November 2, 1908 
The Tomato. 
The common tomato of our gardens 
pelongs tothe natural order Salanaceae, 
and the genus Lycopersicum. The name 
from lykos, a wolf, aud persica, a peach, 
is given it, because of the supposed 
aphrodisiacal qualities, and the beauty of 
the fruit. Common names for .the 
tomato are Love Apple and Wolf Peach 
in America and England; in Germany 
it is named Liebesapfel ; in France, 
Pomme d@’Amour; in Italy, Pomo 
@oro; and in Poland. Pomidor. The 
name tomato is of South American 
origin, and is derived from the Aztec 
word, xitomate, or xitotomate. 
The tomato is usually classed amongst 
vegetables, but it would be more appro- 
riate to place it amongst fruits, Its 
cultivation is now on an enormous scale 
in America, in parts of Europe, aud the 
area devoted to it in our own country is 
jncreasing annually to a large extent. In 
the United Kingdom, in addition to the 
jmmense quantities grown there for 
market, both under glass and in the open 
air, many hundred tons of tomatoes, 
valued at nearly a million of money, are 
imported from the Continent, chiefly 
from It ly. Compared with some other 
fruits. the tomato may be considered. of 
fairly recent introduction ; yet, as far 
pack as 1554, the yellow or golden apple, 
and the large red or Love apple, were 
described by Matthiolus. Between the 
above date, and as recent as 1860, we 
find the cherry tomato, pear-shaped, 
white-fleshed, tree, and numerous other 
kinds described by various writers, and in 
seedemen’s catalogues. 
The tomato may be looked upon as one 
of the most wholesome and valuable 
esculents we have. Assertions to the 
contrary have occasionally been made by 
ignorant persons; but their statements 
have not been corroborated by facts. 
The food substance present in tomatoes 
in the largest amount is sugar while the 
organic acids are the main substances 
which give individuality or character to 
the fruit. A chemical analysis of this 
fruit says:—It contains from 92 to 95 
per cent. of water, about half of one per 
cent of ash, one per cent of protein or 
fiésh-forming matter, and about five per 
cent of carbo-hydrates of heat giving 
substances. The quantity of sugar 
which constitutes the main part of the 
carbo-hydrates is very variable in dif- 
ferent varieties; but it may be said to 
average about 3% per cent. 
When the tomato is to be used for food 
care should be taken to retain all the 
juice, as the nutritive properties are 
present largely in soluble form, and any 
diminition of the amount of juice entails 
a corresponding loss of nutrients. For 
the same reason the freshness of the fruit 
should not be impaired, as the acid salts 
quickly undergo chemical change. 
Abundant and unobstructed sunlight 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
is the most essential condition for the 
healthy growth of the tomato. It is a 
native of the sunny south, and will not 
thrive except in full and abundant sun- 
light. The entire plant needs sunshine. 
Grown in partial shade the plant will 
produce plenty of haulm, but little fruit, 
and that of inferior quality ; besides, 
the blossoms often fail to set owing to 
excessive leafage or other obstruction. 
The tomato plant is usually treated as 
an annual, but it is really a short-lived 
perenial. Its roots are numerous, but 
they are short, and can only gather food 
and water from a limited area. They 
are exceedingly tender, and incapable of 
penetrating a hard and compact soil, so 
that the condition of the soil as to tilth 
is of greater importance with regard to 
tomatoes than with most garden 
vegetables. Another characteristic of 
the tomato root is that the period of their 
active life is short. When young they 
are capable of transmitting water and 
nutritive material very rapidly, but they 
soon become clogged and inefficient to 
‘such an extent as to result in the starva- 
tion and death of the plant. 
The key to the most successful culture 
of the tomato is the securing from the 
starc to the finish of an unchecked uni- 
form growth, though it need not be a 
rapid one. The failure to do this is the 
principal reason for the comparatively 
small yield usually obtained, which is 
very much less than it would be with 
better cultural management. The 
possible yield per plant is enormous. 
From 1,000 bushels to 1200 or even mote 
bushels to the acre are sometimes pro- 
duced in California, not only in small 
holdings, but also in large fields 
The tomato is not a gross feeder, nor is 
the crop an exhaustive one, but the plant 
is very particular as to its food supply. 
It is an epicure among plants, and 
demands that its food shall not only be 
to its taste in quality, but that it be well- 
served. In order for the plant to do its 
best, or even well, it is essential that the 
food elements be in the right proportions 
and readily available, Jf there is a 
deficiency of any single element, there 
will be but a meagre supply of fruit. no 
matter how abundant the supply of the 
others. An over supply of an element, 
especially nitrogen, is highly less in- 
jurious, and will actually lessen the yield 
of fruit, though it will increase the size of 
the vine, Tomato roots have little power 
to wrest plant food from the soil. ‘The 
use of coarse, unfermented manure is 
often more unsatisfactory with this than 
with other crops. 
_In the use of farm-yard manure for the 
tomato an excessive quantity should be 
guarded against, for the reason that it 
encourages an undue development of 
stem and foliage rather than of fruit. 
The slowness of its action will also tend 
to lengthen out the life of the plant, and - 
retard ripening. As the tomato belongs 
to the potash-consuming class of plants, 
15 
any manurial mixture should be par 
ticularly rich in this element. 
% The following formulous are recom- 
mended by a very experienced and suc- 
cessful grower :—One part of nitrite of 
soda, two parts of dissicated blood, four 
parts of superphosphate or bone manure, 
and three parts of kainit ; or one part of 
nitrite of potash, two parts of guano, or 
dessicated blood, and two parts of 
superphosphate or bone manure. The 
soil compost having been properly 
prepared at the start, these manures may 
be applied as the first fruits set. They 
may be dissolved, and applied at the rate 
of half-an-ounce in a gallon of water, 
given once a week; or the same quantity 
sprinkled over a square yard of soil. 
4 Although the tomato is not a desert 
plant, and needs a plentiful supply of 
water, it suffers far more frequently, 
particularly when the plants are young, 
from an over-supply than from the want 
of water. Through drainage at the root, 
and warm, dry, sunny air, in gentle 
motion, are what it delights in, 
Tomatoes vary much in habit, and the 
soil also should be reckoned with when 
planting out. Some dwarf kinds may be 
planted 23 ft. apart, while the larger 
yrowers in rich soil should be about four 
feet apart. 
Tomatoes are what is termed perfect- 
flowered plants, that is, the pistils, and 
stamens are found in the same flower. 
No insect seems to make it his business 
to visit tomato flowers. Hence tomatoes 
are nearly always self-fertilized, and 
crosses by nature are not common. 
When conditions are favourable the 
pollen shakes out readily by the slightest 
motion. Itmust be remembered that it 
is the seed that causes the fruit to 
develop—hence no seed means, as a rule, 
no fruit, and no pollen means no seed. 
Tn dry, warm weather the tomato sets its 
fruit generally all right, but under oppo- 
site conditions it does not; and artificial 
pollination is sometimes resorted to 
Under glass pollen is sometimes collected 
from those flowers that yield some, and 
it is applied to all others. A sharp rap 
- with the finger will pollinate a whole 
cluster of flowers. and a shake of the 
plant will sometimes be sufficient, 
These methods should only be carried 
ous when the sun is shining and the air 
ry. 
STRANG & CO., 
Tailors 
AND 
Mercers, 
30 Gawler Place. 
’ 
