76 



great deal on itc; eiu•liac^:^. 1 Ikiac had a yield at the rate of 

 over one thou:<and bushels of ripe tomatoes to the acre. 



I pass from the general discussion to the merits and peculi- 

 jirities of some of the varieties. I find ])oth Alger and Keyes 

 to be tomatoes of excellent fla^'or, aud these are each distin- 

 guished by a foliage very similar to and suggestive of the , po- 

 tato, to which the tomato family is allied; the fla\or of each 

 of these vegetables suggest the other ; and the fruit of the to- 

 mato suggests strongly the ball of the potato. The Boston 

 JMarket tomato is of good market size, is early, colors ■well all 

 oxcv, and fills up very solid. This is the favorite sort around 

 Boston, Avhere leading market gardeners have their different 

 strains. Around Xew York this kind has not always gi^•en 

 such satisf letion, the gardeners there appearing to lay more stress 

 on size than on some more valuable characteristics, which ha^e 

 to be sacrificed. General Grant closely resembles Boston 

 Market, but is somewhat smaller, and })eriiaps rather more 

 solid ; it may be a little earlier, and is somewhat smoother. I 

 consider this but a strain of the Boston Market. The ]\lam- 

 moth Cluster is large, round and showy, but is too inclined to 

 be hollow to be considered an acquisition. Orangefield and 

 iSTew White Apple make a class by themselves. Tliey may be 

 called fi'uit tomatoes ; there are no other sorts tl)at ecpial these 

 for eating uncooked, as avc eat an apple. They are somewhat 

 small in size, but of elegant shape and color, contrasting beau- 

 tifully with each otlicr wlien brouglit on to tlic table in a dish 

 in their natural state. They })cel as readily as a peach, and 

 their flavor is unsurpassed. Tlie vIjics of Dwarf Scotch, De 

 Ijaye and Wonder are all dwarf in their h;!l)its and gi-owth. 

 DcLnye is a superb tomato, both in color and ([uality, A\hen 

 you can mature the fruit, but it is very late and quite a shy 

 bearer, so nuich so as to be of Jio value except for its curious 

 habit of growth, the leaves being very dark green, and excep- 

 tionally thick, wliile the stalk is very stout. ^Vonder, I have 

 grown but one season. It somewhat resembles DeLaye in 

 habit of growtli and l)caring (|ualit!(>s, thougli tlie jilant is 



