LEGUMES, BERRIES AND SMALL FRUITS 



185 



cultivated. Fox grape varieties with fruits varying in color from 



deep purple to amber are best repre- 

 sented by the Concord, Cataw^ba, 



Niagara and Delaw^are varieties. 



These are grown commercially chiefly 



in New York and Ohio. Grapes re- 

 quire good drainage and loose soil, 



thriving on hillsides. Dried currants 



are produced from grapes grown in 



Greece since 75 A.D. The growing 



of Muscat grapes for raisins has be- 

 come an important industry in 



southern California; the grapes are 



gathered in trays and sun-dried for at 



least a week, often for a month. This 



curing process takes place ideally in 



southern California's hot dry climate. 

 The plants in the Nightshade 



Family produce a fruit which is a true 



berry. Some are inedible, as the 



purplish green fruit of the white 



potato. However, another species in the potato genus is the 



EGG PLANT, nativc to India and widely cultivated in the tropics 

 and in our southern states (fig. 119). The 

 arge berry, about the size of a coconut, is 

 white or purple in color. The tomato, 

 another genus in the family, still grows wild 

 in its native Central and South American 

 region; it was brought to the Mediterranean 

 region by the early explorers, and was first 

 cultivated more as a decorative fruit (known 

 then as the "love-apple") than an edible 

 one. Tomato plants grow particularly well 

 in the Mediterranean region and in the 

 United States. The fruit is a fleshy berry 

 with enlarged and succulent placentas, 

 bearing small seeds (fig. 120); the color 



is due to the presence of two pigments, the red lycoper- 



FiG. 119.— The egg plant 

 produces a large berry which 

 is white or purple in color. 



Fig. 120.— The to- 

 mato fruit is a fleshy 

 berry containing nu- 

 merous small seeds. 



