THE NIGHTSHADE FAMILY 



The Nightshade Family {Solanaceae) includes the 

 Potato, Tomato, Pepper, Eggplant, Husk Tomato, and 

 many wild plants. The Potato differs from the others in 

 that it is the tuber rather than the fruit which is used for 

 food, and so it has already been considered as a tuber 

 crop. 



The three important solanaceous crops whose fruits 

 are used for food — Tomato, Pepper, and Eggplant — 

 are native to tropical regions. Consequently they are 

 tender to frost and yet require a long season for develop- 

 ment. So the seedlings must be started in greenhouse, 

 hot-bed, or window garden, that the young plants may be 

 set out when danger from frost is past. They require 

 hot weather for their best growth and should be given a 

 good start at the time of transplanting by means of a 

 rich soil or nitrogenous fertilizer or both. They should 

 be started under glass one or two months before the time 

 they are to be set out. 



The Tomato 



The various forms of the cultivated Tomato are de- 

 rived from a plant native to the western part of South 

 America. Although the plant has been in cultivation 

 for more than three centuries, it is only during compara- 

 tively recent years that it has been generally used for 

 food. It has now reached a high degree of development, 

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