he plants being killed by early
fall frosts before they have ripened their entire crop, exposure of the
field is sometimes of importance in determining the marketable yield.

A gentle inclination to the south, with a protection of higher land or
timber on the sides from which frost or high winds are most likely to
come, is the best. A steep descent to the south, shut in by high land to
the east and west, so as to form a hot pocket, is not favorable for a
maximum crop although it may give a smaller yield of early ripening
fruit; nor is a small field entirely surrounded by forest desirable.

I once knew of a field, of about two acres, sloping to the south and
entirely surrounded by heavy timber, on which two or three tomato crops
were failures when other fields on the same farm gave large yields, but
after the timber on the south and east had been cut away this field
generally gave the largest yield in the neighborhood.

=Location.=--While exposure is in some cases an important factor in
determining the total yield an acre, and so the cost, the location of
the field as regards distance from marketing point and the character of
the roads between them is of far greater importance in determining the
cost and profit of crop, but one which is very often disregarded. The
marketable product of an acre of tomatoes weighs from 3 to 30 tons,
which is not only more than that of most farm crops, but the product is
of such character that its value is easily destroyed by long hauls over
ordinary roads. It has to be marketed within a day or two of the time it
is in prime condition, regardless of the conditions of the roads or
weather; so that it is quite deceptive to estimate the cost of delivery
at the same rate a ton, as for potatoes or wheat, for it always costs
more, and sometimes several times more, to deliver tomatoes than it
would to deliver the same weight of less perishable crops. In most cases
the cost of picking and delivery is one of the most important factors in
determining profit and loss, particularly when the crop is grown for
canning factories, where one often has to wait for hours for his team to
unload. These conditions make it very important that the field be
located within a short distance of, and connected by good roads with the
point of delivery.

=Early maturing fruit.=--Where early maturity is the great desideratum
the exposure of the field is often very important. It should, first of
all, be such as to secur