CHAPTER XVI

FIG. 31—BUCKEYE STATE, SHOWING LONG NODES AND DISTANCE BETWEEN FRUIT CLUSTERS

Other varieties make a stout and vigorous but shorter growth, with more and heavier branches, shorter nodes and many small medium-sized clusters of fruit well distributed over the plant and which mature through a fairly long season. These sorts are usually very productive and our most popular varieties generally belong to this type, of which the Stone (Fig. 32) is a good representative of the more compact and the Beauty of the more open growing.

FIG. 32—STONE, AND CHARACTERISTIC FOLIAGE

Other varieties form many short, weak, sprawlingbranches, with usually large and sometimes very large clusters of fruit produced chiefly near the center of the plant and which mature early and all together. Plants of this type will often mature their entire crop and die by the time those of the first type have come into full crop. The Atlantic Prize (Fig. 33) and Sparks Earliana are examples of this type.

In sharp contrast with the above is the tomato De Laye, often called Tree tomato. This originated about 1862 in a garden at Chateau de Laye, France. In this the plant rarely exceeds 18 inches in hight, is single-stemmed or with few very short branches, the nodes very short, the fruit clusters few and small. From this, by crossing with other types, there has been developed a distinct class of dwarf tomatoes which are of intermediate form and character and are well represented by the Dwarf Champion (Fig. 34). Early maturity is sometimes the most important consideration of all, though, because of increasing facilities for shipping from the South, it is less commonly so than formerly. For shipping and canning it is generally, though not always, desirable that the crop mature as nearly together as possible, that it may be gathered with the fewest number of pickings and advantage taken of a favorable market; while for the home garden and market a longer season is desirable.

FIG. 33—ATLANTIC PRIZE, AND ITS NORMAL FOLIAGE

Foliage.—Abundant, broad and close, or scanty cut and open foliage is sometimes of importance, according to whether the location, season and other conditions make it desirable that the foliage protect the fruit from the sun or admit the sunlight, with as little obstruction as possible, to the center of the plant.In different sorts, we have gradations from those in which the leaves are so deeply cut as to have a fern-like appearance, to those like the Magnus, or potato-leaved, in which the margin of each leaflet is entire, and from those in which the leaflets are so few and small as to scarcely shut out the light at all to those in which they are so numerous that the light can hardly penetrate to the center of the plant. The Atlantic Prize is an illustration of the scanty foliaged sorts, and the Royal Red or Buckeye State of those in which it is more abundant. As to color, the foliage varies from the dark blue-green of the Buckeye State to the light, distinctly yellowish-green of the Honor Bright.

Varietal differences as to fruit.—These are often more important than those of vine. For canning, for forcing, and some other uses and for certain markets, a medium and uniform size is a very important quality, while in other cases uniformity is not important and the larger the individual fruits, provided they be well formed, the better. We have different sorts in which the size of the fruit varies from that of the Currant, which is scarcely 1 inch in circumference, to that of Ponderosa, of which well-formed specimens over 20 inches in circumference have been grown.

FIG. 34—DWARF CHAMPION. NOTE CHARACTER OF FOLIAGE

Shape.—It is always desirable that the outline of the vertical section shall be a flowing line with a broad and shallow, or no depression at the stem end and as little as possible at the opposite point; but the relative importance of this, or whether the general outline shall be round or oval, either vertically or horizontally, forming a round, long or flat fruit, is largely determined by how the fruit is to be used, and by individual taste. A round fruit is best for canning; a long one is the most economical for slicing, though some prefer a flat one for this purpose. It is always desirable that the outline of the horizontal section shall be smooth, flowing and symmetrical, and if there be any distinct sutures that they shall be shallow and broad; but the relative importance of this, and whether the outline be round or oval, is wholly a matter of individual taste. Some people and markets prefer one shape and others a very different one. Size and smoothness of fruit are the factors which control price in some markets, while in others these points are quite secondary to color and character of flesh.

We have sorts which vary from the perfectly spherical ones of the grape and cherry, to those in which the vertical diameter is less than a third of that of the horizontal section; and the pear-shaped in which the vertical diameter is twice or thrice that of the longest horizontal section, and from those in which the outline of both the vertical and horizontal sections is smooth and flowing to those in which the vertical section has a deep indentation at both the stem and opposite ends, and those in which the horizontal section is broken by deep indentures and sutures often disposed with great irregularity.

For shipping long distances, for the rough handling, and for the easy preparation for the fruit for canning, a thick, tough skin is desirable, while for home use it is objectionable. Freedom from blemish or skin crack is also often an important quality, and we have sorts which vary greatly in these respects. The color of the skin, whether purple, red, yellow or white, isa matter of taste. In some markets the choice is given to purple fruit, like the Beauty, while in others it can only be sold at a reduced price. There are few who would care to use either yellow or white fruit for canning or cooking in any way, but many prefer them for slicing, or like to use them with the red for this purpose; we have sorts showing every gradation from white or light yellow in color through shades of red to dark purple-red, and still others which show distinct colors in splashings and shadings.

Character of flesh.—Many consider that the greater the number of cells and the larger the proportion of flesh to that of pulp and seed the better. This may be true of itself, but the fruit-like acid tomato flavor which most people value is found chiefly in the pulp, and the fruit which has not a due proportion of pulp and flesh seems to be insipid and tasteless. Again, the division into many small cells is often connected with a large and pithy placenta and unevenness in maturity and coloring, which faults often more than overbalance any advantage from small cells and thick flesh. The size and character of the placenta are important qualities.

In some sorts it is large, dry, pithy and hard, extending far into the fruit even to below the center; and sometimes seems to divide into secondary or branch placentas or masses of hard cellular matter, while in other varieties it is small and so soft and juicy as scarcely to be distinguished from the flesh. Usually, but not invariably, the large and pithy placenta is correlated with large-sized fruit having many cells; where this is the case it practically necessitates thecutting away and wasting of a large proportion of the fruit in preparing it for canning, so that the canners usually prefer round, medium-sized fruits.

The character of the interior of the fruit varies greatly in different varieties. Both the exterior and divisional walls vary in thickness and in consistency. In some varieties they are comparatively thin, hard and dry; in others, thicker, softer and more juicy. In some cases there is but little interior wall, the fruit being divided into but few—even but two—cells of even size and shape, while in others there are many cells of varying size and shape. Varieties also differ greatly as to the amount, consistency and flavor of the pulp and the number of seeds. It requires from 300 to 500 pounds of ripe fruit to furnish a pound of seed of Ponderosa, while with some of the smaller, earlier sorts one can get a pound of seed from 100 to 200 pounds of fruit.

Coloring and ripening.—Uniformity and evenness in coloring and ripening are an important quality. Tomatoes generally color and ripen from within outward, and from the point opposite the stem upward, but varieties differ in the evenness and rapidity with which this takes place. It is always desirable that the ripening be as even as possible and that there be no green and hard spots either at the surface or in the flesh, but often perfection in this respect is correlated with such lack of size and solidity as to counterbalance it. Rapidity in ripening, in a general way, is desirable for fruit to be used at home, and undesirable in that which is to be shipped.

The time a tomato fruit will remain in usable condition and the amount of rough handling it will endure without becoming unsalable are most important commercial qualities depending largely upon the combined effects of the form and structure of the fruit, solidity and firmness of the flesh and ripening habit. In all theserespectswe have varieties which differ greatly, from the Honor Bright, which requires as much time to ripen, and when ripe is firm-fleshed and will remain usable as long as a peach, to those which 24 hours after reaching their full size are fully colored and ripe, and in 24 hours more are so over-ripe and soft that they will break open of their own weight.

These are only some of the varietal differences of the tomato. Are such differences of practical importance? I think they are, and that a wise selection of the type best suited to one's own particular conditions and requirements is one of the most essential requisites of satisfactory tomato culture. How important it seems to practical tomato growers may be illustrated by an actual case.

In a certain section of New Jersey the money-making crop is early tomatoes, and they are grown to such an extent that from an area with a radius of not exceeding 5 miles they have shipped as much as 15,000 bushels in one day, and the shipments will often average 8,000 bushels for days together. They have tried a great number of sorts, but have settled upon a certain type of a well-known variety as that best suited to their conditions and needs. Seeds of this variety which are supposed to produce plants of the exact type wanted can be bought from seedsmen for 10 cents an ounce and at much lower rates forlarger quantities, but when one of the most successful growers of that locality, because of change of occupation, offered seed selected by him for his own use for sale at auction, it brought $3 an ounce. This price was paid because of the confidence of the bidders that the seed could be depended upon to produce plants of the exact type wanted for their conditions; and I was assured that the use of this high-priced seed actually added very largely to the profits from every field in that vicinity in which it was used, but the use of some of the same lot of seed by planters in Florida resulted in financial loss because the type of plant produced was not suited to their conditions and requirements.

A wise answer can only be given after a study of each case, and no one can do this so well as the planter himself. He should know, as no one else can know, his own conditions and requirements, and should be able to form very exact ideas of just what he wants, and the doing so is, in my opinion, one of the most important requisites for satisfactory tomato growing. I also believe that it is as impossible for a man to answer offhand thequestion, "What is the best variety of tomato?" as for a wise physician to answer the question, "What is the best medicine?"

Varietal namesand descriptions mean something quite different in the case of plants like the tomato, which are propagated by seed, from what they do with plants like the apple and strawberry, which are propagated by division. In the latter case all the plants of the variety are but parts of the primal origination, and so are alike. A description is simply a more orless complete and accurate definition of what a certain immutable thing really is, but in the case of plants propagated by seed the variety is made up of all the plants which accord with a certain ideal. Bailey says, "Of all those which have more points of resemblance than of difference," and a description of the variety is of that ideal which in common practice is not fixed, but may and generally does vary not only with different people but from time to time. The only foundation for varietal names in plants of this class is an agreement as to the ideal the name shall stand for. Under modern horticultural practice when anyone has been able to secure seed most of which he is reasonably sure will develop into plants of a distinct type different from that of any sort known to him, he has a distinct variety, so that it is not surprising that we should find that American seedsmen offer tomato seed under more than 300 different names, and those of Europe under more than 200 additional, so that we have more than 500 varietal names, each claiming to stand for a distinct sort. Now it is quite possible—indeed, it is certain—that we might have 500 tomato plants each different in some respect, either of vine, leaf, habit of growth, or character of fruit, from any of the others and that these differences might make plants of one type better suited to certain conditions and uses than any other; but it is very certain that these 500 names do not stand for such differences. It is doubtless true that a portion—though I think but a small portion—of these different sorts exist simply as a matter of commercial expediency; but by far a greater part of them exist because one has found thatplants of a certain character were better suited to some set of conditions and requirements than any sort with which he was acquainted, and having secured seed which he thought would produce plants of that character, has offered it as of a distinct sort.

It is probable that a better acquaintance with sorts already in cultivation would have prevented the naming of many of these stocks as distinct varieties. What is of far more practical importance, the same name does not always stand for precisely the same type with different seedsmen, or even with the same seedsmen in different years; nor are the seedsmen's published descriptions such as would enable any one to learn from them just what type he will receive under any particular name, or which sort he should buy in order to get plants of any desired type. Seedsmen's catalogs are published and distributed gratuitously at great expense, and are issued, primarily, for the sake of selling the seeds they offer. They answer the purpose for which they are designed, in proportion as they secure orders for seeds. Will this be measured by the accuracy and completeness of their descriptions? I think that it needs but slight acquaintance with the actual results of advertising to answer in the negative, and whatever your answer may be, the answer given by the catalogs themselves is an emphatic no.

In a recent case I looked very carefully through the catalogs of 125 American seedsmen who listed a certain variety which is very markedly deficient in a certain desirable quality, and found that but 37 of the 125 mentioned the quality in connection with the variety at all and of these but 7 admitted the deficiency, while 30 told the opposite of the truth. Even if a complete, exact and reliable description of a variety was published by disinterested persons, one could not be sure of getting seed from seedsmen which would produce plants of that exact type, since there is no agreement or uniformity among them as to the exact type any varietal name shall stand for.

One way of getting seed of the exact type wanted is to do as the South Jersey growers did: go to work and breed up a stock which is uniformly of the type wanted; but this involves more painstaking care than many are willing to give, though I think not more than it would be most profitable for them to expend for the sake of getting seed just suited to their needs.

A second and easier way is to secure samples of the most promising sorts and from the most reliable sources and grow them on one's own farm; select the stock which seems best for him and buy enough of that exact stock for several years' planting, and in the meantime be looking for a still better one. Tomato seed stored in a cool, dry place will retain its vitality for from three to seven years.

The potentialities of every plant and its limitations are inherent, fixed and immutable in the seed from which it is developed and are made up of the balanced sum of the different tendencies it receives in varying degree from each of its ancestors back for an indefinite number of generations. A very slight difference in the character or the degree of any one of the tendencies which go to make up this sum may make a most material difference in the balance and so in the resulting character of the plant produced. Different plants, even of the same ancestry, vary greatly in prepotency or in the relative dominance of the influence they have over descendants raised from seed produced by them.

In some cases all the plants raised from seed produced by a certain plant will be essentially alike and closely resemble the seed-bearing plant, while seed from another plant of the same parentage will develop into plants differing from each other and seemingly more influenced by some distant ancestor or by varying combinations of such influences than of those of the plant which actually produced the seed from which they were developed. Successful seed breeding can only be accomplished by taking advantage of these principles of heredity and variation, and by a wise use of them it is possible to produce seed which canbe depended upon to produce plants of any type possible to the species.

The first essential for breedingis to have a clear and exact conception of precisely what, in all respects, the type shall be and then the securing of seed which has come from plants of that exact character for the greatest possible number of generations, carefully avoiding the introduction by cross-pollination of tendencies from plants differing in any degree from the desired type. Secondly, seed should be used from plants which have been proven to produce seed, which will develop into plants like themselves or are strongly prepotent. A practical way to accomplish this in the tomato is as follows:

By experiment and observation form a very clear conception of precisely the type of plant and fruits which is best suited to your needs. This may be done by the study of available descriptions of sorts, by conference with those who have had experience in your own or similar climatic and soil conditions and in raising fruit for the same purposes and, best of all, by trials of samples of different sorts and stocks on your own grounds. Having formed such a conception, write out the clearest possible description of exactly what you want and the ideal plant you are aiming at, stating as fully and minutely as possible every desirable quality and also those to be avoided. I consider not only the formation of an exact ideal, but the writing out of a most minute and exact description of precisely what in every particular the ideal plant should be and the rigid adherence to that exact ideal in selection, as the most important elements of successful seed breeding. Without it one is certain to vary from year to year in the type selected and in just so far as he does this, even if it be toward what might be called improvements or in regard to an unimportant quality, he undermines all his work and makes it impossible to establish a strain which can be relied upon to produce an exact type.

With this description in hand, search out one or more plants which seem the nearest to the ideal. In doing this it should be kept in mind that the character of the seed is determined by the plant rather than by the individual fruit. Therefore, a plant whose fruit is most uniformly of the desired type should be chosen over one having a small proportion of its fruits of very perfect type, the others being different and variable. Save seed from one or more fruits from each of the selected plants, keeping that from each fruit, or at least each plant, separate. Give it a number and make a record of how nearly, in each particular, the plant and fruit of each number come to the desired ideal. I regard the saving of each lot separately and recording its characters as very important, even when all have been selected to and come equally close to precisely the same ideal. Quite often the seed of one plant will produce plants precisely like it, while that of another, equal or superior, will produce plants of which no two are alike and none like that which produced the seed, so that often the mixing of seed from different plants of the same general type, and seemingly of equal quality, prevents the establishment of a uniform type.

The next year from 10 to 100 plants raised fromeach lot are set in blocks and labeled. As they develop the blocks are studied and compared with the original description of the desired type and that of each plant from which seed was saved, and the block selected in which all the plants come the nearest to the desired type, and which show the least variation. From it plants are selected in the same way and to the same type as the previous year. It is better to make selections from such a block than to take the most superior plants from all of the blocks, or from one which produced but one or but a few superlative ones, the rest being variable.

It is also well to consider the relative importance of different qualities in connection with the degree to which the different lots approach the ideal in these respects. Such a course of selection intelligently and carefully carried out will give, in from three to five years, strains of seed greatly superior and better adapted to one's own conditions than any which it is possible to purchase. A single or but a very few selections may be made each year, and the superior value of the seed of the remainder of the seed blocks for use in the field will be far more than the cost of the whole work.

Growing and saving commercial seed.—The ideal way is for the seedsman to grow and select seed as described above and give this stock seed to farmers who plant in fields and cultivate it, much as is recommended for canning, and save seed from the entire crop, the pulp being thrown away. Only a few pickings are necessary and the seed is separated by machines worked by horse power at small cost, often notexceeding 10 cents a pound. They secure from 75 to 250 pounds per acre, according to the variety and crop, and the seedsmen pay them 40 cents to $1 a pound for it. Some of our more careful seedsmen produce all the seed they use in this way; others buy of professional seed growers, who use more or less carefully grown stock seed. In other cases when the fruit is fully ripe it is gathered, and the seeds, pulp and skins, are separated by machinery; the seed is sold to seedsmen, the pulp made into catsup, and only the skins are thrown away. Still others get their supply by washing out and saving the seed from the waste of canneries. Such seed is just as good as seed savedfrom the same grade of tomatoesin any other way, but the fruit used by the canneries is, usually, a mixture of different crops and grades, and even of different varieties, and consequently the seed is mixed and entirely lacking in uniformity and distinctness of type.

Generally from 5 to 20 per cent. of the plants produced by seed as commonly grown either by the farmer himself or the seedsmen, though they may be alike in more conspicuous characteristics, will show varietal differences of such importance as to affect more or less materially the value of the plant for the conditions and the purposes for which it is grown. In a book like this it is useless to attempt to give long varietal descriptions even of the sorts commonly listed by seedsmen, since such descriptions would be more a statement of what the writer thought seed of that variety should be rather than of what one would be likely to receive under that name.

Growing for canninghas many advantages over growing for market. Some of these are that it is not necessary to start the plants so early, that they can be grown at less cost, and set in the field when smaller and with less check, and on this latter account are apt to give a large yield. It is not necessary to gather the fruit so often, nor to handle it so carefully, while practically all of it is saleable. For these reasons the cost of production is lower and it is less variable than with crops grown for market. Still farmers and writers do not agree at all as to the actual cost. It is claimed by some that where the factory is within easy reach of the field the cost of growing, gathering and delivering a full yield of tomatoes need not exceed $12 to $18 an acre, while others declare they cannot be grown for less than $40. Nearly one-third of this cost is for picking and delivering, and varies more with the facilities for doing this easily and promptly and with the yield than with crops grown for market. A large proportion of the crops grown for canning are poorly cultivated and unwisely handled, so that the average yield throughout the entire country is very low, hardly exceeding 100 bushels an acre. But where weather and other conditions are favorable, and with judicious cultivation, a yield of300 to 800 bushels an acre can be expected. I have known of many larger ones.

A large proportion of the tomatoes grown for canning are planted under contract, by which the farmer agrees to deliver the entire yield of fruit fit for canning, which may be produced on a given area, at the contract price per bushel or ton. The canner is to judge what fruit is fit for canning and this often results in great dissatisfaction. To the grower it seems in many cases as though the quantity of acceptable fruit paid for was determined quite as much by the abundance or scarcity of the general crop as by the weight hauled to the factory. The prices paid by the factories for the past 10 years run from 10 to 25 cents a bushel, while canning tomatoes in the open market for the same period have brought from 8 to 50 cents a bushel, which, however, are exceptional prices. In all but two of the past 10 years uncontracted tomatoes could generally be sold, in most sections, for more than was paid on contract. I have given the price a bushel, though canning tomatoes are usually sold by the ton. The cost of the product of a well-equipped cannery is divided about as follows: fruit, 30 per cent.; handling, preparing and processing the fruit, 18 per cent.; cost of cans, labels, cases, etc., 43 per cent.; labeling, packing and selling, 0.035 per cent.; incidentals, 0.055 per cent.

Canning on the farm.—While as a general proposition such work as canning tomatoes can usually be done at less cost in a central plant, yet in many cases the grower can profitably do this on the farm, thus saving not only the expense of delivery at the factory,but the dissatisfaction with weights credited and delays in receiving the fruit. But very little special apparatus or machinery (more than some form of boiler for supplying steam) is needed, and this and the cans can be readily obtained of dealers in canners' supplies. In Maryland and neighboring states many dealers furnish all necessary machinery, cans and other requisites and contract for the crop delivered in cans.

Canning on the farm where the fruit is grown would be more generally practiced except for the popular demand that the canned product shall be brighter colored than it is possible to produce from fruit alone, and the necessary dyeing and other doctoring can be more easily and skilfully done at a central factory, though it is always at the sacrifice of flavor and healthfulness for the sake of appearance. Another advantage of canning on the farm is that it can be done with less waste of fruit. The hauling to the factory and delay in working the fruit result in a great deal of waste. The average cannery does not obtain more than 1,200 pounds of product from a ton of fruit, there being 800 pounds of waste, while with sound, ripe, perfectly fresh fruit, it is entirely practical to secure from 1,600 to 1,800 pounds of canned goods from a ton, and this saving in waste would more than counterbalance the gain from the use of the better machinery possible in the factory.

The process of canningis simple and consists first of rinsing off the fruit, then in wire baskets or pails dipping it into boiling hot water to start the skins, which will require but two to four minutes. While they are still hot they should be peeled and imperfections cut out, then promptly placed in the cans, which should be fully filled; it is well to do this by adding the juice which has escaped while peeling, instead of water, as is done in the larger factories. This will give the canned fruit better color and lessen the need of dye. Place in a hot box for three to five minutes until heated through, wipe top of can clean and drop perforated cap in place, add flux and solder, seal cap in place with round capper, close perforation in cap with drop of solder. Place in box or kettle and steam or boil for 20 to 40 minutes. If the tomatoes were all ripe and none over-ripe, and have been kept hot from the time they went into the scalding kettle until the sealed cans are in the kettle, 20 minutes' cooking will make them surer to keep than 40 minutes would with fruit such as is commonly received at factories, or that which has been allowed to cool once or twice while in process.

There are a few vegetables or fruits where the cost of production and the price received are more variable than with the tomato. The cost per acre for raising the fruit varies with the conditions of soil, facilities for doing the work economically and with the season, while that of marketing the product varies still more. Under usual conditions, the growing of an acre of tomatoes and the gathering and marketing of the fruit will cost from $18 to $90, of which from 15 to 40 per cent. is spent in fertilizing and preparing the ground, 5 to 10 per cent. for plants, 20 to 30 per cent. for cultivation, and 25 to 40 per cent. for gathering and handling the fruit. The last item, of course, varies somewhat with, but not in proportion to, the amount of the crop, as it costs proportionately less to gather a large than a small crop, and for canners' use than for market.

The expense of shipping and marketing the crop varies so greatly according to the conditions and methods that I do not attempt to state the amount. The total yield of fruit runs from 200 to 600 or 700 bushels to the acre, a 200-bushel crop of tomatoes comparing as to amount with one of 25 bushels of wheat and a 700-bushel crop of tomatoes with one of 60 bushels of wheat; with the best and wisest cultivation and under the most favorable conditions one can asreasonably hope for one as for the other. Of this total yield, from 10 to 25 per cent. of the fruit should be such as, because of earliness and quality, can be sold as extras, and there is usually from 5 to 10 per cent., and sometimes a much larger per cent., which should be rejected as unsalable. The selected fruit should net from $1 to $5 a bushel, the common from 30 to 75 cents—making the returns for a 200-bushel yield well sold in a nearby market $70 to $350, and proportionately larger, for a better yield. In practice I have known of crops which gave a profit above expenses of over $1,000 an acre. This came, however, from exceptionally favorable conditions and skilled marketing, and I have known of many more crops where, though the fruit was equally large and well grown, the profit was less than $100.

In this country a greenhouse is seldom used solely for the growing of tomatoes, but other crops—such as lettuce—are grown in connection with the tomatoes, so that it is impracticable to give the cost of production. As grown at the Ohio state experiment station—and the crop ripened in late spring or early summer and sold on the market of smaller cities—greenhouse tomatoes have yielded about two pounds a square foot of glass and brought an average price of 12 cents per pound. In other cases yields as high as 10 pounds a foot of glass and an average price of 40 cents a pound have been reported.

ByDr. F. H. ChittendenBureau of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agriculture

From the time tomato plants are set in the field until the fruit has ripened they are subject to the attacks of insects which frequently cause serious injury. On the whole, however, the tomato is not so susceptible to damage as are some related crops—such as the potato.

Cutworms.—Of insects most to be feared and of those which attack the plants when they are first set out are cutworms of various species. The grower is as a rule quite too familiar with these insects, and no description of their methods is necessary, beyond the statement that they cut off and destroy more than they eat and re-setting is frequently necessary. The best remedy is a poisoned bait, prepared by dipping bunches of clover, weeds, or other vegetation in a solution of Paris green or other arsenical, 1 pound to 100 gallons of water. These baits are distributed in small lots over the groundbeforethe plants are set, the precaution being observed that the land is free for two or three weeks from any form of vegetation. This will force the hungry "worms" to feed on the baits, to their prompt destruction. A bran-mash is also used instead of weeds or clover, and is preparedby combining one part by weight of arsenic, one of sugar, and six of sweetened bran, with enough water added to make a mash. The baits are renewed if they become too dry, or they can be kept moist by placing them under shingles or pieces of board.

FIG. 35—CUTWORM AND PARENT MOTH (Feltia subgothica) (From Chittenden, U. S. Department of Agriculture)

FIG. 35—CUTWORM AND PARENT MOTH (Feltia subgothica)(From Chittenden, U. S. Department of Agriculture)

Flea-beetlesattack the plants soon after they are set, and their injuries can be prevented by dipping the young plants before setting in a solution of arsenate of lead, about 1 pound to 50 gallons of water, or Paris green, 1 pound to 100 gallons. If this precaution has not been observed a spray of either of these arsenicals used in the proportion specified will suffice, repeating if the insects continue on the plants. In the preparation of the spray a pound of fresh lime to each pound of the arsenical should be added; or, better yet, Bordeaux mixture should be employed as a diluent instead of water. This mixture has some insecticidal value, is a most valuable fungicide, andis also a powerful deterrent of flea-beetle attack, acting to a less degree against other insects which are apt to be found on the tomato. In applying any spray a sprayer costing not less than $7 is a positive necessity.

FIG. 36—FLEA-BEETLEFIG. 36—FLEA-BEETLEDoes great injury to young plants. Much enlarged. Actual size shown by line at right. (From Chittenden)FIG. 37—MARGINED BLISTER BEETLEFIG. 37—MARGINED BLISTER BEETLE

FIG. 36—FLEA-BEETLEFIG. 36—FLEA-BEETLEDoes great injury to young plants. Much enlarged. Actual size shown by line at right. (From Chittenden)

FIG. 37—MARGINED BLISTER BEETLEFIG. 37—MARGINED BLISTER BEETLE

The Colorado potato beetle, or "potato bug," sometimes injures tomatoes, but not as a rule when potatoes are available. This suggests the use of potatoes as a trap crop, planted in about three rows completely around the field of tomatoes. The arsenicals used in the same proportion as for flea-beetles will destroy the potato beetle. It is necessary to keep the trap potatoes well sprayed to prevent them from breeding on these plants and migrating to the tomatoes. Potato beetles can also be controlled by jarring them from the affected plants into large pans containing a little water on which a thin scum of kerosene is floating.

Blister beetlesmay be controlled, under ordinarycircumstances, by the same method employed against the Colorado beetle. When they are present in great numbers a good remedy consists in driving them with the wind from the cultivated fields into windrows of straw or similar dry material previously prepared along the leeward side of the field, where they will congregate and can be burned.

FIG. 38—TOMATO WORM (Protoparce sexta)

FIG. 38—TOMATO WORM (Protoparce sexta)(a) Adult moth; (b) full-grown larva; (c) pupa—all reduced. (After Howard, U. S. Dept. Agr.)

The tomato worms, of which there are two common species closely resembling each other, are often abundant and destructive on tomato foliage, particularly southward. The arsenicals will kill them, or they can be held in check by hand-picking, a littleexperience enabling one to detect their presence readily. Turkeys are utilized in destroying these worms in the South.

FIG. 39—TOMATO STALK-BORER (Papaipema nitela)

FIG. 39—TOMATO STALK-BORER (Papaipema nitela)(a) Female moth; (b) half-grown larva; (c) mature larva in injured stalk; (d) lateral view of abdominal segment; (e) pupa—all somewhat enlarged. (From Chittenden, U. S. Dept. Agr.)

The stalk-borer, as its name implies, attacks the stalk, and is an intermittent pest, though quite annoying at times. It is difficult to combat, but its injuries may be prevented by care in keeping down, and bypromptlydestroying, the weeds after they are pulled or hoed out during the growing season. If weeds are left to dry the striped caterpillar of this specieswill desert them and enter cultivated plants. Ragweed and burdock are the principal foods of this insect, and special attention should be given to eradicate them where tomatoes are planted. Crop rotation is advisable where this can be conveniently practiced, and such plants as cabbage, radish and the like, onions, beets, asparagus and celery are suggested as alternates. When the plants are sprayed with arsenicals for other insects this will operate to a certain extent against the stalk-borer.

FIG. 40—CHARACTERISTIC WORK OF THE TOMATO FRUIT WORM

FIG. 40—CHARACTERISTIC WORK OF THE TOMATO FRUIT WORM (Heliothis obsoleta)(Redrawn by Johnson from C. V. Riley)

FIG. 41—ADULT MOTH, OR PARENT OF TOMATO FRUIT WORM (From Chittenden, U. S. Department of Agriculture)

FIG. 41—ADULT MOTH, OR PARENT OF TOMATO FRUIT WORM(From Chittenden, U. S. Department of Agriculture)

The tomato fruit worm(Fig. 40) known as the bollworm of cotton and the ear worm of corn, is frequently the cause of serious trouble to tomato growers, especially in the southern states, due to its pernicious habit of eating into and destroying the green and ripening fruit. For its control it is advisable not toplant tomatoes in proximity to old corn or cotton fields, nor should land be used in regions where this species is abundant until it has been fall or winter plowed. Sweet corn planted about the field before the tomatoes are set will serve as a lure for the parent moths to deposit their eggs, corn and cotton being favorite foods of this species and preferred to tomatoes. The fruit worm feeds to a certain extent on the foliage before penetrating the fruit, and it is possible to keep it in subjection by spraying with arsenicals as advised for the flea-beetles. It is suggested that arsenate of lead, being more adhesive than other arsenicals, should be used for the first sprayings, beginning when the fruit commences to form, repeating once or twice as found necessary, and making a last spraying with Paris green within a few days of ripening. This last poison will readily wash off and there is no danger whatever of poisoning to human beings, as has been conclusively proved in numerous similar cases. For the perfect success of this remedy thelast spraying is essential, as those who have sprayed with an arsenical and have reported only partial good results have discontinued within about two weeks of the time of the ripening of the first fruit.

White fly or aleyrodes.—These minute insects are familiar to most growers who raise tomatoes under glass. They can be held in control by vaporization or fumigation with tobacco or nicotine extracts, or by spraying with kerosene emulsion or the so-called whale-oil (fish-oil) soap. Care is necessary in using the extracts that the smudge does not become too dense and injure the plants. Before applying this remedy on a large scale a preliminary trial should be made following the directions on the packages, and reducing the amount if any ill results follow. Hydrocyanic acid gas, properly used, is also an excellent remedy for aleyrodes, aphides, "mealy-bug," and other soft-bodied insects which are sometimes troublesome on greenhouse tomatoes.

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