AGRICULTURAL BULLETIN 
OF 'l'HK 
STRAITS 
AND 
FEDERATED MALAY STATES. 
No . 12.] DECEMBER, 1911. l VoL - X 
tomatoes. 
Probably one of the greatest hardships of a prolonged stay in 
the Tropics is the want of well-grbwn 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 escuknlum ) is a native of South 
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. 
