The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-07-25
TIE TOMATO SEASON OVER
Shippers TO Give More Attention TO
Strawberries in the Future.

SAAppefs TO GIVE AOre AtLentlOn u
Strawberries in the Future.
Have you quit shipping tomatOesw a
! MORNING News reporter asked vegetable
shipper yesterday.
Yes. We are not shipping any Savan-
nah vegetables now, as the season is about
over. The tomato market this season was
not profitable one, and lasted only a couple
OF weeks, when tomatoes dropped as low as
| % cents per crate. which wouldn't pay for
getting them ready for Shipment
how Is that; do you take more pains
with tomatoes than with other products Of
the truck farmF
I'VE have 10 do so. Tomatoes, TO be
shipped properly, require the most careful
handling. Potatoes, beans and peas may
De hlied into barrels or crates with scoop
shovel, but every tomato properly banded
must be wrapped in tissue paper as carfuuy
as oranges and lemOns.n
The grower went on to say that fair prices
| were received for the first week or two of
the season, but the tomatoes along the coast
OF tine Carolinas aud Virginia came in earlier
Than usual, and the market dropped 50 that
1t was no longer profitable to snip them.
| ms section is well adapted 70 the cultiva-
ton Of the tomato as it wants
warm, sandy and fertile soil, but
not so many tomatoes are grown
for the northern markets as some two or
three years back, as truck growers can do
| better with peas, beans, potatoes and CAB
| bage, which are always in advance OF the
Carolina and Virginia vegetables, easily
| collected for market and more expeditiously
and less extensively Grated for shipment.
1t apears to be the general opinion that
| less attention will be paid to tomato culture
in future seasons and more to the straw berry
crop, as there Is always a demand Tor
strawberries from the south, but not
always freight cost can be realized on to-
matoes, for the latter are so easily raised
Inat the supply often exceeds the demand.
and the farther north they are raised the
less care is taken in shipping them, as they
are put IN crates loosely without wrapping
and hurried to market.
The local market has been well supplied
| end the crop was good one, but no truck
| farmers III this section plant more than
| small patch of tomatoes, although in some
sections whole acres are planted In tomatoes,
tue first crop, or tomatoes which are per-
united to ripen being used for table use, for
canning and for the manufacture OF catsup,
the fall bearing fruit being plucked green
for picking purposes.
The tomato plant is a prolific bloomer,
and is a native of tropical and sub-tropical
| America, deriving It's name from the names
gwen it by the Aborigines, tomdH or tdBldu.
| The unlettsred pioneer attempted to i'm
prove on this and dubbed it the 'tomattis, "
| but eventually it was rendered into the
kings English as tomato, pronunciation
| which Is recognized as the proper caper in
all well regulated families
In the early part of the century the
tomato was not generally known as an
edible. 1t was called "love apple and
| nice round red tomato on the old-fashioned
mantelplece OF the best room in the house
was pretty sure indication that some
| lover had brought his dulcinea a love
| apple" as token Of the direction in which
his hearts affection had strayed, and an
swered all the purposes of ring with the
| country swain and his intended in the days
when hoops Of gold were as rare as books
and newspapers. 1t must have been quite a
| discovery when it was found that the tomato
| was an edible vegetable, doubtless discov-
cred by some urchin with a penchant
for tasting everything that he could get
into his mouth. The unpleasant odor of
| the tomato vine was not calculated to i'm
| press the grandsires of a few generations
back with any confidence in the fruit. 1t
looked pretty on the vines, and was a
| handsome ornament In the spare room, but
they thought it was poisonous, and for
many years were denied the luxury of it on
the table. But somebody ate the first
tomato and liked it, and, nirdbile dictu!
ulu nOb ule, anu now UOnHGOeS are USED In
all civilized countries, in all of which it
readily grows, blossoms and fruits, while
cities are supplied at all seasons Of the year
with tomatoes canned ready for the table,
the tomato canning industry being proba-
bly, the largest canning industry in the
| country.
Tomato seed are sown in hotbeds, cold
frames or in open soil, in beds prepared
especially for the purpose. and
when the plant has attained growth of
from to II inches in hight they are trans
planted in hills or burrows. Succ essful
planters grow larger fruit by pinching off
the greater part of the blooms, ard some
of the tops Of the main stem and branches,
and not taxing the vine too
heavily. Where this is not done the plant
is Staked up, and a favorite method of
| keeping the vines from bending to the
ground under the weight of the fruit is tc
eucircle the vine near the top with com
mon barrel hoop nailed to a stake, which
not only supports the plant and prevents
the fruit from coming IN contact with the
soil, which rots it, but let's the suns rays
reach it, where il ripens equally, and is
choicer fruit than the haphazard way OF
letting the vine take care of itself.