238 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



June, 1907 



I 



Grapes and Burbank Preserving Tomatoes 



Seckel Pears and Pear Tomatoes 



Tomatoes That Imitate Fruit 



By I. M. Angell 



HE tomato family possesses the quality of 

 imitation to a remarkable degree. Each 

 one of twelve fancy varieties raised in our 

 garden last season resembled some sort of 

 fruit. 



One of the accompanying photographs 

 shows a cluster of Burbank Preserving 

 tomatoes and a bunch of grapes. The size, shape and ar- 

 rangement on the stem are very similar, but the color of the 

 tomatoes is the ordinary bright red. J his sort is spoken of 

 in the cyclopedia as the "cherry-like exquisite-Havored Bur- 

 bank Preserving tomato." We did not find them particu- 

 larly attractive in the raw state, but in any case they are 

 worth raising, as a curiosity. The plants are very strong, 

 but smaller than the common tomato and may be set closer. 



Another photograph shows a group of small Seckel pears 

 anci some pear tomatoes. These average nearly two inches in 

 length and keep very true to the pear shape. There are 

 both yellow and red varieties, the former being the more 

 useful of the two, because of its good flavor and the pre- 

 serves and confections made from it. Pear tomatoes are 

 very productive, yielding nearly two hundred to the plant. 

 The pear sortSi or in fact any of these small tomatoes, either 

 yellow or red, are very good stewed. Scalding will loosen 

 the skin, which may be easily popped off without peeling. 



California cherries and beside them some yellow cherry 

 tomatoes are also illustrated. The resemblance in size and 

 shape is very close. It is easy to imagine a similarity in 

 flavor also, as these small fruited tomatoes have more sweet- 

 ness than the large ones. The red cherry is larger in size 

 and somewhat like the Burbank Preserving tomato, though 

 better flavored for eating raw. It is also remarkably pro- 

 ductive, one plant bearing 270 tomatoes. 



The resemblance between a peach and two peach tomatoes 

 is even more noticeable in another variety. The shape is 

 very peach-like, the skin is tender and easily torn, like the 



fruit itself, and there is even a downy surface, not unlike 

 peach skin and very unlike the hard shiny skin of the com- 

 mon tomato. The color, too, is suggestive of peaches, being 

 shaded and streaked as if in imitation of the fruit. Yellow 

 peach tomatoes are like the red ones except in color, being so 

 light they do not show any likeness to the fruit itself. Peach 

 tomatoes proved to be the most interesting and useful of all 

 the fancy sorts. For eating from the hand they are excel- 

 lent, the flavor being sweet and fruit-like. They stand a 

 wet season well and have been found very satisfactory for 

 canning. In the green stage they are one of the best sorts 

 for pickles. They are early, continuous and late bearers. 



One illustration shows an apple tomato compared with an 

 apple. This sort is rounder and firmer than most of the 

 tomato tribe and so shows closer resemblance to an apple. 

 The color is so pale a yellow as to be almost white. They 

 are not of much use, being insipid in flavor and only attrac- 

 tive as a curiosity. These are not specially recommended 

 for table use. 



Plum tomatoes and plums are wonderfully alike in size 

 and shape, but differ in color and bloom. There are both 

 red and yellow plum tomatoes, the latter being the most 

 commonly seen of all the fancy sorts. They are well 

 flavored and very productive, over 250 being taken from one 

 plant. 



One of the illustrations pictures a dish entirely made up 

 of tomatoes that resemble fruit. The larger ones are peach 

 and apple tomatoes, the medium-sized ones are plum, cherry 

 and pear tomatoes, and the smallest of all are currant toma- 

 toes, a non-edible sort, growing on a "string" like currants 

 and having a bright-red color. When full sized they are 

 only three-eighths of an inch in diameter. On the table 

 beside the dish is a bunch of "grapes." 



Another sort that makes an attempt at imitating fruit is 

 the strawberry tomato. This does not resemble the original 

 in either shape, size or color, but, when cooked for the table, 



White Cherries and Yellow Cherry Tomatoes 



Plums and Plum Tomatoes 



