TOMATO
CULTURE

By W. A. VAN CAMP.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND.

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momato Cultivation

A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE
GROWING AND CULTIVATION
OF THE TOMATO

By WILL A. VAN CAMP

EN DLANA POLIS, IFN DAIFANA

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TOMATO CULTIVATION

Every year a new series of cultivators,
both of farm and garden, springs into ex-
istence. If these young men could be per-
suaded to take up the work from the
scientific standpoint, agriculture could
soon be elevated to an art. Instead of
meeting the same difficulties as their
fathers, they could benefit themselves and
their State by profiting by the experiences
of their predecessors. To these progres-
sive minds who are interested in the suc-
cessful cultivation of the tomato, we sub-
mit the following suggestions of work,
based upon the most careful observation
and experience.

First Tomato

The first tomato was the small Red
Cherry. The next one was the Golden
Trophy, a very large, rough variety. The
next kind was Mr. Warner’s Red Trophy,

Copyrighted 1913 3

which, for a while, sold for a very high
price, and at one time brought as much
as ten cents for one seed.

It would be impossible to follow up the
constant improvement of the tomato and
its rapid progress in all parts of the coun-
try as a staple food, in this brief history
of the plant; so we will pass on.

Soil for Tomatoes

One of the most important factors in
securing an assured crop of tomatoes is
the procuring of good soil.

It is quite true that success in growing
tomatoes has been had in almost all kinds
of soil. To be on the safe side, however,
care should be taken in selecting the soil
to be used. A clay loam, well drained,
will produce, as a rule, a large crop of
very solid tomatoes. In some districts
last season, where a rich, sandy loam was
used, a very large yield was obtained.
However, the best tomatoes are those
erown in a moderately rich clay soil with
a good porous clay sub-soil, but the land
should not be made too rich, for this con-

dition will induce too much growth of
vine, cause blight and rot, and the vine
will not be so prolific in fruit.

Drainage

The soil used for the tomato crop
should be well drained either by nature
or atificial means. ‘The first two weeks
after the-plant is set in’the field is the
time when the plant cannot stand much
water. Care must be taken that young
plants do not have “wet feet.”

Planting and Making Beds

Use common out-door hot beds. Nearly
all farmers understand the making of
these, yet it is well to mention a few
points about preparing them for toma-
toes. For each acre of tomatoes, provide
a hot bed 6’x 10’. These hots beds should
be made during the last week in March
or the first week in April.

The deep beds are far the best; and
those with heating material placed under
the ground are much better than the
beds which are above the ground, for
those under hold the heat much longer.

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This heat is an essential for the tomatoes.
A deep bed not only retains the heat
longer, after the bed is once thoroughly
heated, but is more uniform throughout.

Making Hot Beds

Use boards 18” wide for the sides and
ends. Excavate 8”, using the soil to
bank up the sides and ends; this will pre-
vent water from seeping into the excava-
tion and cooling the bed.

One should use not less than 12 inches
of fresh stable manure well trodden down
and elevated only a few inches above the
surface. The next important item is to
have plenty of good, rich dirt, using not
less than 5 inches, and laying it on as
soon as the bed is formed. Then put on
the cover—glass preferred—close tightly
and let it remain so until the bed becomes
thoroughly hot. A canvas cover may be
used, but it is likely to admit too much
air, thus allowing the bed to cool. It is
sometimes a week before it is thoroughly
heated. ‘Then work the soil and sow the
seeds in rows 8” apart, using five seeds to
the inch. I wish to call your attention to

7

pressing the soil firmly upon the seed. If
you wish to transplant the plant from
this bed to a cold bed, you may sow the
seeds in rows 6” apart and use eight
seeds to the inch. The transplanting
should be done after the plant has put
out the second leaf. Vransplanted plants
should be set in rows 2” apart and 2”
wide. Use an old saw blade for making
the furrows in which to set the plants.
pee that no plant is bent, but that each
is perfectly straight. This will make the
plants much easier to handle.

Making Warm Beds

These beds should be made 5%’ wide
and as long as one may desire. Use
lumber 12” wide and make the cover out
of muslin. Drive a stake about 20” in
height at the middle point of each end.
Then draw a wire from the sides across
the end and another wire through the
middle. This will make your roof like
that of a house. You can now put the
wires across at a distance of every eight
feet in the same manner. This will hold
the cover up well.

Fasten one side firmly and secure the
other side by means of loops. This de-
vice will be very useful when you wish
tou cave, the plants sunlight. Wet these
beds stand three days before sowing the
seed. The beds should be made as fol-
lows:

Excavate either the south or east end
of the bed 114” lower than the other end.
This will allow for drainage. Use 4” of
fresh stable manure and pack it solidly.
Then cover it with 3” of good rich soil.
Top dress the bed with 1” of very rich
soil and work this well into the top of the
other soil, using a small garden rake.
Cover the bed and let it stand for three or
four days. Then work the soil again. In
sowing the seed, sow it 1” deep, using
four seeds to the inch and putting the
rows 6° apart. By means of a board
press the seed solidly into the soil. This
will produce even germination.

In working the plants, use a little tool
made after this fashion. ‘Take a stick and
drive four eight penny nails into the end.
This you will find to be the best tool you
can secure for working the plants.

9

In taking plants out of the bed, never
pull them, but first loosen the soil so
that you can lift them out, breaking no
roots, and with some of the soil still
clinging to the plant. In case we should
have any cold weather, your plants will
probably need more protection than the
muslin cover. A lantern is not be used
on account of the danger of fire or smoke.
A thin covering of straw placed over the
muslin is the best protection you can
obtain. ‘The plants should have plenty
Of air aiter they reach ©a iheieiit joi si
inches. If you wish to rush them you can
do it by watering them every day and by
keeping them covered. The plant should
be eight inches tall before you take it out
of the bed to set it in the field.

Growing Plants in Cold Beds

We find that many of our growers
think it is too much work to grow plants
in a hot or warm bed, and hence they
prefer a cold bed. The preparing of the
cold bed is neglected and often poor re-
sults are obtained. Cover your plant bed
with 2” to 3” of fresh stable manure in

10

the fall, then in the spring rake it off
before plowing. Plow the bed 5” to 6”
deep, then cover the bed with a good coat
of well rotted manure; then rake the soil,
seeing that there are no clods or uneven soil.
Have it in perfect condition and quite
mellow; then if you have a seed sower
set it as you would to sow beet seed.
Make a small furrow, then sow the seed.
Im-you, have no drill, take a tin can that
has a lid, and punch the bottom full of
holes like a pepper box. Use a ten-penny
nail. Punch holes from the outside. This
will scatter the seed in the furrow; then
cover with a hoe or garden plow. Do not
try to get the seed sown in a narrow row.
If the seed are sown in a furrow 2” to
3” wide, the seed will scatter and make
much better plants. Do not pull the
plants, but dig them up and save all the
little roots. Do not sow seed on the north
side of fence or building. See that your
plants get the morning sun—an east or
south slope is best. The rows in a large
bed should be 16” apart, in a small bed
they can be 10” apart.

I have had the very best results in

11

growing plants in the open field by using
500 pounds of commercial fertilizer to the
acre. I use a garden plow to make my
furrows and sprinkle my fertilizer in the
furrow. If you have a seed drill, you can
incorporate the fertilizer with the soil by
means of the drill. If not, use the plow
and make the furrow a little deeper. I
make the rows sixteen inches apart thus
giving plenty of room for hand cultiva-
tion. I am never troubled with any fungi
in this plant bed. My plants are a few
days later, but are very strong and stalky.

Sowing the Seed

It is of utmost importance to know
when and how to sow the seed in the
beds. In hot beds, one should wait until
the weed and erass seed get a good start.
Then take a fine steel-tooth rake and work
the soil until all young weeds and grass
which have started have been destroyed,
and: the soil made pertecthy sanes) Bhren
commence at one end of the bed to sow
the seed. They should always be sown
north and south across the bed in drills
6” apart. The furrows should be from

12

i<sto,2 deep: “Sow the seed thinly and
with the back of the hand press them
firmly in the soil and cover with fine dirt.
Great care must be taken not to sow the
seed too thickly. Where this has been
done the young plants must be thinned
out at once. When the sowing of the seed
is completed, take a board and press the
soil firmly over the seed. This operation
is of the greatest importance in order to
secure quick and even germination. By
using this method, you will be able to
secure good, strong, healthy plants. Here
lies the secret of suecess in tomato grow-
ing—the securing of good, strong, stalky,
well-rooted plants. This is all important
for shipment, as it is only from such
plants that fine, early tomatoes are grown.

Then watering is a very important mat-
ter, and great care must be taken in this
operation to prevent damping off. Water
out of wells or springs should never be
used, unless warmed. Let it rain on the
beds when possible, for this is far better
thn watering by hand.

As to the time of the season to sow the
seed—this depends entirely upon the lo-

13

cality. One should always reckon to sow
the seed about six weeks before the time
to set in the open field. This is ample
time for the plants to get all the growth
needed. It is best not to begin until time
to hurry the plants right along from the
day they come up until they are set in
open field. Plants started and dwarfed
never do well.

Preparing Field for Setting of Plants

The preparation. of the soil is another
important factor in the proper raising of
tomatoes. The ground should be pre-
pared in the following manner:

Plow the ground as early as possible
in’ the? spring. at. the depth tof 8°, and
allow to settle. The soil should be worked
once a week with a disc or harrow. This
will keep the ground clear of weeds or
erass. A few days before setting the
plants, you should perpare the soil in the
same manner by using thedisec and loos-
ening the ground to a depth of 5”. Then
fertilize by using a wheat drill, then disc
again so as to thoroughly incorporate the
fertilizer with the soil. If the soil is full

14

of clods, make it loose by using a good,
heavy drag. If the ground is meadow,
or, in fact, 1f it contains any kind of grass,
I advise the use of the disc, together with
the drag. If you do this once a week it
will make you a perfect bed for your
plants and will eventually prove a great
saving in the cultivation.

Preparation of Plants for Field

The correct preparation of the plants
is another essential to a good crop. In
taking the plants out of the beds, loosen
the soil so that the plant may be easily
lifted out. By pulling a plant your bruise
it) ance break oth valli the small “roots:
Moisten the roots, but not the top of the
plant, as soon as you take it out of the
bed.

We wish to warn the tomato growers
against placing the young plants in stand-
ing water, as they are very easily scalded.
Instead, we advise that they be put into a
mulch of mud and water, as this keeps the
plant moist and fresh until set in the field.

There are two kinds of plants which
can be grown almost side by side, one

15

with a long tap root, the other with the
roots inacluster. I prefer the plant with
a cluster of roots grown by top dressing.
A plant bed that has been manured heay-
ily, turned under, and not top dressed, will
erow a plant with a long, slim tap root.
If broken off, the plant will stop growing
for several days and will wilt when set in
the field. A plant grown with a top dress-
ing only will grow the roots nearer the
surface and the roots will be in a cluster.
When the plant is set in the field, and a
small amount of water is used in setting,
it will not wilt down, thereby contribut-
ing toward an earlier crop.

Seasoning Plants

We often find tomato plants very ten-
der on account of their quick growth.
The cultivator sometimes has trouble in
getting such plants to grow. Should
your plants be of this sort, I advise that
you season them. ‘This is accomplished
by taking them out of the beds and plac-
ing them in small bunches under a cover.
Keep the roots moist, but not water-
soaked. Allow the plants to stand from

16

s was grown at Wirt, Ind. The soilis a cold white clay, without drainage
and it was placed around the plants and

This field of Tomatoe
200-lbs. of fertilizer was used to the acre,
worked into the soil with the fingers. Good results were obtained.

one to three days. You will find that the
plant thus nurtured will grow much bet-
ter and will prove to be a strong plant.

Time for Transplanting to the Field

The plants should be transplanted not
earlier than May 15th; and not later-than
June Toth; -Someyseasons swe mdaveruset
them out as late as July Ist, and have
obtained a good crop, but this seldom
happens.

Setting Plants in Open Field

The soil should be in good condition,
well worked down, and fresh. Cross it
out with a marker, and in furrowing it
do not allow the earth to get dry before
setting the plants. Keep setting the
plants up close to the plow. The dis-
tance for setting plants in the field is at a
space of 4x 4’, and it will bring good re-
sults; but on a very rich black soil they
should be set 4x 5 mand seven) soc 5ec1s
not too far apart on some land. There
are many kinds of tools which may be
used in setting the plants, and all are suc-
cessful. My plan for hand-setting is to

18

use a common, flat, narrow spade. A nar-
row and short-handled hoe is often used
with good results. A sharp, wooden peg
is the poorest tool you can use. It makes
a hole which you cannot close without
packing the soil, and which does not shut
on the vair trom’ the roots. The plant-
setting machines are doing good work.
If your ground is mellow, as it should be,
a plant-setter is a splendid labor-saving
implement.

The plants should be of good size and
stalky, but not overgrown or in bloom.
after taking them up they should be
placed in boxes or pans in an upright po-
sition. If possible, set them out along
toward. night or after showers,.as they
recover sooner. After watching growers
for several years, and also from actual
experience, it has been found that when
setting a plant into the field, about one-
half to one pint of water should be used,
pouring it on a small portion of earth that
should cover the roots, and a little dry dirt
should be left on top. This will exclude all
air and keep the plants moist. While it
takes a little longer to set out the plants

19

by using water, it will pay at the end of
the season. The plants should be set
deeply. If the above described method is
closely followed, the plants will start to
erow immediately.

Fertilizing

One week before setting the plants, dis-
tribute, by means of a two-horse wheat
drill, over the ground, not less than 300
to 500 pounds of fertilizer. to ‘the acre.
Then harrow or disc the soil in order to
thoroughly mix the fertilizer with it.
Next mark off the distance apart which
you expect to set the plants, 4x4’,
4’x 414’, or 5'x 5’. In order to drill the
fertilizer both ways, use a one-horse five-
hole wheat drill, closing up the two out-
side holes, the wheel of the drill being in
the mark. By this method you obtain
double fertilization in the cross where
you are to set the plant. Use a dise or
harrow to thoroughly mix the fertilizer
with the soil. Be sure to leave the marks
at the ends of the field so that you can
again mark the ground for the setting of
the plan's, the same as before. In this

20

way you will be able to set the plant
where it should be to give it the imme-
diate results, that is, directly in the cross
where you have double fertilized.

Next plan: As soon as the plant has
started to grow, scatter around the plant
114 oz., or a large tablespoonful of ferti-
lizger; Use care not toi get any of the
fertilizer on the plant, as it will injure the
plant. Next: As this fertihzer must be
thoroughly blended with the soil, mix the
two with a hoe. You cannot obtain good
results by using a plow, as you are not
able to mix the two thoroughly. Con-
sequently, in the end, you are disap-
pointed in your crop. Ina field test made
last season, we obtained 11% tons to the
acre when we tried to mix the fertilizer
by plowing. On the other hand, where
we mixed the fertilizer with a hoe, we
secured 8 tons to the acre. In both cases
the same amount to the acre was used
and at the same time. On ordinary soil,
I believe that 300 lbs. to the acre is suffi-
cient, but I think 500 lbs. is much better.
Should you use 500 lbs., I advise that you
put on 300 lbs. for the first application

21

and in three weeks 200 lbs. more. Mix it
in the soil in the same way. On very
poor soil I would put a fork of well-rotted
manure in each hill, then 3” of soil on top
of the manure. In four weeks I would
fertilize the same as above.

Cultivating

As soon as possible after the plants
have been set in the field, they should be
cultivated. This will loosen up the soil
where it has been packed down during
the work of transplantation and will start
the young plants into growth. The first
cultivation may be rather deep and close
to the plants, the shovels being set to
throw the dirt slightly toward them. The
succeeding cultivations from seven to ten
days apart should be shallow and farther
away, the aim being to form a dust mulch
to prevent evaporation as well as to keep
down weeds.

If the weather is very dry, a small har-
row is a good implement. Keep the soil
well stirred, so that it will hold the moist-
ure and not prune the roots. If the land
is wet, care should be taken to have all in-

22

dentations between the hills smooth and
level. If the weather is wet and cold, do
as little work to the plant as possible un-
til the soil gets dry enough to stir.

dine \cultivation atseli ot this-crop, is
neglected more, on the whole, than any
other operation connected with raising it.
Perhaps this can be accounted for by the
fact that the farmer is very busy with his
other crops at this season of the year and
hence leaves the tomato to shift for itself.
The neglect of cultivation proves disas-
trous to the crop, as it allows weeds to
choke out the plants, and the ground to
become baked and hard, thus encouraging
evaporation of the soil moisture and
greatly decreasing the yield.

I wish to call your attention to the fol-
lowing item, as you may at some future
time say that your tomatoes do not weigh
out well. The green tomato is light and
you lose on every one you pick. Packers
cannot use a green tomato for anything.
They want the ripe tomato. Remember
this in your picking. Neither can they
use a decayed tomato. Throw away any
one which may not be ripe and sound.

23

The decayed tomato is useful to the
farmer as a fertilizer.

When the first fruits are beginning to
set on the vine, cultivation is usually dis-
continued. If the plants are still small,
they may be cultivated once between each
row, care being taken not to shake the
vines, as this will cause the small fruit to
drop. Plants properly cared for will usu-
ally cover a considerable portion of the
eround when the fruits begin to form,
thus preventing evaporation to a great
extent. Throughout the remainder of the
season, two or three thorough hoeings
will generally be sufficient to keep the
weeds under control.

The tool commonly used in caring for
the crop is the two-horse corn cultivator.
If the soil is dry and soft, a drag made
out of the drive wheel of a mowing ma-
chine is a good implement. This will
throw soil enough to the plant to cover
the grass and weeds.

One of these, with several small teeth
to break the soil, should be selected in
preference to those having two large

24

shovels, which leave the soil in ridges.
Level and shallow cultivation is prefer-
able to hilling or ridging.

Harvesting

The) time> of harvesting depends to a
great extent upon the earliness of trans-
planting and the weather conditions at
the time the first fruits are setting. Un-
der favorable conditions, the first picking
occurs from 70 to 80 days after the plants
are set in the field. This will bring the
beginning of the picking season from the
first of August to the first of September.
The vines usually continue to bear until
the first killing frost.

In picking tomatoes, handle them care-
fully. Pick only those that are ripe. Do
not injure the vine. If, by mistake, one
is taken too green, place it back on the
base of the vine to ripen until the next
picking. Pick all decayed tomatoes from
the vines at first and either throw them
away or feed them to hogs, cattle, or poul-
tiyanalleot which are very tond of them
There is usually more fault found with
reference to the tomato being picked too

25

green than with any other phase of to-
mato growing.

In some cases, at factories visited dur-
ing the canning season, from one-fifth to
one-third of the fruits in certain deliveries
had to be taken out on the sorting tables
because of their green condition.

Crates of tomatoes delivered to the can-
ning factory in a dripping condition are
unfit for use.

Pick at the proper time, pick carefully,
and handle carefully after picking, and
the crop will bring more money.

In removing the fruits, care should be
taken not to move the vines any more
than is positively necessary. Lifting and
pulling them about greatly reduces the
yields in many instances. The stems
lying on the ground take root and carry
considerable nourishment to the ripening
fruit, and as it is the younger roots that
are of the most value to the plant, it is
very important that they be left intact.
Not only is this food supply cut short,
but many of those fruits already formed
are knocked off through rough handling
of the vines.

26

Care must be taken in placing the to-
matoes in crates in order to avoid bruis-
ing them. ‘These crates are easily handled
and keep the fruit from being crushed in
hauling. The canning companies usually
own the crates and either rent or loan
them to the growers. The crates have
aided considerably in the proper handling
of the crop. |

Do not fill the crates too full when
loading on the wagon. Set them down
carefully. If they are slammed around
both before and after the fruit is in the
crates, it is no wonder the latter comes to the
factory in bad condition. All tomatoes
should be taken to factory or station in a
wagon with springs.

Varieties

There are now a great many varieties
of tomatoes being offered. The variety
depends largely upon the use for which
the crop is intended. When growing for
shipping purposes, we have found the
Stone to be the very best. For the last
thirty-five years we have purchased the
Stone variety from the Livingston Seed

27

Company and have found it worthy of its
name, “True Blue.” From a special ac-
count I find that this variety was discov-
ered two hundred and thirteen years ago,
1700.

We also think well of the Landreth Red
Rock. As they are a little earlier variety
than the Stone, some people prefer them.

We have used the Landreth Red Rock
only three years, but we find our growers
so well pleased with the variety that they
are asking for its seed. It is as early as
the Favorite, is a good producer, and is a
smooth, solid tomato for shipping.

Insects and Diseases

At the present time the tomato in Indi-
ana is not troubled seriously by either in-
sects or diseases. In some localities, dur-
ing certain seasons, one or two growers
may be troubled to a considerable extent,
but at no one time has an entire district
been deprived of its crop, as often occurs
with some of our other cultivated crops.

Tomato Worm.—tThis is the large,
greenish worm, commonly called tobacco
worm, which lives upon the foliage. If

28

the worms are present in large numbers
and are not controlled, they will soon ruin
the vines, as the amount consumed by
each, daily, is enormous.

They can be controlled by the use of
arsenical sprays, such as Paris green and
arsenate of lead, or by hand-picking.

Cut Worms.—There are numerous spe-
cies of these worms, which often destroy
the plants by eating them off close to the
eround just after transplantation. The
worms are about one and one-half inches
long, and vary in color from a greenish
to a dull gray.

They may be controlled, to a certain
extent, by having the ground plowed a
couple of weeks before transplanting, and
by scattering poisoned baits about the
field in the evening, care being taken to
keep all vegetation down in order to com-
pel the worms to eat the poison. The
baits are prepared by rolling up bunches
of clover, grass or bran and wetting them
with a solution of Paris green and water.

Potato Beetle——The treatment for this
insect is the same as that given above for
the tomato worm.

29

Stalk Borer.—In some seasons this has
proven quite destructive in certain locali-
ties. The borer enters the stalk and tun-
nels through it, causing the plant to sud-
denly wilt and die. Either the borer or
the tunnel it has made can be readily
found and the trouble ascertained. The
remedies for this pest are successfully
preventive, and consist in keeping all
weeds and foreign plants from the field
and in practicing a rotation of crops.

Point Rot.—This occurs at the blossom
end of the green fruit. It gradually
spreads until the fruit is entirely worth-
less. The disease seems to prefer dry
weather and light soils. At present there
are no successful means of controlling it
under field conditions. Sub-irrigation is
said to have proven a successful remedy
on small areas.

Ripe Rot or Anthracnose.—While
ripening, the fruit is often attacked by
this disease, which causes it to decay rap-
idly. It is more prevalent in rainy sea-
sons, in some instances destroying the
fruit on entire fields in a few days. Pre-
ventive measures only can be made use

30

of, such as destroying the diseased fruits
and planting far enough apart so that the
light and air can enter to dry out the
foliage.

Blight and Cause.—I find the cause to
be in taking the plants from the beds. In
doing this, the roots are injured, thus cut-
ting off all means of nourishing the plant,
which will soon wilt, the leaves curling
upward. Again, blight may be caused by
the using of new soil. Older soil, well
fertilized, combined with care in trans-
planting, the roots having been protected,
will greatly restrict the spreading of this
blight.

Leaf Spot Diseases.—There are several
fungi troubles which affect the leaves and
stem with a varying degree of severity.
These diseases are characterized by the
appearance of small, irregular brown
spots, which may spread until the leaf and
plant are killed. The one which is doing
the most damage is the leaf spot. This
disease usually appears first upon the
lower leaves and then spreads to the
leaves above. All the leaves may finally
be destroyed. If many of the latter are

31

destroyed, the fruit will not ripen prop-
erly, nor will the vines mature the usual
number of tomatoes.

The first step is the destruction of the
fungus. In many cases it is found in the
soil of old beds. If this soil is to be used,
use air-slaked lime for a top dressing be-
fore sowing the seed; mix this lime
through the soil seeing that it is thor-
oughly incorporated. When the plants
are %4” in height, spray them with Bor-
deaux Formula: 4 lbs. lime, 4 Ibs. copper
sulphate and 50 gals. water. Spray the
plants once or twice a week, using but a
light spray. This will give you a healthy
plant. Fresh lime around your plant after
it is set in the field is a good remedy for
any disease.

1 imd* a great many of the Momate
Growers lose their crops on account of
excess moisture, the roots gathering more
moisture than can be transpired through
the leaves. This will cause the leaves to
curl and the bloom to drop off. A remedy
for this is to cultivate deeply and as close
to the plant as possible without injuring
the roots. Follow this process by using a

32

large single-shovel plow, not less than
20” wide at the top and 10” long. This
will throw the soil around the plant, caus-
ing new roots to be put forth at once,
thereby saving your crop to a great ex-
tent:

In the absence of the single-shovel
plow, use a hoe and draw the soil around
therplant: A field that is once’ airected
with any fungus should not be set in to-
matoes for several seasons. It is best to
use fresh soil each year, destroying the
old vines at the close of the season, to
prevent the spreading of any disease that
might be in the soil.

Growers’ Clubs

In order to interest the coming farmers
of today, I organized, this season, ten
boys’ clubs, the boys ranging in age from
12 to 15 years. These boys contracted to
set out and tend one-half acre of toma-
toes, using the Landreth Red Rock vari-
ety of seed. They were to receive the
contract price for the tomatoes, and as an
inducement I awarded gold watches to
the boys having the greatest number of.

33

tons to their one-half acre. The highest
average received was seven and one-half
tons to the one-half acre, which, consider-
ing the age of the boys, was exceptionally
good.

Growers are at all times willing to ex-
change their plans of raising crops with
other Growers. I find that the organizing
of Growers’ Clubs and the arranging for
monthly meetings, where all points per-
taining to tomato culture, as well as the
raising of other crops, can be taken up, is
to the advantage of the members. The
new growers will become more interested
in the work and better and more profit-
able results invariably obtained.

When Tomato Culture is better under-
stood there will be no more certain or
profitable crop that can be grown on the
farm.

34

Grown by W. A. Van Camp, Indianapolis, Ind.

The Van Camp Extra Early

The seed for this tomato was sown un-
der glass in a hot bed on March 15, 1910.
It was transplanted twice, and each time
was placed in a hot bed under glass. The
plant was set in the open ground on the
17th of April and was protected from the
cold by a covering or a box with a glass
top. A liquid fertilizer was used twice,
equal to 500 lbs. of Dust Fertilizer to the
acre. The cultivation was done with a
small hoe, the side of the hoe being used
to scrape the top of the soil. In order to
give the roots their own free growth, the
ground was never loosened around the
plant. On the 27th of July 23 ripe toma-
toes were picked from the plant and to-
matoes continue to be picked from it dur-
ing the entire season. You can see sev-
eral tomatoes still clinging to this vine,
which was dug up the last week of Oc-
tober.

36

LANDRETHS’ RED ROCK
TOMATO

BIG PROFITS are assured by planting this
celebrated sort

Send for LANDRETHS’ CANNERS’ PRICE
LIST on all Seeds and Testimonials

D. Landreth Seed Company

Oldest Seed Establishmentin America

FOUNDED i
a Bristol, Pa.

aSBISIP [|B Woy 901] SBM PUB IIZI[19ayq [Blo1auIWIOD BSuisn ‘uMOIS SBM pag UB SIYL

E. Rauh ¢@ Sons Fertilizer Co.

MANUFACTURERS OF

HIGH GRADE COMMERCIAL
FERTILIZERS

Union Stock Yards Indianapolis, Ind.
oat oat

We desire to call your attention to our
Special Tomato Fertilizer which is the best
formula used for raising tomatoes. It has been
tested out for a period of thirty years and
always has given the very best of results. It
is well balanced, and carries plant food elements
in a highly available form.

We shall be pleased to have you call on
us or correspond with us, knowing it will be
to our mutual benefit.

sl

E. Rauh © Sons Fertilizer Co.

ten 77 1913

One Great Advantage

That a Transplanter has over hand
setting is that water can be used,
cheaply and easily, to aid the plants
in becoming established.

To make this feature effective, the
WATER VALVE must work
promptly and continously. This
valve in the J. I. Case WILL work
and work BETTER than any we
know.

A Transplanter is a money-maker
and a money-saver. It’s good bus-
iness to buy one.

See the nearest case agent or write directly to

J. I. CASE PLOW WORKS

Indianapolis, Indiana te3 Racine, Wisconsin