TOMATOES

Otago Witness, Issue 2511, 30 April 1902, Page 10

TOMATOES

The tomnto has brcojiie quite the rage among fruit consumers ilur.no thc-.e latter year*.-, lint for vrliat rea-ion it ii mud to tell. No ciouiit it is tempting to the cv o from its ('liny npe appearance : it-> ta.'te, however. i> by no means acceptable to all. Tne origin of the name is left in obscurity Even our most learned linguists fail i<"> t:.i kle the first three letters, ''torn.'' so f i" ,ii« j s at liberty to draw hi-, own cone i ' Tt > known under the moie attractive i..-. "o\e apple,' and some in fancy free «t- 'line it :ir> identical with tliat which Grandmother Kve presented to Adam for his delectation. And not without reason is it so asserted, for it possesses the merit, supposed or otherwise, of exciting the tender faculties, and, like everything e]-e that is tempting, has poi=onou-> piopertie ls . The tomato belongs to the genus Uolanum, one of the most extensive of our natural orders, having over 400 specie^, the moat common being the potato, als-i the deadly nightshp.de. or bitter-sweet, and the mad, or Jew's, apple, together with the apple of Sodom. The botanical name i<? Lyeo pereicum esculatum. But how it came to be ho named is not our place to divine. The Lyc-oate (an orchid) was named after a beautiful Sicilian woman. The change of a letter, however, makes a great difference. -Ho interpieted, our love apple has its appellation derived fiom "fyko*," a wolf, and '■persica,"' peach, and to make a pleading combination between the two icquires a long stretch of lively imagination. But what is in a name? Ihe culture and u-e aro more in our line. lyike a large number of its genera, the tomato was' first introduced into Europe from South America by the .Spaniards in 1533, snd it was not long 111 finding its way into Britain, where it wa-. highly esteemed as an e-culent, either r.i i\ or cooked. Soon afterw.ud* it was oon«erted into a .sauro, and now the appetite for it hap, in this colony, become so great a« to constitute its culture a profitable occupation. In tin* acquired ta^te we may be following the lead of the Yankee, as in the United State* it 1- oon-iuered an almost indispensable aiticle of die: Tlieie are a considerable number cf varieties of the fruit, and these are regularly increasing, each raiser considering his own tlie best. Colours are either red, yellow, or green, the tkin smooth and shining, shapes hk" a pear or cherry, large or bmalL surface ji mor furrowed. To obtain seed .some of mi- most forwaid berne-s must be left until pci-ioctly ripe. The c earlet pin duce the be^t teed, as tho=e so sa\ed aie found to be the earliest bearers, and again, the berries growing nearest the iont on tlie stem should have the preference. The seed t-hould remain in the pulp as Ion;; a- it can obtain nourishment therefiom '1 hen place in a 'ins.n of v.ilei-. pouring oft the vi- ;h tie P"lp <li-> solves, and lciu.M'ig fre.~h until the f-eed i> free and clean. It ir> then exposed to the air to dry, and 111 a few days laid a-.ide for futuiei use. As in modic.il and legal practice, doctors and lawyei-. differ, so it is in plant growing, and without giv ing an arbitrary opinion, it will poihaps Ijp fui ud best to follow that given by Huchanan. ?< the result of hi^ piaciical and 1 profitable operations at Kippt 11. Tomato-fi ovviiifr wa.s aKo earned on in the house uiujl tlie v me-> fuily covered it, and was a souioe of c in->iderable pinfit. The soil within the hou-e was dug to a depth of 4in or s:m. no Tpanurc of any sort ben.g added, and h>'n the tomatoes weie pi inted The^c wci" > »* > luarlit on in a little farting house, =oii '■ i" th" ordinal v c oil of the field, with a lUte le.if mould added. As toon as the -eedhngs were* through the ground they were placed close to the gl.i-">, and when large ci'ough were potted into 3ia pot£. For tin.- and the «-üb-erjuont -inft into sin pot<, nothing \u> u-ed but loam A« soon as they took to tho \u,\^ the hou^e was given more air and kept cc.oler. ancl the plants ki'-pt as near the gla-? as po c -iiile When ready to plant out they wcie thick. sturdy plants, with dark gieeu leave-. ,iul th" pots a perfect ictvvork of ri,ot«. A little fire heat, but only a little, was »nci'. tl.e pipe- never being; allowed to m t not Tins w:w ! f]it on til! the end of May (with 111 Noveii"' r). wli'u it was di-continucd lmtil tho si, in.' 1 ■ f AiiEfu-t (1 c . Februaiy) .Vbundsnr .•> cf r> - •• 1 gprn o-i n'l fa'.d'ir ] nhio oocaiici.-. and n'ver at any x> .c iiftrr ■ ihcv ft^t e-L.ibli-lird wa- the top v nil.ttoi ! thut el'j-e dov. !> Th« ?iflwih ,r f 1 »- - 1 wa=i I .-low --£0 slow, ji> fact, tlmt it vv.i- femed the soil lacked tomcthu.g required l>v the plant; but though not gamine rnu h in height, they were thickening 111 the <wu\*, 1 with broadening leav<= of a duk. (_' n colour, and lootiiic; fieelj Th v 0( • • i o stuidv. that th-y -f-o 1 wnho' i.p part until 2ft hiaii- &ma. live fiiAt uu.c a

b n gjn tn set. and things looked blighter. Up till tin- tune no stimulant had been applied 01 fertiliser of any sort used, but rain water bad been given from the tank, and that sparingly. Xow a mulching of old cow dung wa^ laid all over the border, it was given a k<)( J watering, and covered with 2m of ffishe s h -oil. well pressed d^wn. In a few week- tin- milch was one mass of root 1 , which spr'ad 0:1 the tuiface in aon'e places like a thicket. Trusses of fruit were now si tting thick and fast, and co dose were they together that in many eases the fruit of the 0110 overlapped the other. Many of the bottom trusses were kept off the ground by pieces of wood. Another topdre^ing similar to the la^t was given, and well watered, and this again was soon filled with roct c . Afterwards feeding was given in tlie foi-'n of a light dressing of Thomson's vine manure, and plenty of water when required. The stylo of training was the simple stein, and the plants were -et out about 2ft 6in apart each way. At tlii-. distance they did not crowd, so no leaves were f-hoz-tened or removed, until they showed decay in autumn. Tlie first fruit wa<s gathered about the middle of July (January), and the la=t the middle of February (August), a period of seven month 5 . There was not more tLjn 20j1> of or second quality frmt in thp whole crop. They were considered the finest tomatos placed in the market, and realised an average of lOd per lb. The weight of fruit on each plant was on an average a little over 111b Sutton's perfection was thp variety grown, but others are equally good. I. M. I.