SOLANACE^ 587 



Improved, Giant Round Purple) and others with white or 

 striped fruit (White Chinese, Long White, White Egg). 



2. 5. melongena var. serpentinum (Snake Eggplant). — The 

 plants are medium to tall, the leaves large, and the fruit long 

 and slender. 



3. S. melongena var. depressum (Dwarf Purple Eggplant). — 

 The plants are small, weak, and spreading, the leaves small, 

 the flowers small, and the fruit small to medium, pear- 

 shaped, and purple (Early Dwarf Purple). 



LYCOPERSICUM (Tomato) 



Habit of Growth, and Stems. — The tomatoes are annual 

 or short-lived perennial, coarse, branching or feebly cHmbing 

 herbs, that vary in size and form with the species, climate, 

 and methods of culture. The upright growing tomatoes 

 {L. esculentum var. validum), have a low, stiff, and erect 

 growth form. L. esculentum var. grandifolium is a tall sort 

 with a few large, entire leaflets. In the currant tomato {L. 

 pimpinellifolium), and cherry tomato (L. cerasiforme) , the 

 branches are usually weak and even trailing in habit. The 

 pear tomato {L. pyriforme) has an erect and strong habit of 

 growth. 



Roots. — The root system of tomatoes is fibrous and not 

 extensive. It does not penetrate far into the soil and is 

 usually short-lived. 



In the transplanting of tomatoes from the seed bed to the 

 garden, it is the practice to allow the seedlings to wilt before 

 they are reset. Under these conditions the fine, tender 

 rootlets, and root hairs are largely destroyed, but the plant 

 promptly throws out a vigorous cluster of new ones. In 

 fact, the new set of roots possesses greater vigor than those 

 on a seedling that has not been allowed to wilt; in the latter 

 case the roots are not injured beyond recovery, and it ap- 



