418 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



an article of food. The origin of the vegetable, or fruit, as some claim that 

 it is, is not positively ascertained, though there is reason to believe that it was 

 first found in South America, and that it was cultivated centuries ago in 

 Mexico and Peru. Several varieties were known in England towards the close 

 of the sixteenth century, and Gerard, the surgeon and botanist, speaks of it, 

 we think, in his "History of Plants," having himself introduced it into the 

 Kingdom as an exotic. Dodeus, the Netherland herbist, mentions the tomato 

 as early as 1583 as a vegetable to be eaten with pepper, salt, and oil. It 

 belongs to the nightshade family, and was used in cooking by the Malays more 

 than a century and a half since. It is extensively raised in southern Italy, 

 and employed there as an accompaniment to nearly every dish, particularly to 

 macaroni. But neither there nor any where else in Europe is it commonly 

 eaten, as it is here, separately and in quantities. In England it is sparingly 

 produced, requiring a hot-bed in the spring, and in consequence is high-priced. 

 The Italians formerly called it golden apple, and now call it love apple, as it 

 was once designated in this country. The appearance of the tomato on the 

 table has greatly increased in Europe in the last few years ; but in no land is 

 it a regular dish, much as it is used for sauce abroad, as in the United States, 

 where it is also pickled, preserved, and confected. — Grange Visitor. 



ROOT PRUNING FOR TOMATOES. 



Root pruning of tomato plants is recommended to induce early maturity of 

 the fruit. While the plants are young they are transplanted several times, 

 which of course destroys some of the roots, and after they are put into their 

 final resting place, a spade is once in a while thrust down into the ground a 

 foot or so from the main stalk. In this, of course, size, and perhaps quality, 

 are sacrificed to a few weeks' earliness; but many are willing to pay this 

 penalty for the sake of the early dish. Those wishing to secure an early 

 ripening of fruit will do well to practice this system of root pruning upon a 

 portion of their plants. Tomato plants produce better and more evenly 

 ripened fruit when afforded some support, as by stakes or trellises, to keep 

 vines from the ground. — New York Herald. 



PROPAGATING SWEET POTATOES. 



A New Jersey correspondent has tried to his satisfaction the experiment of 

 propagating sweet potatoes from vines saved during the winter. In the fall, 

 any time before frost, the vines may be cut in any length and placed in layers 

 on the surface of the earth to the depth of twelve or eighteen inches. Cover 

 the vines whilst damp with partially rotten straw to the depth of six inches, 

 and cover the whole with a light soil about four inches deep. In this way the 

 vines will keep during the winter, and in the spring will put out sprouts as the 



