208 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



field. This is a fungous disease, the germs of which lodge in 

 the end of the fruit when it is very small, probably often just 

 as the flowers fall off. By their growth, they rot the end of the 

 tomato and often cause much loss. ♦ 



Figure 106— Tomato rot. 



Remedies. — The disease lives over winter in the ground 

 where the rotten tomatoes have fallen. The diseased fruit should 

 therefore be gathered and burned or buried a foot or more 

 deep, where they will not be disturbed in the spring. Some varie- 

 ties are much more liable to rot than others. The Dwarf Cham- 

 pion is perhaps less affected than many other kinds. Experi- 

 ments with spraying the young fruit with Bordeaux mixture or a 

 solution of sulphide of potassium at the rate of one-half ounce 

 per gallon, are said to Lave given good results in some cases, but 

 it is generally considered impracticable to do this, on account 

 of the labor necessary to do the work well. They are less liable 

 to rot when growing on new land than on land that has been 

 used for several years in tomatoes. 



GROUND CHERRY, or STRAWBERRY TOMATO. (Physalis sp.) 



Native of North and South America. — Perennial. — There are 

 several species of Physalis that produce edible fruit. Among 

 those inrligenous to northern United States is one quite common 

 in old timber land in northern Minnesota and elsewhere. The 



