SOME USEFUL PLANTS 331 



IMassachusetts, New Jersey, and Wisconsin, and there is a 

 large yield from uncultivated swamps. 



Blueberries and huckleberries belong to two different 

 genera, but have considerable superficial resemblance. 

 The former berry, borne on bushes of several species, from 

 six inches to ten feet in height, is the more valuable and 

 is gathered for the market over wide areas of the northern 

 United States and Canada. The "heaths" or "blueberry 

 barrens" on which the bushes grow in great abundance 

 are often carefully reserved and the berries systematically 

 picked for shipment. 



The Olive family furnishes a very important fruit, the 

 olive, which is considerably utilized by pickling in salt 

 water and serving as a relish. Olive-oil, expressed from 

 the fruit, is a most valuable product and is not only used 

 as a food throughout most civilized countries, particularly 

 in the Mediterranean region, but is also utilized for many 

 mechanical purposes and for soap-making. 



The Nightshade family, which contains many poisonous 

 plants, yields several edible fruits. These are true berries, 

 though they are not commonly so called. The principal 

 ones are the ground-cherry or strawberry-tomato (Physalis), 

 of which wild and cultivated species are used in making 

 preserves, the red pepper (Capsicum),^ the egg-plant, and 

 the tomato. The tomato was introduced into cultivation 

 from tropical America as a curious ornamental plant for 

 the garden. Its fruit was originally small, two-celled, and 

 watery, but by cultivation has become large, fleshy, and 

 several-celled. It is extensively grown for the market, 

 and large canning establishments in several states handle 

 the product of special tomato farms. 



1 This is not a pulpy fruit, but is for convenience mentioned here. 



