628 SOME OF THE POSSIBILITIES OF ECONOMIC BOTANY. 
The tomato,* the plant in question, was cultivated in Kurope as long 
ago as 1554;+ it was known in Virginia in 1781, and in the Northern 
States in 1785; but it found its way into favor slowly, even in this land 
of its origin. A credible witness states that in Salem it was almost 
impossible to induce people to eat or even taste of the fruit. And yet, 
as you are well aware, its present cultivation on an enormous scale in 
Europe and this country is scarcely sufficient to meet the increasing 
demand. 
A plant which belongs to the family of the tomato has been known 
to the public under the name of the strawberry tomato. The juicy 
yellow or orange-colored fruit is inclosed in a papery calyx of large 
size. The descriptions which were published when the plant was placed 
on the market were attractive, and were not exaggerated to a mislead- 
ing extent. But, as you all know, the plant never gained any popu- 
larity. If we look at these two cases carefully, we shall see that what 
appears to be eaprice on the part of the public is at bottom common 
sense. The cases illustrate as well as any which are at command the 
difficulties which surround the whole subject of the introduction of new 
foods. 
Before asking specifically in what direction we shall look for new 
vegetables, I must be pardoned for calling attention, in passing, to a 
very few of the many which are already in limited use in Europe and 
this country, but which merit a wider employment. Cardon, or car- 
doon; celeriac, or turnip-rooted celery; fetticus, or corn salad; mar- 
tynia; salsify; sea kale, and numerous small salads, are examples of 
neglected treasures of the vegetable garden. 
The following, which are even less known, may be mentioned as fairly 
promising :i 
(1) Arracacia esculenta, called Arracacha, belonging to the parsley 
family. Itis extensively cultivated in some of the northern States of 
South America. The stems are swollen near the base, and produce 
*According to notes made by Mr Manning, Sec. Massachusetts Horticultural 
Society (Hist. Mass. Hort. Society), the tomato was introduced into Salem, Mass., 
about 1802 by Michele Felice Corné, an Italian painter, but he found it difficult to 
persuade people even to taste the fruit (Felt’s Annals of Salem, vol. 11, 631). It 
was said to have been introduced into Philadelphia by a French refugee from San 
Domingo, in 1798. It was used as an article of food in New Orleans in 1812, but was 
not sold in the markets of Philadelphia until 1829. It did not come into general use 
in the North until some years after the last named date. 
t “Tn Spain and those hot regions they use to eat the (love) apples prepared and 
boiled with pepper, salt, and olives; but they yield very little nourishment to the 
bodies, and the same nought and corrupt. Likewise they doe eat the apples with 
oile, vinegar, and pepper mixed together for sauce to their meat even as we in these 
cold countries do mustard.” Gerard’s Herbal, 346. 
{Commercial Botany of the Nineteenth Century. By John R. Jackson, A. L. S. 
Cassell and Company, London, 1890. Mr. Jackson, who is the eurator of the — 
museums, Royal Gardens, Kew, has embodied in this treatise a great amount of 
valuable information, well arranged for ready reference. 
