THE TOMATO. 



{Lycopersicum escuh^itum.) 



The tomato is an herbaceous plant, be- 

 longing to the nightshade family (Solan- 

 aceae), the same family to which the 

 potato and tobacco belong. It has numer- 

 ous rather large, showy, cut leaves, which 

 are more or less woolly, due to numerous 

 hair cells or trichomes. It has numerous 

 not attractive or pleasant smelling flow- 

 ers, with numerous yellow or red berries, 

 which vary in size and form. It is a na- 

 tive of South America, but is very exten- 

 sively cultivated in nearly all countries 

 excepting the cold northern regions. In 

 1596 it was introduced into England as 

 an ornamental and medicinal plant. Pre- 

 vious to about 1840 it was little used in 

 the United States, but now it is very ex- 

 tensively grown in green houses, gardens 

 and as a farm crop. For an early crop 

 the seed is planted in a hot bed, so that 

 the plants may be of suitable size for 

 transplanting as soon as the danger of 

 frost is past. The plants are placed three 

 or four feet apart in fairly rich soil 

 and the soil frequently tilled and kept 

 free from weeds. The plants grow about 

 three or four feet high, become quite 

 spreading and rank so that it is desirable 

 to tie the top portions to stakes driven 

 into the ground to keep the plants up- 

 right; this procedure is also of advan- 

 tage in ripening the fruit. 



Botanically, the fruit is a berry, and 

 before ripening is of a bright green color, 

 changing to red in the red variety and to 

 yellow in the yellow variety. The same 

 plant bears flowers and ripe fruits, so that 

 fruits may be gathered for a consider- 

 able period. 



Tomatoes have a peculiar flavor and 

 somewhat acid taste when ripe. The 

 pulp contains many seeds. As with other 

 garden plants, there are numerous culture 



varieties. Some are no larger than cher- 

 ries. Some are pear-shaped ; others large 

 and flattened at the ends. Some are 

 nearly spherical, others quite irregular. 

 The ripe fruits must be gathered prompt- 

 ly, as they decay very readily and quickly. 

 At the present time the tomato is very 

 little used medicinally, but is very ex- 

 tensively used as an article of diet. 

 Picked green they are picked either 

 alone or mixed with other vegetables. 

 The ripened fruit is prepared in a multi- 

 tude of ways. Peeled and sliced raw, 

 adding salt, pepper, vinegar and sugar. 

 Boiled in soups, mixed with sauces, 

 baked or fried entire, fried or baked, 

 mashed, mixed with stale bread and sea- 

 soned, etc. There is a popular supersti- 

 tion that eating tomatoes to excess causes 

 cancer. Tomato preserves are highly 

 relished by some ; likewise tomato pies. 



The general opinion prevails among 

 scientists, as well as laymen, that the 

 tomato is nourishing and wholesome. It 

 is certainly harmless when ripe, but the 

 green pickled preparations are not nour- 

 ishing nor particularly wholesome. The 

 notion that pickles aid digestion is a 

 mistaken one. The spices added may 

 stimulate, but the green fruit particles are 

 not digestible. 



The word tomato is of American In- 

 dian origin. The popular name love ap- 

 ples (German) Liebessepfel) is a trans- 

 lation of the French pomme d'amour, 

 which is a corruption of pomo dei Mori, 

 a name derived from Morocco. The Ger- 

 mans also designate them apples of Para- 

 dise ( Paradiesaspf el ) . 



The entire plant, including flowers and 

 green fruit, have a somewhat heavy, dis- 

 agreeable odor, a characteristic common 

 to many members of the nightshade fam- 

 ily. Albert Schneider. 



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