TOMATOES 



C. C. Hulsakt, Matawak, Monmoutii County, N. J. 



IIISTOEY 



111 an article of this kind it 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. 



Philip Miller in his Gardeners' Dic- 

 tionary, 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 1829. 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 1811 " they had be- 

 come almost an indispensable dish through the summer months 

 on every table." In 1817 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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