AGRICULTURAL BULLETIN 



OF THK 



5TRAIT5 



AND 



FEDERATED MALAY STATES. 



No. 12.J DECEMBER, 1911. [Vol. X 



TOMATOES. 



Probably one of the greatest hardships of a prolonged stay in 

 the Tropics is the want of well-grown vegetables. True, the Chinese 

 put before us something which are called vegetables but usually 

 Europeans treat them with some reserve as their method of cultiva- 

 tion leaves much to be desired. 



It is practically impossible for us, at such a low level, to succeed 

 with most of the vegetables usually obtained in England, but at any 

 rate a fair amount of success is usually obtained with parsley, celery 

 and tomatoes, provided sufficient care and perseverance is exercised. 



Usually everyone makes an attempt to grow tomatoes and pro- 

 bably for the first few times splendid crops are obtained, but after one 

 * or two successful attempts one is greatly discouraged by the sudden 

 dying off of the plant, apparently through no fault of the grower. 

 This dying off frequently takes place just when a splended crop is 

 seemingly assured, i.e., just before the fruit is ripe. This is invariably 

 due to fungus pests and those will be dealt with under Tomato 

 diseases. 



The Tomato { Lycopersicum esciilentuin) is a native of Soulli 

 America. Its uses are many and varied, the fruit being cooked as a 

 vegetable, mixed in salads, prepared as a sauce, and used for many 

 other culinary purposes. Like the Durian, one has to acquire the 

 taste of the tomato and it is rarely the case that one likes the flavour 

 of a tomato at a first trial. The fruit is credited with being a mild 

 aperient and it also has a cooling effect on the blood, and these quali- 

 ties in themselves provide sufficient encouragement for repeated and 

 whole-hearted attempts to attain its successful culture. 



Tomatoes may be increased in any quantity from seed which ripen 

 freely in most of the fruits which reach maturity. As the seed 

 retain their vitality for some considerable time, it is better to obtain 

 a fresh supply from Europe when required. They may also be propa- 

 gated by cuttings, often with better results, as they reach the fruiting 

 stage quicker than the seedlings and also escape a few of the diseases, 

 which attack the plant in the seedling stage. 



