal He is an artist, drawing living
pictures on the background Of & palmetto
waste with seed and fertilizer and mod
eTn methods OF cultivation In the fn-
ished picture he has the pride OF an
artist
Z the tomato IS an aristocrat among
vegetables. the Florida tomato is the
haughtiest OF aristocrats- Next to the
potato. the tomato ranks as the most
valuable vegetable produced by. American
truck farms Both the tomato and the
potato are American plants. they are
close kin, and both belong to the deadly
''night-shade' family. Within the mem
ory OF thousands OF living Americans the
tomato was regarded as poisonous and
wholly unfit for food. It was often
grown as an ornamental plant and its
rich red fruit gioried IN the name Of
love apple" Then the people found il
was good to eat. Its popularity grew. and
the tomato became commercially impor-
tant.
In six States New Jersey. Delaware
Maryland. Ohio, Indiana. and Mis-
souri. the business Of growing tomatoes
for canning purposes is a considerable
and profitable one. Every other .agri-
cultural State Of the Central West Is
paying more and more attention 10 this
crop. Twenty years ago the canned c-op
amounted TO 100000 cans Now II IS
more than $40. COO, 900 cans year.
The average yield per acre Of tomatoes
grown for canneries in the States named
is 10 bushels This IS with old-fashioned
methods of farming On any land that
viii grow tomatoes at al. the yield can
be increased TO 90 bushels by the aDDli-
cation Of hard work and modern methods
The farmer who is growing tomatoes as