SUBURBAN FRUIT-GROWING. 



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is a craving for cheapness there is also a dissatisfaction with 

 inferior quality, and a desire and willingness to pay for some- 

 thing better. The cheap foreign products go year by year to 

 a lower stratum of society, and the upper strata are always 

 asking for higher quality. For example, the middle and upper 

 classes show a decided preference for the high-class smooth 

 Tomatos of moderate size, and the old, corrugated, and over-sized 

 varieties find their way to the coster's barrow. 



And this leads me to say that the advance made in the 

 cultivation of Tomatos and the raising of improved varieties 

 have entitled this beautiful and wholesome product to be elevated 

 to the dignity of a fruit. Messrs. Sutton & Sons and other 

 growers have presented us with dessert varieties, Avhich are 

 being consumed in enormous quantities in a raw state, and I 

 frequently hear it said, in answer to the question, "Do you want 

 the Tomatos for cooking?" "Oh no; they are far too good 

 for that ! " Why, it would be more reasonable to call some 

 varieties of Melon vegetables than Tomatos of this fruit-like 

 character. For I am inclined to think that some inferior Melons 

 would be improved by cooking. 



Let me also put in a plea for the more delicate varieties of 

 Grape. Londoners are too apt to taste with their eyes, and 

 during the festive season, go where you will, nothing but Gros 

 Colmar and Black Alicante Grapes meets your eyes at dessert. 

 I give credit to the growers for their great skill and enterprise, 

 but I should like to see some Grapes in the market suitable for 

 invalids. It is one of my greatest pleasures to supply the sick 

 and suffering with fruit that they can really enjoy, and a Grape 

 with a thin skin and juicy texture will often bring a smile to the 

 face even of the dying. The "Diamond Traube," "Duke of 

 Buccleuch," " Black Hamburgh " properly ripened, and " West 

 St. Peter's " are to be recommended for this purpose. 



We are indebted to our French friends for a delightful addition 

 to the fruits suitable for invalids. The so-called Perpetual Straw- 

 berries are likely to effect a revolution in Strawberry growing, not 

 so much by what they are as by what they will probably become 

 when crossed with our largest and best varieties. Last week I was 

 privileged to see these Strawberries growing in the gardens of 

 Gunnersbury House, the residence of Mr. Leopold de Rothschild, 

 and I was greatly surprised to find the crop of Strawberries 



