The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1914-02-18
Greetings to Canning Club Members Of 1914.

GreetinRS TO tanning Clup MeWpeIS VI A1if'
We are proud of the many good rec
ords among club members of 1913 and
the faithful work and fine zeal shown
by our girls in ali the Southern States.
Here it is time to begin work on our
gardens for another year. There are
finer opportunities than ever for you to
help the club work OF your State and
County, meanwhile learning to do many
Interesting and valuable things for
your home.
Please keep this letter and the ones
which follows, read the instructions
carefully and refer to them from time
to time. You will thus be sure that
you are following directions. Write to
us if you need further information.
RULES FOR BEGINNING WORK.
/. Secure a tenth acre of ground;
this may be 132 #. long and 80 it. wide
or any other convenient width and
length provided it contain one-teDth
acre or 1856 square feet.
2. When you have finished your work
next summer, we shall ask you to write
history of it, so begin at once to keep
a record. Keep a notebook for the
purpose and record (a) the date, (o) kind
OF work done, (c) time used
3. Keep a record OF your expenses
charging 10 cents an hour for your own
work, and for all hired work and sup
plies, charge the actual cost. Esti-
mate the value of stable manure at
$500 per ton, allowing good two horse
load for a ton. Charge yourself Sl.00
for the rent OF your tenth acre.
SELECT OF SOIL.
Select piece OF well drained sandy
loan soil. preferably one nearly level.
Avoid soil that has been in tomatoes
the previous year, especially II there
has been any disease on the plants, as
some OF the diseases live over winter
in the soil. Soil where cotton has been
injured by the nematode or root knot
should also be avoided:
Plow the soil SIX to eight inches deep
in the fall or early winter and apply
two TO three wagon loads OF well rotced
manure to your tenth-acre plot. Leave
the soil rough during the winter to pre-
vent washing. If no we'll rotted ma
nure is available use course manure
and apply it before blowing and turn it
under so it will decay before spring.
VARIETIES OF TOMATOES TO PLANT.
Where there is any prospect OF an
early local market for tomatoes It'll ad-
visable to plant about one-fourth OF the
plot to an early variety like Earliana.
Plant the remainder of the plot to a
good strain of Stone tomato. Where
no market is available few early to-
matoes should be planted for home use
and the remainder OF the plot planted
TO the Stone for canning purposes.
STARTING THE PLANTS.
To get an early crop it is necessary
to start the plants during the winter.
The best method is to sow the seed in
a hot bed in rows two to three inches
apart, and when the plants have de-
veloped their first true leaves trans
plant them-to stand about two inches
apart each way. This transplantlpg
should be done in shallow boxes. filed
with good rich soil or direct to another
part Of the bed. For the general crop,
grown for canning purposes, this trans,
planting is all that is necessary until
ready to plant to the field. For extra
early tomatoes it is advisable to again
transplant the plants when they reach
a height of four or FIVE inches. This
time plant in three or four inch flower
pots, strawberry boxes or tin cans
which have had the tops and bottom
melted off. When grown in this way
the plants can be left in the bed or
cold frame until the blossoms begin to
open.
MAKING A HOT BED.
The hot bed may be made as follows:
Select we'll drained location, where
the bed will be sheltered, preferably on
the south side of building or fence.
Make an excavation eighteen inches
deep the size your bed is to be. Throw
in fresh horse manure and pack by
,trampiug. The manure heap should
be about even with the surface OF the
ground or eighteen inches deep. The
manure furnishes the heat to start the
plants. Put on top the manure four or
i've inches of good garden loan,
which has not grown any diseased
plants, and cover the bed with glass
hot bed sash. If sash cannot be Sc
cured, canvas may be substituted for
the glass. The temperature falls to
about 80 degrees F. which will require
three or four days.
A bed made about five feet nine inch
es wide and abo.t six feet long will be
plenty large enough to grow plants tor
a tenth acre garden. This size bed will
take 2 hot bed sashes which measure
three feet by six feet. The frame to
support the sash should be about if
teen to eighteen inches high at
the bach and six inches lower in front
in order to drain off the water. The
slope should be toward the south.
During bright days the bed will heat
verv quickly and it will be necessary
to TeDtilate by raising the sash on the
opposite side from the wind. Toward
evening close the sash in order to get
the bed warm before night. Water the
bed in the morning on bright days as
watering in the evening or on cloudy
days will have tendency to injure the
plants and increase the danger OF treez-
ing and damping off. Ventilate the
bed after watering in order 10 dry OH
the plants.
Before the plants are set out they