Plant all your seeds as carly as frost will permit, force some, let some be natural, and retard others: thus getting a real sequence of crops. Space forbids a recipe for every vegetable but one case will be dealt with in detail—tomato Plant at one time but in several boxes seeds enough to take up all the space allotted to the tomato veyors, with whose help they capture and take to Londort a live Brontosurus, or thunder lizard, that had got itself mired in @ bog: and the final scenes when this great reptile gets loose in the streets of London, breaking down houses and bridges and causing a panic and general stampede of the population, produce a film that for sheer dramatic ection and excitement, to say nothing of its actual scientific interest and educational value, has Frobably never been surpassed. It is certainly " triumph of moving picture production, and s film that should on no account be missed. section' of the garden. Take equal care in the germinating prepara ons of each box but sow the first box thinly. Ax soon as their heads fare up use every artifice to enhance their growth. Keep them in the hottest part of the hotbed. Water them most carefully and use if attainable some of the pure commercial fertilizers like sotphate of Jammonia'or nitrate of soda. di solved in the water. Pull up all but the plants you have determined on for the forcing crop and give the remainder all the untirment pos~ sible. Transplant to a larger box individual pot as soon as. the plants can be handled without bruising.
The next sten is the most vital of all and that is to begin trimming off any. superfluous leaves and Suckers. tis not easy to say how this is to be done but one must try it till the knack of it is attained, Every leaf or branch should be considered and the question asked if it is necessary to the life of the plant and the growth of early fruit. Te will require a stern hard heart to do it the first time for it seems like destroying that which we have start-fed out to butd up. Perfectly healthy leaves and. branches must. be sacrificed in order to give all the lite of the plant to the fruit remaining.
general cut off all low leaves and Dranchey but preserve the fruit buds and. blossoms that are nearest? sound. When several of these taken definite shape, ruthlessly pinch off all others.
The Value of Pruning The next step is to find the topmost shoot, the main upward Jbranch and pinch it off. This has the effect of stopping for some time the upward growth of the plant and concentrates its strength on the elusters lower down. By this time it should have been tied to a stout stick, closely enough to keep from swaying in the wind but not too close to choke. Three or four separate tieings will be necessary throughout, the season. Water frequently but use no mé@e fertilizer in the water.
There should be some manure under the plant before setting out in its final place but let that suffice. These commercial fertilizers are not good for tomatoes at an advanced stage jas they ind dee rot.
The next step, assuming of course that bugs and worms have been kept down is to watch the individual elusters of fruit. Cut off any branch that may be shading them, and tie so that the shadow of the stake will not retard them. Finally examine the bloom end. of each fruit and softly rub it with a finger end to see that the remnant of the bloom is wiped off. This very frequently causes extensive rot if allowed to remain. The tomatoes thus forced will come in four or five weeks heed of the untreated vines. Then after the first crop is off allow them to grow as they will and after a few weeks rest they will begin bearing again and continue as long as the main crop.
Nothing need be said of the main crop except that some pruning is always wise. The retarding cannot be attempted at an carly stage to any great extent. No extra fertile zing need be used but watering must continue if the plants are to thrive. Their thickness of sowing will retard them somewhat and their translating may be delayed week or two but not too long for it is essential to any garden plant to be firmly installed in its permanent garden place before the summer rains and heat. Simply tet them sprawl on the ground as they please. Never mind what folks say about their scalding. They will not seald unless actually lying in the water or unless too richly fertilized. They will frankly be hideous blots to an orderly eye but we are after fruits not beauty in a vegetable garden, To Get Late Fruit They will make a jungle of growth of a very unlovely shape and while they will bloom freely they will bear no fruit worth the mention.
Their own heavy shade and the demands of their enormous supply of foliage will completely absorb their strength. Then when the summer rains are over tie them up in huge bunches to strong stakes. It is admitted that they will at first make a blot on the landscape, Their leaves will be wrong side up, their new forced position awkward and clumsy but a few days of sunshine will work wonders. As I write there are before me some sth
are now a maés'of blooms and fruit and promise to give an. dant true that many of these, like Pounderosa, bear some magnifi specimens of fruit but their average is disappointing. The early ties produce just as long. fruit is smaller, more easily' hao led and edible in toto except for held skin. The huge tomato. ripen slowly and irregularly. It has. ai tendency to fold in on itself worst of all, it has heavy pulpy? streaks throughout its flesh that, greatly reduce its edible value'? Lastly in a hot rain it bursts.and becomes quickly a total loss, 'The has planted all kinds this year, including the abovementioned Ponderosa and has had best results with the Globe and' Early Avon, The final and infallible advice to covery man is—Let your wife do the gardening!
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.