e comparative freedom from spring frosts so as
to permit of early setting of the plants and the full benefit of the
sunshine as well as protection from cold winds. There is often a great
difference in these respects between fields quite near each other.
Professor Rolfs, of Florida, mentions a case where the tomatoes in a
field sloping to the southeast and protected on the north and west by a
strip of oak timber were uninjured by a spring frost that killed not
only all the plants in neighboring fields, but those in the same field
farther away from the protecting timber. Such spots should be sought out
and utilized, as often they can be used to great advantage. Immediate
proximity to large bodies of water is sometimes advantageous in the
South, but in the North it is often disadvantageous for early fruit
because of the chilling of the air and the increased danger of spring
frosts, although affording protection from those of early fall. Here,
too, proximity of field to shipping point and distance and
transportation rate to market are very important factors affecting
profit on the crop.

=The home garden.=--The south side of buildings or of tight fences and
walls often furnishes a most desirable place for garden tomatoes, but
the plants should be set at least 6 to 10 feet from the protection and
not so as to be trained upon or much shaded by them, as the disadvantage
of shutting off the light and circulation of the air, even from the
north, would more than overbalance anything gained by the protection.

=Growing under glass.=--In this country tomatoes are seldom grown under
glass except during the darker winter months and the exposure of the
house; the form of the roof and the method of glazing which will give
the greatest possible light, are of importance, for tomatoes can not be
profitably grown in a dark house. Just how the greatest amount of light
may be made available in any particular case will depend upon local
conditions, but every effort should be made to secure the most
unobstructed sunlight possible and for the greatest number of hours each
day.

=Previous crop and condition.=--In field culture tomatoes should not
follow tomatoes or potatoes. Both of these crops make use of large
quantities of potash, and although a small part of that used by the
plants is taken from the field in the crop, they inevitably reduce the
proportion of this element in the soil--that is, in such condition as to
be readily available f