The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1867-06-07
farm aud AunsrIluId.
Tonn,ors.

slsnrely.' Lhma,us give il tho name Of
lIycopersicum, q compound Of two Gre elk
wonls eiEnifying wolf and peach, plainly
intimating that he considered tia hypocrit.
ipal fruit, ga wolf in sleeps clothing" /"
pleasant to the eye but disgusting to the
a taste. We first hear Of IL in England in
z the latter part Of the sixteenth century
cultivated ms a raro exotic in the botanical
garieu. Tho Italians were The frat to ap.
s,prec;ete its merits as an esculent The
French soon learned it's vaue from their
tramontaie ueighbors, but the climate OF
England not iavoring it's production, il
made It's way slowly across the Strata of
! Dover Strange as /. may seem, America,
the native home of tho tomato, has slowly
learned its worth from labelle France, aud
many Americans have not even yet learned
t. IL there is auy truth In the adage that
I "reputation OF slow growth asta long"
the tomato has n glorious career in the
future. Itprohably ranks third among The
vegetable contributions that the new world
has made to tile old, corn aud potatoes alone
taking precedence. We have been young
and now are not old, but we well remember
the time when tomatoes were thing I'M
known ia country gardens, AID when frst
introduced upon tho table under the name
of Love Apples, they wcro pronounced
anything but lovely but true merit,
whether among men or vegetables, is des
tined sooner or later to DO appreciated, and
the tomato now stands on basis almost
as firm as The potato, and in one form or
another isGound on wcl-furnished tables
at all Seasons OF the year, II must be con.
fesscd that the relish for tomatoes by those
of us who have seen half century il
an acquired one, but the parents having
eaten tho "sour grapes the childrun's
teeth are sharp to devour them.
So far as nutrition is concerned, tho to
ntato ranks far below Tho potato, but nutri
tlons IL not the only standard of value else
the cabbage would outrank tho peach The
iiSvor of the tomato is not its only recon
mendation. II is slightly aperont and
anti-febrilc, and to most constitutions tho.
acid is just the antidote to tho bilious
tendency Of the dog days. Tho worry smell
OF them when cooking isrefroshng. Thanks
TO "a kind Providence, the tomato, though
native of the tropics, il not over nice
about its climate or soil. tbs thoroughly
aco'imated in our cold New England, aud
fully lives mp to the command to multiply
and replenish aud I'LL the earth, The seeds
are tel acious of life and self sowp viii
spring up year after year in the greatest
abundance. We have known them to lie
in tue cess pool all winter, aud when its
contents were empted on tho compost
heap in the spring the pile was soon
Covered with a luxmant growth of tomato
plants.
1S Give the tomato it's choice, and il W i
select for its home warm, rich, sandy
loam, sheltered from the winds, where II
can r,ocive the full benefit of the suns rays,
For al carly crop the seed must be sown il
q hot.bed about tho first of April, and
TRANSPORTED only whom danger from FROST ia
past. IT hot bed is wanting, u rasn hox
may loo substituted, which may be filled
with leaf mould, aud placed ON tho sunuy
side Of tho kitchen. The little verbern
pots servea good purpose for starting early
tomatoes. Tho great objection to them
is that they contain SO little soil, and so
much surface that thoy become quickly dry.
This objection may bo obviated by placing
the pots in box and surrounding them
with saw dust, which will prevent rapid
evaporation. From these pots the plants
may be trauspEmted without disturbance
of Their roots. or check to their growth. It
no sheltered border is to ba found in the
garden u shelter may be extempcrized by
placing wide board on the north side OF
the plants. This will serve not only to pro.
but will also increase the heat, one of the
great wants of tho tomato.
Ono of the tests of the estimation i'm
which vegetable is held is tho number of
varieties in cultivation. Tried by this
standard tho tomato ranks high, for tho
varieties are numerous and constantly in.
eroasing. These varieties differ more in
form, size and color thnn in flavor, though
there is difference in this respect 1t as
sumes the form OF grape, cherry, plum,
egg, fig, apple and pear; but however
multltudlnous the form, it is uniformly
good. 1t is white, yellow and red, but
none oontraband. Tho small varieties are
however, not worth cu'tNating, except as
curiosities aud for pickles. 1t about as
much trouble to peal u cherry tomato as an
improved apple, and when pealod one ia
reminded OF tho adage, Don't make two
bites of cherry" The lnrge oval red.
is tho general favorite. The oval red, i'm
proved apple. Foiee, seedless, giant, etc.,
are merely varieties Of the smooth red, OBJ.
tanned by careful selection of specimens FOR
seed, and good cultivation, BY such solec.
tion and cultivation each one can originate
variety and no ono will dispute his title
TO chrlsten it, Tho certainty of having
good seed will be his sure reward. Size
and Smoothness arc not tho only desirable
ends to be sined at There is difference
in flavor and still greater difference in the
iirmness OF tho pulp. Hollow hoarteduess
Is found among tomatoes as among men.
Firm specimens should only be selected for
seed, Tho perfected tomato excel in this
respect. Testers perfected is large, smooth
well filled, well Favored, with few seeds, is
agood grower and continues il. bearing i'm
injured by tho frost II is not, however,
perfection for il comes "a fortnight later
than some other varieties. The perfected
is merely good basis for Improvement.
We commend this tomato but dislike its
name, Whites extra early is Fortnight
earlier than the perfected, productive, finn
mild, yielding, when cooked, u large pro.
duet IN proportion to its size. The plant
however, is deficient in vigOr, aud the
foliage has "A curled and withered appear,
ance. This defect may be remedied in time
by selecting seed only from the most Wig,
Orous plants, Few OF the numerous vario.
Ties now cultivated possess much porma
nepcy Of character, and the tendency Ia
degeneracy is mainly attributable TO the
fact that We are tempted 20 eat the earliest
and best formed fruit, and save for seed
the irregular and often immature tomatoes
remaining upon the plants at the close o
the season.
To secure All early crop OF tomatoes il
tho ambition of the gardener. For thi'
purpose, seed must be saved from the frs
ripe specimens, from those varieties kuowl
TO have tendency to early maturity anc
from plants grown north rather than souti
OF us. warm, sandy or gravely soil i,
also favorable TO early maturity, bur Ia,
IL. II. =