Evening journal., 1913-08-13

A large acreage in the tomato-pro-
ducing regions of Sussex and southern
Kent county is composed Of light
sandy loam. To secure from these
soils the maximum production Of good
canning tomatoes, 1t is only necessary
to increase their moisture-holding
capacity by Incorporating with them
large quantities of humus. This can
be easily and oheaply done by turning
under such crops as crimson clover,
soy beans and COW peas"
Professor McCue, in discussing the
use of crimson clover before toma-
toes, states, that the experience Of
Delaware growers proves that. II
iudiciously used, a field of crimson
clover turned under is an excellent
place for a tomato crop. He ex-
plains, however, that the following
precautions should be followed: Il.
Turn the clover under before It blos-
SONS. 2. Roll the land after plow-
ing 3. DO not plow while the soil
lis suffering from lack Of rain. 4. Do
not set the plants until the ground
is we'll settled 8. Avoid turning
rich in nitrogen. unless additional
amounts OF potash and phosphorlc
acid are used. 6. Crimson clover
either as a stubble or as green manure
adds a considerable amount of nitro
gen On light, poor lands a good
crop Of tomatoes may be secured by
sowing crimson clover the fall before
and the broadcasting from to 10
loads of barhyard manure during the
winter. Plow under the following
spring, just before the clover blooms
and apply a commercial fertilizer"
The use Of catch crops with to-
matoes and the place of the tomatoes
In crop rotation Is discussed at some
length In the bulletin. He suggests
a rotation as follows: First year.
corn seeded with crimson clover; sec
ond, tomatoes; third. wheat, and
fourth, red clover. Such a rotation
gives a sod land for the corn crop,
and if crimson clover is sown in the
corn at the last cultivation a good
crop may be turned under for the to-
mato crop This practice tends to
maintain the humus and nitrogen con-
tents Of teh soil. If teh entire acreage
is not needed for tomatoes each year,
a portion of It may be used for soy
beans or COW peas The emthod of
using the tomato as a companion crop
Tor strawberries the first year of the
strawberry beds, Professor McCue
consides feasible.
I'm Delaware, It is the custom Of
all growers to use some kind Of fer
tilizer upon the tomatoes. The amount
used varies. Reports from 26S men
showed that all but three, used com
mercial fertilizer. These three used
barnyard manure. AS barnyard ma
nure Is seldom available in any guam
tity throughout the tomato producing
] regions of the state, the majority Of
| the farmers are forced to depend
upon commercial fertilizers. OF 26S
growers, only 10 used harnyard
manure either alone or in combina-
tion. Where the soil Is deficient IN
humus. barnyard manure Is desirable.
However we believe that where
legumes, like crimson. can be de-
pended upon to supply humus to the
soil, maXllum crops can be grown
without the aid Of barnyard manure.
1T may be- possible that phosphoric
acid aids indirectly in the formation of
the crop. Unless this is SO. it is hard
TO reconcile the large amounts of phos
phoric acid commonly used with the fact
that the tomato plant uses but a small
amount of this compound In our inves-
ltieations We have found that phosphoric
acid has had little effect upon the Weld.
The bulletin shows that while the yield
is larger on plats where phosphoric ach
has been used, the percentage Of ripe
fruit j. lowest on plots receiving phos-
phoric acid treatment He also states
that the advantages 20 be derived from
the use of nitrate Of soda alone depends
entirely upon soil conditions. and that
greater returns viii be gotten from its
use upon lighter soils than upon loans.
In discussing the preparation of the
ground the bulletin states that the soil
should be thoroughly prepared for some
time before the plants 70 into the field,
and whenever possible the ground should
be plowed deep. then rolled and harrow
ed. The soil should then be worked with
a disk again and again.
"Ihe grade of seed sown often deter.
mines the grade of fruit that will be
harvested More attention should be
paid in the future than has in the past
to securing seed that is true to variety
and true to grade. The planter should
be critical as to the source of his seed
An inquiry among 300 growers, repre-
senting all the tomato sections of the
state, resulted in finding that 20 per
cent. procured their tomato seed from
the Gamer who contracted to purchase
their crop, 3s per cent. purchased theirs
from reliable scotsman, while the re-
mainder. % per cent. grew and saved
Their own. These figures are gratifying
in that they show that such large per.
eentaee of farmers are fully alive 10
the advantages of saving their own seed.
Too often, mixture Of several kinds of
seeds is found and the grower is the
loser as varieties do not yield alike. OF
seeds from the three sources referred TO-
undoubtedly the home saved is the best
One, in saving his own seed. is not only
absolutely sure Of his variety. but he
has furthermore an opportunity Of inn
proving this variety through selection
"One Of the essential factors in secur.
ing a maximum yield per acre is to have
q perfect stand with every plant in It's
place To secure this with a minimum
amount of expense, il is necessary that
the plants be given such care in trans.
planting that they have every opportun
ity for growing. This means that tho
soil must be in perfect condition and
moist but not wet. The plants should
be taken from the seed bed with care
and with a minimum amount of inmr,
70 the root system. From the time that
they are pulled from the bed until the,
are SET in the field the plants must NOT