TOMATOES 
C. C. Hursart, Matawax, Monmouri County, N. J. 
WISTORY 
In an article of this kind iv is interest- 
ing to note the history of the tomato, its 
gradual rise in popularity and the 
rapidity with which new varieties ap- 
peared when once its position was as- 
sured. Originally an American contribu- 
tion to horticulture, it was first used as 
food by the Latin races of Europe. 
Philp Miller in his Gardeners’ Dic- 
ticnary, 1731, says, “The Italians and 
Spaniards eat their apples (love apples) 
as we do cucumbers — with pepper, oil and salt — and some eat 
them stewed in sauces, etc., but, considering their great moisture 
and coldness, the nourishment they afford must be bad. In New 
Orleons they were used in catsup as early as 1779, but in the 
English colonies tomatoes were planted only as ornaments, under 
the name of “love apples.” 
In 1798 the tomato was introduced near Philadelphia but was 
not sold as a vegetable until about 182. In 1836, however, it had 
begun to be popular as food. Thomas Bridgman, in his Kitchen 
Gardeners’ Instructor, tells us that at this time the tomato was 
used in sauces as desert, as a substitute for peaches, and that it 
also made excellent pies and tarts. There were only two varieties, 
however,— the large red and the cherry. 
Their use gradually increased, and in 1841 “they had be- 
come almost an indispensable dish through the summer months 
on every table.” In 1847 there were six or seven varieties, with 
but little difference in them. By 1860 hundreds of acres were 
planted with this fruit in the vicinity of Philadelphia alone, and 
some efforts had been made to secure improved sorts, a smooth 
kind being especially desired. Shortly before 1860 a large, 
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