January  23 
54 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
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The  Origin  and  Classifica¬ 
tion  of  the  Tomato. 
l’rof.  L.  H.  Bailey,  now  of  Cornel]  Uni¬ 
versity,  bewail  the  study  of  tomatoes  while 
Professor  of  Horticulture  in  the  Michigan 
Agricultural  College,  in  1885,  or  there¬ 
abouts.  The  results  of  his  first  re¬ 
searches  were  printed  in  a  bulletin  (No. 
19)  issued  in  188(5,  as  also  in  bulletin  No. 
31,  in  1887.  11  is  first  tomato  bulletin  from 
Cornell  seems  to  be  No.  10  of  1889,  fol¬ 
lowed  by  No.  21  in  1890,  and  No.  32  in 
1891.  YVe  quote  from  bulletin  No.  31  of 
1887  : 
Lycopersicum  esculentum  of  (Miller, 
Gardeners’  Dictionary,  17(58),  Solanum 
Lycopersicum  (Linn),  Lycopersicum  cer- 
asiforme  (Dunal).  L.  esculentum  var. 
cerasiforme  (Gray),  the  ordinary  tomato, 
is  a  native  of  Peru.  The  original  wild 
type  is  the  form  designated  by  botanists 
as  Lycopersicum  cerasiforme,  “Cherry  To¬ 
mato  ”  of  the  gardens.  The  Cherry  To¬ 
mato  is  still  known  in  a  wild  state  in  South 
America,  and  it  is  either  indigenous  or 
spontaneous  as  far  north  as  the  lower 
border  of  'Texas.  It  is  distinguished  from 
the  ordinary  market  tomatoes  by  its 
weaker  growth  and  its  small,  regular, 
spherical,  two-celled  fruit.  It  appears  to 
have  been  early  cultivated  in  Peru,  there 
developing  into  some  form  of  the  com¬ 
mon  tomato.  The  first  effect  of  domesti¬ 
cation  appears  to  have  been  the  increas¬ 
ing  of  the  number  of  cells  in  the  fruit. 
This  increase  of  cells  is  due  in  part  to  the 
doubling  of  the  flowers  by  cultivation, 
and  in  part  to  the  growtn  of  adventitious 
cells  after  the  fruit  is  partly  grown.  The 
dark  “ring  ”  which  appears  on  the  top  of 
overgrown  tomatoes  marks  a  rupture, 
very  gradual  to  be  sure,  of  the  cell 
divisions  by  the  interposition,  the  forcing- 
in  of  new  cells.  'These  more  or  less  de¬ 
veloped  new  cells  are  often  indicated  by 
the  excrescences'  within  the  “ring.” 
They  are  very  conspicuous  in  the  singu¬ 
lar  Turk’s  Cap  variety.  The  pear-shaped 
tomatoes,  heretofore  called  Lycopersi¬ 
cum  pyriforme,  are  evidently  only  cul¬ 
tural  sports  from  either  the  original 
Cherry  Tomato  or  its  garden  offspring. 
The  pear-shaped  and  the  larger  garden 
tomatoes  are  unknown  in  a  wild  state. 
The  tomato  was  grown  in  Europe  in 
1561,*  and  probably  earlier.  In  1583  the 
fruit  was  eaten  upon  the  continent 
“dressed  with  pepper,  salt  and  oil. ”f 
English  authors  .speak  of  it  in  1597^:  and 
1(556,$  but  mention  it  as  grown  for  curi¬ 
osity  only.  In  1752  Miller**  records  its 
use  in  England  for  flavoring  soups.  In 
1819ft  four  red  varieties  were  grown  in 
Europe  :  Large  Love  Apple  or  Tomate 
grosse,  Small  Love  Apple  or  Tomate  pe¬ 
tite,  Pear-shaped  Love  Apple  or  Tomate 
en  poire,  and  the  Cherry  Love  Apple  or 
Tomate  cerise.  There  were  two  yellow 
varieties  :  Large  Yellow  Love  Apple  and 
Cherry  Yellow  Love  Apple  or  Tomate 
petite  jaune.  As  early  as  1623ff  four 
sorts  were  known,  the  yellow,  golden, 
red,  and  white.  The  white  variety  was 
even  known  to  Besler  in  1(513.$$  Tourne- 
fort,***  1700,  mentions  seven  sorts,  among 
them  one  which  was  pale  red.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century 
three  of  these  old  varieties  were  un¬ 
known,  the  white,  golden  and  pale  red. 
As  these  are  now  present  in  our  gardens, 
we  must  suppose  that  they  have  been  re¬ 
originated.  The  cultivation  of  the  to¬ 
mato  for  market  dates  from  about  1800 
in  England  and  about  1830  in  this  coun¬ 
try.  In  1847****  three  varieties  were 
grown  for  the  table  in  the  United  States, 
the  Large  Red,  Large  Smooth  Red,  and 
‘Anguiilaria,  Simp.,  217. 
tDodonaji  Stirp,  Hist,  455. 
tGerarde,  Herballe,  275. 
§Parkinson,  Paradisus. 
“Gardener’s  Diet. 
ttHort.  Trans.  Lond.  iii.,  347. 
ttCaspar  Bauhin,  Pinax,  167. 
jjHortus  Evstitensis. 
“*Inst.  Rei  Herb.  1.,  150. 
““Buist's  Family  Kitchen  Gardener,  126. 
the  Pear-shaped.  'The  Cherry  Tomato 
appears  to  have  been  grown  as  a  curi¬ 
osity.  During  the  last  25  years  a  perplex¬ 
ing  catalogue  of  new  varieties  has  been 
presented.  Many  of  the  variety  names 
current  a  few  years  ago  have  become  ex¬ 
tinct,  although  it  is  probable  that  most 
of  the  varieties  which  they  represented 
are  still  grown  under  other  names. 
We  may  now,  following  Prof.  Bailey, 
group  tomatoes  as  follows  : 
Cherry  Tomato  (L.  cerasiforme.)  'The 
Red  Cherry  fruit  is  about  a  half  inch  in 
diameter  and  is  desirable  for  pickles  and 
preserves.  'The  Yellow  Cherry  is  like  the 
lied  except  in  color.  A  Prussian  strain 
averages  twice  larger  than  fruits  from 
American  seeds  with  a  greater  tendency 
to  become  irregular. 
Pear  and  Plum  Tomatoes  (L.  pyri¬ 
forme)  such  as  those  sold  as  Pear,  Nes- 
bit’s  Victoria,  Wonder  of  Italy.  Fig,  Red 
Plum,  Yellow  Plum. 
The  Common  Tomato  (L.  vulgare) 
which  may  be  sub-grouped  as  (1)  ObUmg, 
as  King  Humbert,  Criterion  :  Angular,  as 
Hundred  Day,  Conqueror,  Turk’s  Cap, 
Hubbard’s  Curled  Leaf,  Tom  Thumb : 
Apple-shaped,  as  Trophy,  Paragon,  Opti- 
mus,  Ignotum,  Acme,  Stone. 
Potato  or  Large  Leaf  Tomato  (L. 
grandifolium)  as  the  Mikado  or  Turner’s 
Hybrid  and  Livingston  Potato-leaf. 
Finally  we  have  the  Upright  Tomato 
(L.  validum)  as  the  'Tree.  Dwarf,  Bush  or 
French  Upright,  'Tomate  de  Laye.  Prob¬ 
ably  the  Dwarf  Champion  and  La  Crosse 
(closely  alike)  are  partly  of  this  group. 
So,  too,  the  Station  'Tomato  is  a  cross 
between  Alpha  and  Tomate  de  Laye.  An 
account  of  the  curious  reversion  of  this 
cross  to  both  parents,  in  so  far  as  the 
habit  and  foliage  are  concerned,  is  given 
elsewhere. 
Samples  and  Comments. 
In  the  Magazine  of  Horticulture  edited 
by  C.  M.  Hovey,  of  1853,  but  a  single 
reference  is  made  to  the  tomato.  It  is 
this  :  “On  the  vegetable  tables  were  to 
be  seen  from  Mr.  Cope’s  forcing-houses, 
cucumbers,  French  beans,  tomatoes  and 
mushrooms.  ” . 
In  1854  but  a  single  reference  is  made; 
a  premium  of  $1  awarded  to  “Jerome  Graff 
for  three  dishes  of  very  fine  tomatoes.” 
In  1855  Tomato  Figs  are  mentioned  as 
drawing  premiums,  and  in  1856  M.  Ii. 
Simpson  was  awarded  $2  for  “  mammoth 
tomatoes” — all  by  the  Massachusetts  Hor¬ 
ticultural  Society . • . 
In  18(50  but  one  reference  is  made  to 
tomatoes  as  follows  :  “  The  new  tomato 
Porno  Lesteriano  was  shown,  of  handsome 
appearance,  solid  and  very  heavy.” . 
The  two  extracts  following  we  find  in 
The  Rural  Nkw-Yokkkk  of  1851 — it  was 
founded  in  1850 : 
mulching  Tomatoes.— There  exists  iu  the  minds 
of  cultivators  a  great  difference  of  opinion  with  re¬ 
gard  to  the  best  method  of  managing  the  tomato. 
Some  tie  them  up  on  bushes,  while  most  people  allow 
nature  to  take  its  own  course. 
Now,  sir,  my  method  is  to  cultivate  well,  till  the 
vines  get  large  enough  to  begin  to  lean  and  spread, 
then  to  hoe  the  ground  over  fresh,  and  cover  the 
entire  surface,  one  or  two  Inches  thick  at  least,  with 
clean  straw. 
This  proves  beneficial  in  keeping  down  the  weeds, 
in  retaining  moisture,  and  in  keeping  the  fruit  per¬ 
fectly  clean.  I  tried  the  above  method  last  year,  at 
the  suggestion  of  a  friend,  and  was  perfectly  satisfied 
with  the  result. 
Tomatoes,  Cucumbers  and  Melons  from  Cut¬ 
tings.  etc.— Perhaps  it  might  be  interesting  to  some 
of  your  readers  to  know  that  tomatoes,  cucumbers, 
and  melons,  grown  from  cuttings  will  produce  fruit 
earlier  than  from  seed.  My  plan  is  to  sow  the  seed; 
(in  a  hot  bed  of  course;)  when  the  plants  are  large 
enough,  take  off  the  cuttings  with  a  sharp  knife, 
close  to  a  leaf,  put  three  or  four  in  a  small  pot,  water 
them,  and  shade  from  the  sun  is  the  only  care  requis¬ 
ite;  transplant  to  the  open  ground  as  soon  as  the 
weather  is  fit.  A  number  of  years'  experience  con¬ 
vinces  me  that  they  grow  less  in  vines,  but  more  to 
fruit  and  earlier;  but  in  the  case  of 'cucumbers  and 
melons,  they  are  shorter  lived . 
Between  1850  and  1859  our  files  of  The 
Rural  New-Yorker  are  incomplete. 
Even  as  late  as  1859  but  few  references 
were  made  to  tomatoes.  On  page  263  of 
the  1859  volume  is  the  following  item, 
which  shows  that  its  dietary  and  medici¬ 
nal  powers  were  somewhat  overrated  : 
The  Tomato  as  Food. — Dr.  Bennett,  a  professor 
of  some  celebrity,  considers  the  tomato  an  invaluable 
article  of  diet,  and  ascribes  to  it  very  Important 
medicinal  properties  :  “  1.  That  the  tomato  is  one  of 
the  most  powerful  aperients  of  the  liver  and  other 
organs;  where  calomel  is  indicated,  it  is  probably 
one  of  the  most  effective  and  the  least  harmful  rem¬ 
edial  agents  known  to  the  profession.  2.  That  a 
chemical  extract  will  be  obtained  from  it  that  will 
supersede  the  use  of  calomel  in  the  cure  of  disease. 
3.  That  he  has  successfully  treated  diarrhea  with 
this  article  alone.  4.  That  when  used  as  an  article  of 
diet  it  is  almost  sovereign  for  dyspepsia  and  indiges¬ 
tion.  6.  That  it  should  be  constantly  used  as  a  daily 
food — either  cooked,  raw,  or  in  the  form  of  catsup; 
it  is  the  most  healthy  article  now  in  use.” 
In  The  R.  N.Y.  of  1871  we  find  the  fol¬ 
lowing  : 
A  New  Tomato.— The  Gardeners’  Chronicle  of  No¬ 
vember  24  thus  notices  a  new  tomato,  recently  pro¬ 
duced  in  France  :  “  It  appears  in  a  circular  from 
Messrs.  Vilmorin  that  they  are  offeringseeds  of  a  new 
upright  tomato  which  requires  no  support.  The  plant 
is  said  to  be  entirely  different  from  the  kinds  pre¬ 
viously  known.  Its  stem  is  two  feet  high  or  more, 
quite  upright,  and  so  remarkably  strong  and  stiff  as 
to  be  strictly  self-supporting — a  highly  commendable 
quality.  It  branches  less  than  the  common  great  red 
tomato,  is  less  leafy,  and  does  not  want  so  much 
pinching.  The  leaves  are  rather  curled,  much  puck¬ 
ered,  very  firm,  and  closely  placed  on  the  sturdy 
branches.  Their  color  is  a  remarkably  deep,  shining 
green.  It  does  not  bear  so  freely  as  the  common  to¬ 
mato,  but  Its  fruit,  which  is  of  the  same  color,  is 
larger  and  more  regularly  formed.  In  earliness  it  is 
intermediate  between  the  Early  Red  (Rouge  Hative.) 
and  the  Great  Red  (Rouge  Grosse.)  It  was  raised 
from  seed  by  Greneir,  the  gardener  of  M.  de  Fleurieux, 
at  a  place  called  the  Chateau  de  Laye,  wherefore  it 
is  called  the  Tomate  de  Laye. 
The  then  editor  of  The  R.  N.-Y.  (D.  I). 
T.  Moore)  commented  as  follows  : 
We  cannot  say  that  this  will  be  a  very  great  acqui¬ 
sition,  but  it  is  worthy  of  trial,  and  we  shall  en¬ 
deavor  to  obtain  seeds  for  the  purpose.  A  little 
brush  placed  around  the  plant  when  young,  is  all  our 
common  tomato  needs,  and  if  the  earth  is  drawn  well 
toward  the  stem,  forming  a  mound,  the  branches  may 
lay  on  this,  where  the  fruit  will  ripen  earlier  than  if 
more  exposed.  Shortening  the  tops,  or  cutting  out  a 
portion  of  the  shoots,  will  prevent  too  much  shade. 
Whether  particularly  valuable  or  not,  this  upright 
tomato  will  be  curious. 
This  is  all  we  can  find  as  to  the  origin  of 
the  Upright,  Bush  or  Dwarf  Tomato. 
The  “  Station  ”  Tomato,  which  was  the 
result  of  a  cross  between  the  Alpha  and 
Dwarf  (Tomate  de  Laye)  effected  by  E. 
S.  Goff,  then  of  The  New  York  Experi¬ 
ment  Station,  under  Dr.  Sturtevant,  is  a 
( Continued  on  next  page.) 
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