Bulletin X, of Cornell University Agriculture Experiment Station gives the results of Professor Bailey's experiments with tomatoes. In most of bis conclusions we heartily coincide. The writer has long insisted that frequent transplantings are absolutely necessary to the production of early fruit. We have frequently had people tell us that they had rather have tomato plants raised in the open ground than hot-bed plants. So had we, if by hot-bed plants are meant the slim, crowded, almost rootless plants produced by sowing seed in a late hot-bed and growing them without transplanting until set in the open ground. Such plants are practically worthless. I fully agree, then, with Professor Bailey when he says that "frequent transplanting of the young plant, and good tillage, are necessary to best results in tomato culture".

Years ago I insisted, and have seen no reason to change my opinion, that no amount of forcing could overcome the matter of age necessary for the plant to attain before fruiting. I have never yet seen a tomato that will produce ripe fruit in less than four months from the seed, and most of the larger sorts require a longer time. Some years ago one of the stations, in an experiment with tomatoes, claimed to have proved that the forwarding of the plants under glass was of no advantage in the early production of ripe fruit, though every market gardener of experience knows that exactly the opposite is the fact, and the grower who would expect to compete with his neighbors in the production of early tomatoes without the use of glass would be looked upon as an ignoramus. In the experiment referred to it appeared that the ' forwarding" under glass referred to was sowing the seed about middle of April in a hop bed and transplanting these at same time with plants raised outside. That such " forwarding " is useless any practical gardener will admit, for these tender, small-rooted plants underwent a check which gave the robust out-door plants a decided start and they should have been called "retarded" plants.

Professor Bailey's experiment showed that "plants started under glass about ten weeks before transplanting into field gave fruits from a week to ten days earlier than those started two or three weeks later, while there was a much greater difference when the plants were started six weeks later. Productiveness was much increased by the early planting".

This is "forwarding" under glass, properly speaking. Plants from seed some ten weeks before setting in the open ground must perforce be transplanlanted two or three times under glass, and at each transplanting and gradual change to a coolor atmosphere make a gain in vigor and hardiness. This is a point which Professor Bailey does not mention, but which is of importance in the production of the best and earliest plants - that while the plants should be started in a high temperature they should at each transplanting be placed in a cooler temperature, with plenty of ventilation to secure a stout and stocky growth.

My practice is to sow the seed in boxes in a hot-house (650 night temperature), about two and a half months before time to set in open ground. (This would make it here the last week in January.) As soon as the plants are up large enough to handle, they are transplanted into other boxes about two inches apart and placed near the glass in a house where a night temperature of not more than 500 is maintained. As soon as they make two pairs of leaves above the cotyledons the growing tip is pinched out, and about four weeks before putting in the open ground they are transplanted into cold frames, putting about 65 plants to a sash, 3x6 feet size. Every effort is then made to give them exposure to the outer air on warm days and finally full exposure a few days before final transplanting. They will then be found to be stout plants, with two or three branches, and a main stem as thick as one's finger, but not more than eight or ten inches high. They will easily lift with a mass of roots and soil larger than a man's fist, and will go right on growing and making fruit.

The pinching has caused an early development of the side shoots which always produce the first fruit.

Professor Bailey well says that a "tall weak plant with a cluster of bloom at top" is not worth planting. Such clusters of bloom do not give the earliest fruit, ii they give any, and the plant stands still until the side shoots appear. Another point in which my experience corroborates Professor Bailey's conclusions, is that liberal manuring not only does not retard to any appreciable extent the earliness of the crop but largely increases the smoothness and quantity. The exception to this is the case of a heavy clay soil. In such a soil, naturally fertile, a heavy coat of manure made too rank a growth of vines and a greater tendency to rot; even then there was an improvement in smoothness and solidity.

Professor Bailey says varieties "run out." No doubt this is usually the case, because of the tendency of tomatoes to "sport" continually, thus requiring great care in the saving of seed to keep a type pure. But that they necessarily run out, I am not ready to concede. Our improved tomatoes are composite varieties, and therefore have a tendency to break toward some one or other of their ancestral stock. But did Professor Bailey ever know an original variety of the tomato to run out ? The Cherry, Plum and Pear tomatoes are as pure to-day as ever, and the old, big, rough, Mexican tomato will always reproduce itself, the "Garfield" for example. But put the Mexican tomato into the smooth skin of the Cherry, and it at once tries to get out.

Professor Bailey names as best for market, Ignotum, Beauty, Mikado, Perfection, Favorite and Potato-Leaf, I do not object to any of these except Mikado; with us it is entirely too rough and uncouth for a market tomato, but is good for table and very productive. Neither can I agree with him in condemning Dwarf Champion for market. With me, and I grew several thousand of it last year, the Dwarf Champion is the earliest, smoothest tomato of good and even large size I have ever grown. While not of the best quality for family use, its tough skin and the fact that it gives nearly the whole of its crop early make it valuable for distant shipments. With us it is by no means small, being from good medium to large. It is evidently a recent cross between Acme and the French Tree tomato, as last year many plants in our patch reverted to these two types, and some others had the fruit of the French Tree with the vine of the Acme, and its rotting quality, too, while the pure Dwarf Champion, was as free from rot as any I ever grew.

For strictly early market sort I think the Dwarf Ccampion is as yet at the head of the list.

Bulletin X is one of those practical papers for which the Cornell station is becoming noted, and for distribution to the class of cultivators for which it is intended is worth a great deal more than scientific formulae and tables which they cannot comprehend.

N. C. College of Agriculture. W. F. Massey.