The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-12-24
lticlliuoI,d

W. r.. Massey. of tho crop, ana
tho tomatoes simply amount to a means
Tor getting some cash during the SUM
iner. The main reason for tho poor
results in money is the general aver
age small crop made while it is per
icctly possible 10 make twelve to six
teen tons an acre, and some here and
there 40 make such crops. the general
average is not moro than four tons
an acre. with tho Gamers paying 50
TO $40 per ton IL Is very evident that
Tho mun who makes bat four tons an
mere Is getting Very poor returns from
lis land and labor
ono causc of the small average crop
Is tho poor plants produced The gen.
eral practice is TO SOW the secd thick
j. IN rows in the open ground, ana pull
them from these rows FOR transplant
ing. such plants have made very
poor root system, aud take a long time
80 recover frop the transplautiuG. and
hence make 4 later crop and "a smaller
ono. The Indiana Experiment station
has been for several years making cN-
p"rirncnts in the cultivation OF to,na-
toes, as tho canning Industry IN that
state is quito large. III tests continued
FOR three yoars they have found that
tomato plants started in hotbed
and transpIantcd before setting in tho
Ncld, mace twice the crop Of plants
hown in the open ground and trans
planted direct TO the held. The most
profitable method for starting the
plants was found to he sowing the
seed in wooden veneer bands filled with
rich sol! in q hotbcd ana then shift
ing the plants 10 the field with the
bands keeping The uass Of soil intact.
These plants Keep right on growing,
:ts though not moved At all. and the
veneer bands can be slipped up and
left around the plants for some time
TO prevent tn" CutWorms getting at
theui For u heviliEer II WAS found
- "A
containing per cent uitrogcil. 10 per
cent phosphorus acid and per cent
potash from sulphatc Of potash. gave
Tho hest results
Another cause OF poor crops is tho
prevalence vi the leaf blight saw
ii.ld after Geld last summer from which
all tho leaves wcro blightcd, and the
fruit was. OF course. Inferior aud sun
burnt. while ia other helds the leaves
remained grccu till frost. II Is simply
n matter OF spraying the plants with
bordeaux u!Xturc. III. Indications arc
that seed grown ina the far North CIV.
better results than home grown seed.
Dnd yet many growers seem to think
that a seed + S . seed. and they SOW seed
washed from the refuse OF the canning
houses Tho varieties found most pro-
ductivc in three ycarS In the export
iucnts IN Indiana were the Greater ltal
timorc, FaVuritc, Royal Red Paragon
and Trophy. / have found that u good
strain OF stone and Success are as good
as amy The great increase that can
be made from taking more pains in the
production OF plants Will pay well for
the extra labor and expense.
Another point OF Importance Is the
thorough cultivation oil the crop. Fro
oucnt and rapid cultivation, a. com
pared WITH the usual cultivation,
showed that the moro frequent cultiya
ton paid well. 1t VAS shown that
plants started in the open ground gave
T,f ,.sf -, ~.
plants OF $3.50 an acre. while plants
started and grown In the veneer bands
in a hotbed and set out with the soils
sdhoring gave returns OF $4,000 per
acre. This shows "a wide margin and
room FOR profitable expenditure in the
production OF The plants. This is writ
ten az a reply 10 several who ask
about the growing OF tomatoes.
Growing Onions.
81 Will be very glad TO have YOU
ial<o up the subject of onion growing
IN Thc Times Dispatch" Hardly a
day passes but some one asks about
growing onions. and had intended to
rakc UP this matter later, but as the
queries increase it is about as well To-
90 it now There arc number OF
WAYS for producing onions. either from
sets or seed Sets are mainly used for
The production OF green onions for