SUBURBAN FRUIT-GROWING. 
343 
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, which 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 he 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 
