TOLMIEA 



and with the same style of beauty. It is a perennial 

 herb 1-2 ft. high, with loose racemes of small greenish 

 or purplish flowers. The species seems to have been 

 cult, abroad, and twenty years ago it was offered in the 

 eastern U. S. for western collectors. It is probably 

 hardy and doubtless requires some shade. 



Generic characters : calyx funnelform, gibbous at 

 base, 5-lobed, the tube in age longitudinally splitting 

 down one side ; petals 5, threadlike, inserted in the 

 sinuses of the calyx, recurved, persistent; stamens 3: 

 ovary 1-loculed, with 2-parietaI placenta?. This plant 

 has been described under Tiarella and Hetichera, which 

 it resembles in foliage and inflorescence. It seems to 

 be the only plant of the Saxifrage tribe that has 3 sta- 

 mens. 



Menziesii, Torr. & Gray. Perennial herb, 1-2 ft. high, 

 with slender creeping rootstocks and some summer 

 runners: Ivs. round-cordate, more or less lobed and 

 crenately toothed, slender -stalked, all alternate, those 

 of the stem 2-4 in number: raceme %-lH ft. long: fls. 

 and capsule nearly % in. long, greenish or tinged pur- 

 ple. Forests of Mendocino Co., Calif., to Puget Sound. 

 — Propagates naturally by adventitious buds, produced 

 at the apex of the petioles of the radical lvs. and root- 

 ing when these fall to the ground. w M 



TOMATO (Plate XLII). The Tomato is Lycopersi- 

 cum eseulenium (which see), one of the solanum or 

 nightshade family and closely allied to the potato. In 

 fact, the potato and Tomato can be grafted on each other 

 with ease, although they will not cross. The graft pro- 

 duces no practical results, however (see Bull. 61, Cor- 

 nell Exp. Sta. ). The Tomato is grown more extensively 

 in North America than elsewhere in the world, and 

 the varieties have here reached a higher degree of per- 

 fection. The American standard or ideal is a To- 

 mato that is nearly globular, solid and "smooth" (that 

 is, not wrinkled). Figs. 2518-20. The flat angled 

 and wrinkled Tomatoes (Fig. 252G ; 1334, Vol. II) are 

 now little grown in this country. These forms are 

 little adapted to canning, to which use enormous quan- 

 tities of Tomatoes are put, and they do not satisfy the 

 popular ideal or desire. The old-time pear, cherry, and 

 plum forms (Figs. 2521, 2522) of Tomatoes are still 

 grown for curiosity and also for the making of pickles 

 and preserves, but their field culture is relatively not 

 important. The currant Tomato, grown for ornament 

 and curiosity, is JOt/copersicum pimpinellifolium (Fig. 

 2523). It sometimes hybridizes with the common spe- 

 cies (Fig. 1338, Vol. II). 



The Tomato requires a warm soil and climate, a 

 sunny open position, and a long season. The plants are 

 usually started in hotbeds or glass houses, being trans- 

 ferred to the open as soon as settled weather comes. 

 The plants are usually set from 4-5 feet apart each way 

 and are allowed to grow as they will, finally covering 

 the ground. For home use, however, the plants are 

 often trained, in order to forward their ripening and 

 to secure larger and better colored fruits. The best 

 method is to train to a single stem, as recommended 

 for forcing below. The stem is supported by a stake or 

 perpendicular wire or cord (Fig. 2524); or sometimes 

 it is tied to the horizontal strands of a trellis. This sin- 

 gle-stem training requires close attention, and if the 

 time cannot be spared for it, the vines may be allowed 

 to lie on an inclined trellis or rack. This rack training 

 keeps the plants from the ground and thereby allows 

 the individual fruits to develop perfectly and also 

 checks the spread of the fruit-rot; but it usually does 

 not give such perfect fruits as the single-stem training, 

 since the number of fruits is limited in the latter. The 

 most serious general difficulty in Tomato growing is 

 the rot of the fruit. This usually causes most damage, 

 following close, wet weather when the fruit is ripening. 

 It is apparently worst on plants that cover the ground 

 thickly with foliage and do not allow it to become dry 

 on the surface. Usually it does not seriously lessen the 

 crop beyond a few pickings; and if the plants are 

 brought into bearing early and are kept in thrifty con- 

 dition for subsequent bearing, the percentage of total 

 Injury is greatly reduced. The Tomato is tender to 

 frost. The green fruit remaining when frost kills the 

 plants may be ripened in tight drawers or cupboards, 



TOMATO 



1813 



if it is nearly or quite full grown. The Tomato is prob- 

 ably a short-lived perennial; but in cold climates it is 

 grown as an annual from seeds. l # jj # g # 



General Advice on Tomato Culture. — The Tomato 

 comes from tropical America and in its natural habitat 

 the conditions of temperature and moisture during the 

 entire growing season are constantly favorable for its 

 rapid development. The plant is adapted to such con- 

 ditions, and if we are to have the best possible results 

 with it under cultivation we must provide them and see 



that it has a steady and unchecked growth from the 

 germination of the seed to the ripening of the fruit. It 

 is true that the plant will live through considerable 

 degrees of cold, wet, drought and other untoward con- 

 ditions, and often seemingly recover from their ill ef- 

 fects and make a vigorous growth. But we believe it is 

 true that any check in the growth of a Tomato plant, 

 particularly if it occurs when the plant is young, will 

 surely lessen the quantity and lower the quality of the 

 fruit produced. This is a strong statement, but we are 

 convinced of its truth by scores of experiences like the 

 following : Two adjacent fields of similar character 

 were set with plants from the same coldframes. Those 

 in one field were carelessly set out just before a cold, 

 dry wind-storm and received a check in transplanting, 

 the effect of which was evident for at least ten days; 

 but the plants ultimately became as large as those in 

 the second field, which had been kept in the coldframe 

 during the storm and were set out rather more care- 

 fully than the first lot, but six days later. They suf- 

 fered scarcely perceptibly from the transplanting, and 

 actually commenced a new growth sooner than those 

 set six days earlier. The subsequent treatment of the 

 two fields was as nearly identical as possible; but the 

 second field yielded over 100 bushels per acre more 

 fruit than the first and it was so superior in quality 

 that, sold by the same man in the same market, it 

 brought an average of nine cents per package more 

 money. We were familiar with the fields and their 

 treatment, and know of no reason for the difference 

 in results except the check that one lot received at 

 transplanting. All our experience with Tomatoes con- 

 vinces us that the first and great essential to the best 

 results is a steady constant growth from start to finish, 

 but more especially when the plant is young. This 



