The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1915-05-13
NO. 10.


Washington, D. c., May 13.-There
are two types of squashes, the bush
varieties should be planted in hills
feet apart each way and the running
varieties s to 10 feet apart each way
Squashes are prolific, and a supply for
the average family will ordinarily be
furnished by five or six hills of each
sort. Squash seed should not be
planted until after danger of frost is
over and the soil is quite warm. The
be the same as that given cucumbers
or muskmelOns.
This summer squash is prepared for
the table in several ways 1t may be
boiled and eaten with butter, pepper,
and salt, or it may be parboiled and
then fried. 1t may also be sliced
without boiling, soaked in water with
little salt, and then fried in egg and
bread crumbs or cracker crumbs, like
eggplant. Winter varieties are stewed
or steamed, to be served with butter
and salt, or are prepared in the same
way for pie filling. They may also be
baked and served in the shell or the
flesh may be scraped out after baking
and served with butter and salt.
Varieties recommended. The varieties
of summer squash commonly grown
in the South are Pattypan, Summer
Crookneck, and Vegetable Marrow. OF
the winter squashes, the Delicious and
Hubbard are among the best.
Tomato.
To get a crop of early tomatoes the
seed should be started about eight
weeks before time for setting the
plants in the field. In the lower
South the plants can be grown in cold
frames covered with canvas or cotton
cloth, but in the upper South hotbed
should be employed. When only a
few plants are needed the seed may
be sown in a shallow box in the house
For the best results in growing tOma
toes the young plants should be trans
planted as soon as they reach a height |
of | p to 2 inches. Transplant these
plants to stand, inches apart each 1
way in a hotbed, cold frame, or box in
the house. When the plants begin to
crowd it is a good plan to transplant
them to flower pots, plant bands, old
strawberry boxes, or tin cans from
which the bottoms and tops have been
melted.
Tomato plants should be set in the
open as soon as danger of frost has
passed If the plants are to be prunet
to one or two stemsvand tied to stakes,
they should be set IS inches apart in
rows feet apart. If the plants are
not pruned Or staked, they may be
planted 3 feet apart in rows 4 feet
apart. 1t is advisable, however, to
prune and train to stakes, especially
for the early CROP as plants so treated
will be healthier and more easily cult
waited and will produce fruit which is
earlier and more uniform in size and
shape than that produced by plants
which have not been trained and
pruned. Soon after setting the plants
in the field a stake should be driven
near each plant, to which it may be
tied. Care should be exercised to tie
the plant so that it will not be injured
by the string. A good plan is to loop
the string around the stake and tie it
under leaf stem. Go over the patch
once every week or ten days and re-
move all shoots starting in the axis
ofathe leaves.
Varieties recommended For early
tomatoes. Earliana or Chalk's Early
Jewel is recommended, preferably the
former. For medium and late varle'
ties. the following are suggested:
Greater Baltimore, Red Rock, GLOBE,
Beauty Acme. and Stone. The Stone
is usually preferred for canning. For
fuller information on tomato culture
see Farmers Bulletin 642, entitled