The Union daily times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1918-current, 1922-02-16
Tomato Ranks Third
In Vegetable Crops
New York Tmesl

The tomato crop Is third in value Of
the vegetable crops In this country.
A large portion Of the crop Is canned
or made into soups and purees. In the
United States from 2QOOOO to 800 900
acres are devoted to the crop annually
for canning and manufacturing pur-
poses. The yield is about / 600 600
tons per annum. The industry is wide.
ly scattered over the United States
but Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia,
Indiana and California produce a large
part of the crop.
"The tomato" says James II. Beat
tie, horticulturist, United States De.
partment Of Agriculture, sis one of
the few vegetables Of American origin
that have attained great commercial
Importance. introduced into the
United States about 1900, it was for
long time looked upon largely as an
ornamental plant. Owing to its rela-
ton to the nightshade family, it was
regarded with suspicion and was said
to be poisonous, and it was not until
this strong prejudice has been broken
down that it's cultivation began to at
tract attention and its use became
general.
about the middle of the last CEN
tury canned tomatoes were introduced
as an article of trade, aud the to-
mato-canning industry soon attained
considerable Importance. In 1887 the
total rocL of connol
United States was abouv 3,O0O,O ,OOOI
cases, each case containing two d..er
No. cans, each holding approximatc-
ly one quart.
Tomato production has grown un-
til at the present time the tomato oc-
oupies third place among the vegeta-
bic crops in value, being exceeded only
by potatoes and sweet potatoes. The
average annual pack of canned toma-
toes for the ten years ended with the
season of 1920 was approximately 12,-
794.610 cases of No. 3 cans or their
equivalent In addition to the toma-
toes canned large quantities were used
for the making of soups, purees and
pulp.
THE tomato is crop requiring a |
moderately warm climate and long
growing season for its best develop
ment. In the Northern States where
the frost-free season is too short for
maturing the crop out of doors, it can
be grown by starting the plants in
doors, thus prolonging the season by
several weeks. BY following this prac-
tice it is possible to grow tomatoes
in commercial way in regions where
the industry could not otherwise flour
ish. In climates where its growth is
not interrupted by frost the tomato
is perennial plant, but in the por-
tions of the United States where the
tomato-canning industry has attain
ed it's greatest Importance the tomato
is treated as an annual.
Climatic conditions, nearness to
market, labor supply, soils and other
factors have all had an influence in
the development Of the industry in
Maryland, California, Indiana, Mis-
souri,, Delaware, New York, Utah, Illi-
nois, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia
where the major portion of the toma-
toes grown for canning and manufac-
turing are produced, the volume of the
pack in the several states being in the
order mentioned.
while the high temperatures and
hot sun of the lower South are well
suited to the growing of tomatoes for
canning and the Northern limit of
their growth is established by the
short growing season of the Northern
portion of the United States, it does
not follow that the present distribu-
tion of the industry is in all cases
economically sound.
"Within the climatic range to which
the tomato is adapted it is not particu-
larly exacting as to soil requirements.
Any good soil suitable to general farm
crops can readily be adapted to the
growing of tomatoes for canning. The
plant requires from 80 to 40 days
from seed to come into bearing, but
about one-third this period can be
spent in greenhouse, the hotbed, or
some other protected place and the
growing season can in this way be
considerably heightened.
"The plant bears until killed by
frost unless Injured by drought, insects
or disease; hence the longer the pro-
ducing season the higher the yields.
The crop requires about the same
amount of moisture as other farm
crops in the sections to which toma-
toes are adapted From a considera-
ton Of these factors it is apparent
that large areas, lying in broad
belt between the extremely hot low
er South and the short growing season
areas of the North are, as far as the
general requirements of the plant are
concerned, well adapted to the grow
ing Of tomatoes for manufacturing
proposes.
U'Tha yory foot thaf +bo toyooto oon