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A NEW TOMATO CULTURE.
About the first Of June Is the time
to stake your tomatoes, speaking gen
erally for the United States. This
article would have been more timely
had It been printed a month ago, but
even If It can be remembered for next
year's operations in tomato growing,
the writer will feel more than com
pensated, since for at least small
tomato patches the plan here sug
gested has been proven by him to have
several advantages.
Some years ago I attempted to grow
seven acres of tomatoes in Southern
Florida— Polk County— for the north
ern winter market The tomatoes
were planted in November. It was the
winter of the great freeze, which swept
Florida from stem to stern and obliter
ated all "frost lines" — the first oc
curred December 28th, just on top of
a balmy Christmas Eve spent on the
piazza in summer clothes. On that
day, the thermometer in this "frost
proof region descended to 18F. with
a biting northwest wind. Thousands
Of acres of tomatoes and egg-plant
were cut down to the ground. For
tunately for my partner and myself we
were from the region where Jack-Frost
holds annual sway and we had main
tained a seed bed in spite of the jeers
of our neighbors. By the use of fer
tilizer sacks, all the bed quilts, sheets
and clothing we had, and half a dozen
fires to windward, we managed to
save some seven or eight thousand
young tomato plants, and thus when
the frost king had passed on his way,
we had a start over our neighbors of
from eighteen to twenty-four days in
growth.
A SECOND FREEZE.
We had visions of wealth. Instead
of seven acres, it is true, we had
plants for only about a single acre !
each, but we expected eight, ten or
twelve dollars a crate for our toma
toes, Instead of two or three dollars,
because all Florida- had been wiped
out Unfortunately, in this Instance,
the lightning struck twice, and in Feb
ruary, just as our plants were blos
soming and beginning to form fruit,
a second and equally severe freeze
struck into our midst, and again the
entire agricultural section of Florida,
with the exception of a very small
acreage on the southmost keys, was
frozen to the roots. However, in this
instance the Weather Bureau was on
the lookout and about nine o'clock in
the evening we had information that
a severe northwest blizzard was rapid
ly moving down the State.
Necessity, as usual, proved itself
the mother Of invention, and my part
ner, Mr. O. G. Stephenson, of Herndon,
Va., and myself strapped lanterns to
our left legs, and with a big cotton
hoe each, tramped up and down our
long rows of tomatoes and with a
single dig and pull, for each plant cov
ered the blossoming tomatoes with
nearly a square foot of the loose
Florida np-land sand, in which the
winter tomato is grown.
By two o'clock we had finished our
task, and we thought we were some
what tired; but this effort was nothing
to the job Of digging out the plants on
the two succeeding days. The small
of my back still creaks In remem
brance of the straightening up periods
at the end of each row.
Finally, after the two freezes had
done their worst, and the genial sun
of Southern Florida began to warm
the air, as upon a rare day in June, we
each found Ourselves with about % of
an acre of rather dilapidated but still
thrifty and little damaged tomatoes,
far advanced over those of the sur
rounding fields.
PRUNING TOMATO VINES.
The tomatoes were beginning to
throw out numbers of axillary suckers
Just above each leaf. It was my turn,
one day, to drive the white mare to
town and get a supply of grub — we
were camping. By chance, I ran
across an old stager who had drifted
down to South Florida from the region.
TOMATOES TRAINED TO SINGLE STEMS. (After Photograph.)
o of Crystal Springs, Miss. He told me
o of the methods in that vicinity, by
w wfcick tomatoes were not only ad-
v vanced in ripening from five to seven
d days, bat increased in yield. Much
m more labor was required, but the re-
s sults were more than .-commensurate.
[The plan consisted simply in staking
a and Broning each P.iJWk. •
GUY ELLIOTT MITCHELL
We tried the scheme and It repaid as
well. Since my return to the North I
nave each year followed out this idea,
although it has been applied simply to
a garden plot of tomatoes. It is some
what revolutionary, and whether it is
practicable or profitable where you are
raising ten or twenty acres of this
Ringlet
Barred Ply. t
mouth Rocks. jj
Prize Win- I
nera at Mad- H
lson Square
Garden, New
York Poultry 1
Scow. /
vegetable I am not prepared to say
pruning and cultivating that % of an
acre in Florida kept me hustling as I
had never hustled before — but as a
garden proposition where you are rais
ing from fifty to one hundred plants it
has proven itself an ideal method of
culture. The directions are these,
simple in the extreme, but requiring
rather close attention, as once well
started the tomato is a rapid grower.
By the time the plant forms its first
blossoms, have a slim stake six feet in
length — in Florida we used pine sticks
about one inch square — with a crow
bar, or a heavy mailet stake your to
mato firmly. Take an ordinary piece
of grocers' soft cotton twine and tie
the stem close to the stake. We ex
perimented with tape and heavy cord,
but found that the ordinary, five-cent
a ball, white twine sufficed, and that
there was no danger of injuring the
stem of the plant Then go through
the rows and pull off every sucker —
leaving of course the blossom stems.
In Other words simply train the tomato
vine to a single stem, and as need be
tie it up close to the stake. During the
season of growth three or four ties will
suffice. We tried using a sharp knife
to cut off the suckers in the belief that
yanking them off by the fingers would
injure the main stem, but event
ually came back to the Crystal Springs
method, where everything is done by
the fingers.
SINGLE STEM PLANTS.
There will be strong temptation,
should the vines get three, four or
five days start, and one of the suckers
or branches becomes almost as big as
the main stem, to let it grow, in the
belief that it will injure the vine to
remove it but such mistakes should be
ruthlessly remedied. Once well started
the tomato is one of the toughest and
sturdiest growing vegetables — a horse
can step on one without much damag
ing it— and there need be no fear
about tearing out even the large suck
ers which have developed four or fixe
leaves, and even incipient blossom
clusters. However, it is of course
better to keep the vines pruned down
closer.
ADVANTAGES OF THE METHOD.
The result will be that the viue will
grow up to the top of the stake, stocky
and strong. The single leaves will de
velop bugely, and a great amount of
moisture and sustenance which the
roots collect Instead * producing ten
or twelve pounds of useless growth
will go largely into the formation of
fruit Clusters of tomatoes will hang
thickly against the stake; they
secure the full benefit of the sun's
genial warmth; there will be no rot
ting; the ripe fruit can be seen at a
glance; the tomatoes will be larger,
and there will be few, If any. very
small ones; the yield per vine will be
as heavy or heavier, while if the plant
ing is made with this in view, the
vines can be set considerably closer,
as the moisture requirement will be far
less than under the usual method
' White Wyan
dottes. First
r Prize Pen at
Boston, 1005
where a great amount of leaf Is pro
duced.
If the ground is rich and the plant
grows luxuriantly, its entire strength
can be thrown into the fruit by pinch
ing out the top bud after the vine has
reached the height of the stake.
Another advantage of tnis method of
culture is that for a couple of weeks
after the ordinary tomato crop, even If
SHIPMENT OF CHICAGO PLYMOUTH ROCKS AS RECEIVED
AT SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.
tied up in the usual method, is "laid
by," the pardener with a wheel hoe
can pass through the rows of staked
tomatoes, and with his hoe set very
shallow, can keep down any weeds
which may rob the plant? of their full
share of moisture.
Rows of tomatoes, grown in this
manner, present one of the most at
tractive sights imaginable. Rather
than a tomato patch they look like a
young orchard, laden with a plethora
of ripening or green fruit
Poultry Growing North and West,
T. P. McGKEW.
The chief center of poultry growing
upon the farms and by small establish
ments devoted exclusively to the pro
ducing of eggs and poultry for market,
is located in that portion of the coun
try now called the North and West, in
which we must include Missouri, Kan
sas and the great Northwest.
It is not usually known that Mis
souri, lowa and Kansas are the great
est producers of poultry of all kinds,
including waterfowl, and that Michi
gan and Wisconsin are becoming the
greatest of all goose-producing sections
of the country.
Upon the vast wheat fields of the
Northwest are grown thousands upon
thousands of young fowls that are
hatched and cared for with reference
to having them of the proper size for
ranging over the wheat fields as soon
as the harvest is in, and are later
gathered up by the pur-hasers of the
great poultry-killing establishments of
Kansas City and other centers. These
young fowls are taken away and
shipped to the killing r laces prior to
the beginning of the cold rigid weather
of the North, only leaving for the care
of the farmers during the winter
months a sufficient number to produce
eggs for the next summer's crop.
Wisconsin and Michigan produce
large numbers of geese, grown for
their feathers, and then shipped away
to the Eastern States, where they are
fattened and sold to the City markets.
Missouri and Kansas have become
great egg-producing centers of the West
It is claimed that more egfes and
more dressed poultry are shipped from
some of the gathering stations of Mis
souri than from any ot~er locality in
this country. lowa has for many
years ranked among the foremost
states in the producing of both eggs
and market poultry of - kinds.
The last census figures for lowa are
a surprise to many of those best in
formed on poultry matters. More
ducks were reported as being grown
and shipped to market out of that
State alone than bad been credited to
the Whole West People imagined that
the great duck farms of Long Island,
New Jersey and Pennsylvania had
produced the duck supply of the coun
try. The future census will be closely
scanned at its finish for a more care
ful study of these conditions. So far
as can be learned at present the in
crease in poultry culture through these
states has almost doubled in the last
six years.
The West Is more largely Interested
in the Plymouth Rock and Wyandotte
breeds than in any other. The East
ern States seem to be more given to
the cultivation of Leghorns than are
any of the Western localities. The
eggs having the brown shells seem
best suited to the West The brown
shelled eggs stand shipment better,
from the fact that the shells are heav
ier and stronger than those laid by
the Mediterranean breeds.
The Brahma and Langshan fowls
were formerly most popular in these
sections. The Plymouth Rocks and the
Wyandoftes being smooth, that is'
unfeathered, on the shanks, move
about and forage for their own sus
tenance much better than the feathered
varieties. The original Asiatics — the
Brahams and the Langshans — produce
the eggs having the darkest and
heaviest shells. The Plymouth Rocks
and Wyandottes having a considerable
per cent, of Asiatic blood in their
veins, produce * strong shelled egg,
stronger than the white shells, assur
ing safer carriage a long distance to
market This is the real reason why
so many of the eggs that are shipped
in from Western parts have the
former kind of shells. There is no
difference whatever in the quality of
the eggs themselves, no matter what
may be the color of the exterior, yet it
is a well-known fact that the white
ones have the preference in New York
City. Te produce these, they must be
grown nearer to the Metropolis to les
sen the danger of cracking from long
shipments.
The general purpose fowls, t&e
Plymouth Rock and the Wyandotte,
have become a blessing to the poultry
growers of the West and Northwest.
They are strong and sturdy, with
great ability to undergo more or less
hardships and yet thrive. There is
no question but that there are more
Barred Plymouth Rocks grown
throughout the Western country than
all other kinds of standard-bred poul
try combined. In France, the Houdan
is the great market fowl; in England,
the Dorking; but throughout the
Great West the Plymouth Rocks seem
to be accepted as the standard of
quality for market poultry. In ad
dition, they are such thoroughly good
egg-producers during the entire year
as to make them prime favorites, and
an excellent selection for all purposes
for which fowls are kept upon the
farm.
CITO Permanently Cured. Nofitsornervonsness after
rl I O first day'snse of Dr. Kline's Great Nerve Re-
storer. Send for FREE $2.00 trial bottle and treatise.
DE. a. H. KLINE, Ltd., 831 Arch Bt , Philadelphia, Pa?
You can free a moth-infested closet
of the "creatures," larvae and eggs by
pouring hot vinegar into a red-hot iron
or tin pan set upon hot bricks in the
closet. Shut the door as soon as the
vinegar hisses upon the heated surface
of the pan, and don't open again that
day.
~ ' * '" '" '" " ¦¦ — '-¦'¦ ' _ — - — .....—
Even an expert cannot distinguish by
its appearance roasted Java from Bra-
zilian Coffee. Then how can you know
that you get your money's"wortn" when
you buy loose grocery-store coffee on
looks and the price mark? You don't
know, and the grocer does not know,
for " cup " quality is not visible to the
eye, and he cannot showTt""to you.
Refuse loose" scoop coffee 1 You may be
sure that all coffee deteriorates when ex-
posed to"tEe air, and is easily contamT
nated by dust and impurities.
You will find it to your advantage to
buy from us direct if your grocer refuses
to supply Arbuckles' Ariosa Coffee.
For your protection to positively in-
sure youTFullweigntrpurity and the best
coffee value for your money, Arbuckles'
Ariosa Coffee is sold in sealed one
pound packages only. As the largest
coffee dealers in the world, with a busi-
ness exceeding any four other coffee
dealers, we can and do give better coffee
than can be bought elsewhere for any-
thing like the same price — in proof of
which the sales of Ariosa for 87 years
OPPORTUNITIES.
For Young Men-Through Intensive
Far mine.
The Winona Agricultural Institute is
located at Winona Lake, Ind. It is one
of the most promising signs of the era
Of a better agriculture; it was founded
by the Winona Assembly, which is
commonly known as the Western
Chautanqua. The Agricultural Insti
tute, however, is only one of the sev
eral educational institutions that has
been organized by this Assembly.
There is also a Technical or Trade
School at Indianapolis; a Training
School for Bible teachers in New York;
and the Winona Park School for girls,
all of which are in a flourishing con
dition and the product of the efforts
of benevolent men and women. The
Winona Agricultural Institute differs
from many other institutions of the
kind in that it believes in training the
hand in the pursuit of the practical
wcrk of preparing the soil, plant
ing and raising crops, caring for
animals and the study of the kinds,
and in fact embracing and combining
the practical and scientific towards the
advancement of this important in
dustry. Moreover its object is to
train and prepare young men to gain a
?ood livelihood from a small tract of
land, placing the value in the boy
rather than in the land. In other
words, the student is trained to get the
most out of a small acreage, as he is
most likely to be forced from circum
stances to start on a small farm, which
may be increased in scope or the small
farm exchanged for a larger one.
Thus it will be seen that this plan of
fers a much larger per cent, of success
to the student than if his training was
all based on the obtaining of a farm
consisting of from forty to one hun
dred acres.
The class room and practical work
ia in charge of practical men, who
have had exceptional training for this
work. The Dean of the Institute, B.
.T. Hollister, is a soil expert with a
national reputation and his past year's
work at Winona Lake has been most
interesting. The students realized
from their farm and garden crops on
forty acres of land last year $1,800.00,
and this work was all performed by
the students themselves with the ex
ception of the employment of two ex
tra men and the engaging of the ser
vices of eight students to remain and
look after the crops and do the market
ing during the holiday season. Even
this business was all carried on by
the students under the direction of one
of the professors. That is to say, the
boys raised the crops, marketed them,
handled the money, and the success of
the venture, both from a financial
standpoint as well as the training the
boys got, is being used as a basis for
enlarged operations this season, all
with the view to bring the students in
closer touch with all the agricultural
processes, supplementing the practical
work With a course of lectures and
studies that will simplify the science
of agriculture.
The Dean has been engaged in ex
pert practical work with soils and
plants, the transporting and marketing
of crops over a wide range of climate,
with a variety of soils, embracing'
many portions of that area which lies
between the foot hills of the Rocky
Mountains and Long Island in New
York State, and from the central part
of Canada to the Everglades in Flor
ida, and is now in addition to his
work at Winona directing the recla
mation of a large tract of tidal lands
on the Connecticut Coast He imparts
this and other important features of
his experience to the students, and is
anxious to prepare young men to take
up this expert work and intensive
farming. He is a thorough believer in
the extension of our prosperity and the
increase of the strength of the nation
through the development of our agri
cultural resources, and deals with the
problem from a practical point of
view. He is anxious to inaugurate a
movement that will begin -vith the
improvement of the abandoned farms
in the East, continuing westward even j
to taking up those parts of the semi- ]
arid west where farming is carried on
under irrigation, training young men
to get a living on a small acreage,
demonstrating that ten acres may bo
made to produce a greater income than
a twelve hundred dollar salary in the
city. |
are greater than the combined sales of
all other packaged coffee in the United
States. Wherever you may be you get
the full advantage of our enormous
facilities. By the original "mother's"
process patented by this firm the pores
of the coffee bean are hermetically sealed,
after roasting, with a coating of fresh
eggs and sugar, which preserves intact
the delicious flavor and aroma due to our
skilled blending and roasting — not to be
compared with crude, primitive methods
on a smaller scale. We drink Arbuckles'
Ariosa ourselves every day with the best
coffee in the world to choose from.
If your grocer refuses to sell yon
Arbuckles' Ariosa Coffee, send us express
or postal money-order for $1.80, and we
will send 10 lbs. of Ariosa in a wood
box, transportation paid to your freight
station. The price of coffee fluctuates
we cannot guarantee the price for any
period. we will ship in the original
packages with signature of Arbuckle
Bros. 10 lbs. — 10 signatures — which en-
title you to presents. New book with
colored pictures of 97 presents free.
You can write first for the book and see
the pictures of the useful and beautiful
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT.
\ Seeking as we always do, to
give our readers the best of every
thing, -we are about to offer you In
serial form, the unusual and ab
sorbing story, entitled
"THE WHITE COMPANY,**
by no less great an author than
Sir A. Conan Doyle, who for the
past twenty years has been one ol
the most widely read of modern
writers. His latest efforts, "Th«
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes."
have been published and read
throughout Europe and America.
In fact, no writer of late years
has received more popular at*
tendon or merited more praise
than this gifted Englishman. His
style is most pleasing and his im
aginative power far above the
usual.
We have secured from Sii
Conan Doyle's American publish'
ers the right to this novel, and it
is with great pleasure that we art
able to announce its early appear*
ance in the *• Magazine Section."
Be sure to get the initial chapters,
as it is a stirring tale that will hold
your interest from first to last.
1870 >sk — Tit smip ■ a ■•>
g*gm Wp&& TU Tn£ LAME
*mm^ TO THE LAME
There are only two Ex-
; »Wrfl«^ ■PH. tensions— patented
wMRLn both. Others Imitate
_^.^__^ |MJ|Sbf It make It correctly at
\S"'Ea^ * 10 - Wlto "CCon-
1884 JPL nor< » latest" you
1 RSI •O'COHSOH'iI LITEST" '"ear ready made
J— —^— \9PVa& * xo - wltD " O'Con.
dot's Latest" yoa
"OtOiCNOH-s LITEST" »ear ready made
1908 shoes, slippers or
B£g *""* Oxford tle»>tt»o«i
alteration — open back, no lacing exer-
•SJQBM tion to walk— per/eel ankle and instep 1 Cot
_ — . this ont and send to-day and we will tell
OijO WAY you how to get one fret. Give shortage, "*
E. L. O'Connor Mfg. Co.. 1271 B'wy. N. V.
COR II REN
1 SEEKING OPPORTUNITY.
Investigate the grand
possibilities there are in
agriculture. \ Trained men
for extension work are
now in great demand. We
can help you make your
own future. .
ADDRESS:
Winona Agricultural Institute,
Winona Lake, Indiana.
[fifiMH FRECKLES
I REMOVED
Irfi I We cm podtinlj I IMP 1 1 in
rmr rf f-rrf torn -Hlh
I »?^ fljpMWjß l j£ •'i ■ STliuU-VS FEECELE CRIU
[sM^^Stat£^Bs^9 Thiil* a ••"■» Mwrllon, bat
[I JB^S«* ** ' '-' Uwe will rtfcail yoor marj if >U
■ uli.H r ,l. Our r.m*dj I. Pr»-
M Ttnrr 1 '--tMnrai t«mmt Writ*
IH^F'aL »^"»rodleCr««to.
SUllnu Freckle CMm Co.
11l Mf? Ptpt. "tO." Anrara,ffl.
ijgHi .iin = i«i«i .1 J ;J 31
I MO*! How to select a good furnace. No. 45
I cL^ttL I Leader Steel Furnace costa (49. freight I
\fflP>Zl paid. Other size.. Write. Hess Warm's; I
[i>-^*^ t Vent'g C 0. .744 Tacoma Bldg., Chicago. \
■IH m ■ Can Save a Lot of Wort
W I I Can Save a Lot of Money I
W IS ■ Can lncrea>> Your Comfort*
I Vw Can Increase Your Profit
§It yoa are Interested In those thing* sf"%
we?dUka to Hod joo our new book about
electric 8t^ m ,.
electrTc* 11^^'
» More than a million and a quarter of them an
In use and several hundred thousand farmers say
that they are the best Investment they ever made.
They'll save 700 more money, more work, give bet-
ter service and greater satisfaction than any other
metal wheel made— because They 'r* Made ■■Her.
By every test they are the best Spoke* united to
the hub. If they work loose, your money back.
Don't buy wheels nor wagon until yon read oar
book. It may save yoa many dollars and It's tree.
ELECTRIC WHEEL CO.,
Box 263 Quinoy. ■!«.
\fcs-^ ELECTRIC
presents before yon order the coffee.
What is the use of paying 85 to 86
cents a pound for coffee that may not be
as good as Arbuckles' Ariosa I
Address our nearest office,
ARBUCKLE BROTHERS,
71 Water Street, New York City, Dept a.
100 Michigan Avenue, Chicago, 111., Dept. ft
Liberty Aye. & Wood St., Pittsburgh, Pa^, Dept 8
421 Sooth Seventh street, St. Louis, Mo., Dept.
/^our v grox:ee%i
J^ERISESTOSELt^
5/ ARBUCKLES \f
II ARiasA COFFEB I
