flowers that are not
pollinated, and if it is incomplete the fruit will be unsymmetrical and
imperfectly developed. As tomato flowers secrete but very little, if
any, honey and are not attractive to insects, it is of no advantage to
confine a hive of bees in the tomato house in the way which is so useful
in one where cucumbers or melons are growing.

CHAPTER XIII

Staking, Training and Pruning

Under favorable conditions of soil and climate, plants of most varieties
of tomatoes will, in field culture, yield as much fruit if allowed to
grow naturally and unpruned as if trained and pruned. This is especially
true of the sorts of the Earliana type and on warm, sandy soils, while
it may not be true of the stronger growing sorts, or on rich clay lands
or where the fertilizer used contains an excess of nitrogen. In any case
more fruit can be grown to the acre on pruned and staked plants because
more of them can be gotten on an acre; and it is an advantage to grow
them in that way because it enables us, by later cultivation, to keep
the ground in good tilth longer; also it facilitates the gathering of
the fruit; and last, but not least, it generally enables us to produce
better ripened and flavored fruit.

Staking and pruning used to be the almost universal practice in the
South, but in many sections growers have abandoned it, claiming that
they get as good or better results without it. In the North it is rarely
used in field culture, though often used in private gardens and by some
market gardeners, and both staking or tying up and pruning are essential
to the profitable growing of tomatoes under glass. In the South, stout
stakes from 1 to 2 inches in diameter and 4 to 5 feet long are driven
into the ground so that they can be depended upon to hold the plants
erect through the heaviest storms, as seen in Fig. 21. This is generally
and wisely done as soon as the plant is set, though some growers delay
doing so until the fruit is well set, claiming that the disturbance of
staking, tying and pruning tends to hasten the ripening of the fruit.
The plant is then tied up, the tying material being wrapped once about
the stake and then looped about the plant so as to prevent slipping on
the stake or choking the stem of the plant as it enlarges. Raffia is
largely used and is one of the best tying materials, but short pieces of
any soft, cheap string can be used. The tying up will need to be
repeated as the stem elongates,