Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1902-09-15
IMPROVED VEGETABLES.
MARVELLOUS CROWTHS MADE TO
ORDER BY GARDENERS.

| Never in the history of market gar
! dening have such fine fruits and vege-
tables been seen in the local markets
as now, and all because the man with
| the hoe-at least he who helps to
supply the big cities with their daily
supply of fresh garden trucks more
wide-awake to the demands of the
hour than his city brother gives him
credit for being, says the New York
Mail and Express.
| IL one were to compare the flavor,
substance, appearance and general
good qualities of the vegetables sold
| here 10 years ago with what are Of
fered in the markets today, the differ
ence would be striking, even to those
who know little of such matters.
Probably no more striking example
of the progress made in the time
| mentioned can be found than is fur
| nished by the tomato. Here is an
humble product of the garden, be-
loved by all men who have proper
fondness for good things, that has
| been so changed and improved Of late
as hardly to know itself. And it is
strange, yet true, that the improve
| ment in the tomato has been due large
ly to the discovery of that popular all
| ment, appendicitis.
When the surgeons first established
the fact that appendicitis and collie
were not one and the same thing, and
began to operate for the relief and
cure of appendicitis, there was much
discussion as to the cause of the then
dread affliction. The conviction soon
became general that it was due to the
presence of foreign bodies in the ap-
pendiX, such as fruit and vegetable
eeeds, and, thereupon, the doom of
the tomato was sounded because of
the many seeds contained in it. There
were large and small and highly-col-
ored tomatoes in the market but all
were full of seeds. Here tnen, was
a serious situation confronting the big
tomato growers, as we'll as gardeners
generally
There were then and there are still
men who make speciality of tomato
growing, and who originate all the
new varieties that are offered to the
growers. These did not despair but
said if the public wouldn't eat to-
mato with seeds in it they'd grow a
tomato without seeds. And they did.
Not entirely without seeds, to be sure,
but with so few seeds in them as TO
justify the assertion of the originauors
that they had produced seedless to-
mato; whereupon the tomato was re-
stored TO popular favor.
But that was not the only change
made in the tomato. Without the
great number of seeds they were
found to be far sweeter in flavor.
This flavor was retained while the
size and solidity were increased, un-
til today there are tomatoes running
up to six inches in diameter, from
two to four pounds each in weight,
that are as solid as a piece of meat,
defy all sorts of weather, that last
from the first picking until the COM
ing of frost and of which as high as
20 tons have been taken from single
acre. The tomato specialists are just
ly proud of their accomplishment
But improvement in other directions
has been just as great and often with
out such good reason. Many gardeners
objected to the old way of growing
Lima beans. They didn't want to go
to the expense of cutting poles and
sticking them in the ground for the
beans to run upon, and it took the
beans long while to mature, anyway;
so they turned out bush Lima bean,
which grows only two feet high, needs
no support and upon which the beans
mature quickly and in great quanti-
ties. While they were at it they origi
mated new lot of string beans which
were ready for the market all of two
weeks earlier than the usual kinds,
which were really stringless and so
tender they snapped when not picked
carefully. That was anot'her big
stride.
Then the men who know more about
Strawberries than most folks could
dream of thought they'd see what they
could do. First, they increased the
size of the berries until they had
shown specimens almost as big as
ones fist, with whole fields averaging
a dozen to full quart measure. Then
they improved the flavor of the big
berries until they were as sweet as
the wild berry. After that varieties
were introduced that were earlier than
others, which extended the season for
this fruit. Not satisfied with that,
progressive Frenchman brought forth
a strawberry that is marvel in it's
way, for it produces three crops in a
year and is practically ever-bearing
until killed by frost. Thesa berries
can be picked in the spring, in the
summer and again in the autumn.
France was so proud of this achieve
ment that the originator received
certificate from one of the big socie-
ties.
In the meantime the fellow whose
hobby is a perfect cucumber was not
idle. Some one objected to the irregu
lar shape of the cucumber, and so the