The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-12-02
Prof. Massey Discusses Best
Varieties For Market.
DIRECTIONS AS TO STALKING
Instructions For Growing Let
tuce-BeechWood For Posts
Opinion as to Best Way
to Use Lime-0ne Onion
Makes Abundant Dish For
Six People.

SIX PeOple.
1--WE want to plant an acre or two
OF tomatoes for market, n would
like to know the best varieties. Peo-
pie around here praise the tree to-
mato, but we know nothing about 1t.
OF course, we want to get them early.
Will be glad to have any Information
YOU IAN give in regard to getting the
early CROP" For h earliest toma-
toes. l use Langdon strain OF the
Earliana, which Is a great improve
ment on the old Earliana- This has
the advantage for a market grower IN
that 1t throws its crops all early.
Then, it Is well to- have some later
ones to follow it, and for this purpose
there is none better than Stone.
For a pink tomato the old Livings-
ton Beauty is as good as any, and
Globe Is also good. Livingstone Core
less is good, and Magnuns has heavy
faliage that protects the fruit from
the sun, and Is a good tomato. To get
the early ones SOW the seed in a green
house or In a hOtbed early in Febru-
airy. and In March transplant them to
q cold frame under glass sashes four
inches apart each way, to get strong
weather will allow, SO as to keep them
in as hardy state as practicable.
Here I set them in the open ground
late in April, and il frost threatens l
simply bend the plants v the even
ing before, and shovel the earth over
them till the frost has passed. Last
spring I had to do this twice. and
once middle Of May, when we had an
unusual freeze down to 80. but I
saved my plants, though it was Sum-
day night that / had to cover them.
after returning from church. In a
garden it Is better to stake the plants
and train them to q single stem. You
can get earlier fruit in that way, and
can set the plants closer. But wheth-
er it will pay on a large scale for tn ,
extra work Is a question. I set the
plants two feet apart In rows three
feet apart, and train to single stems,
tying them to stakes about six feet
high. and keeping the side shoots or
suckers pinched out, and this means
a great deal Of constant p%inching. But
here il they are allowed to tumble or
the ground they get choked up with
crab grass after it is impracticable to
cultivate them. But on the stakes we
can keep the weeds and grass shaved
on. If o have q good regular home
market it will pay 10 SOW some Of the
later and finer sorts in the open
ground in April. and transplant them
later to give a full crop in the earl,
Aois oo IC CdIly OIlCS o1C AOl 81
good later in the season.
BecchwOOd for Posts.
us b~eechwOod of any value to us<
for fence posts? / have a lot Of 1t
and cedar is very scarce and expen'
sive. so h a I would like to use thu
beech il 1t will answer. Beechwoot
will last IL kept wet all the time. Blu
as posts, alternately wet and dry. i
will not last much longer than ole
field pine.
Sowing Rye.
Can I still SOW rye as a white
cover to turn under in the spring? 2
1t would have given you an earle
and better growth to have sow
earlier. but in lower Virginia you ca
SOW rye n time this month, as
Is far more hardy than wheat.
Applying Greund Rock to Clover.
Several OF us ordered ground lime
stone to put on clover, but could no
get 1t when expected, n as it wa
getting late to SOW oats and clover
red clover. we went ahead and sOweC
Now we want to know if it will do t
spread the limestone this fall or wa
till spring" ave spread lime O
clover early in spring before growt
started. and brushed it in with
smoothing harrow, with very goo
results. l have never used tn
the ground limestone. but l can sc
no harm that can be don by spread
ing fully twice as much as of burr
lime. Much has been written abo,
the value of the ground limestOn
and II it is pulveriZed to a dust-lil
fneness l have no doubt that it wi
answer a very good purpose. Son
talk a great deal about burnt lin
destroying the humus or organic ma
ter. 1t does certainly promote IL
more rapid nutriication or organ
decay. and brings it into use, and it
the business Of the farmer to ket
up a supply OF this organic matt
which we call humus. Where Il
farmer maintains the humus in h