The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-12
M M E E N N w 0 M E N N
 A ND T H IN G s

started something when l went out with Baird, The Age-Herald staff photographer, to get a picture of Prof. 8. J. Pulliam in his tomato patch at East Lake. l had no idea that so many people were interested In tomato growing.
 Professor Pulliam tells me that the day t appeared in The Age-Herald he had numerous calls over the phone by local people. several long distance ones and quite few visi- tors. He was greatly interested at the interest that the public was talk ing in his ability to grow tomatoes.
 But if he had calls, so did I, for on Friday morning l was sitting at my desk when a wfry. quick -motiened little man came towards me gestie ulating and talking as only man from southei.. Europe can. He asked in his broken English if I was Frank Willis Barnett, and without the least idea of why he had honored me with visit, answered. Yes"
 s,s
 Tren he let loose deluge of talk, accompanied by expressive gestures, quick playing features, dancing eyes. I'll not attempt to use his words, but will translate them into understand able English. He was telling me with every power of his being that if Professor Pulliam had the best tomato patch in the state, he had the best in all the world. and was ready to prove it.
 I told him that talk was cheap and that he would have to show me. and so he rushed down to the streets and brought me back a marhet basket or tomatoes, which nearly took my breath away fro-l me, for IS of the huge tomatoes filled it to overflow ing. Proudly putting them on my desk, he said. q show 1u!" and, believe ne, he did, for as far as size went, they topped any I had ever seen.
 
 He had my curiosity aroused. and a a-ter hurling a lot cf questions at him, I learned that his name was D. Lusco, and that he was the proprietor of the Idlewild Gardens, just at the
 q foot of Glen Iris, and that he had four acres in tomatoes and was get ting $2.50 basket for all that he could bring to market. It opened my eyes to know that in July tomatoes grown within the city limits were bringing around 15 cents each.
 But I got more interested in the tomato grower than 1 did in his tomatoes and, after interviewing him, gathered the following facts: Some thing near twoscore years ago he left Palermo Italy for the United States, landing at New Orleans with only $50 with which to make start in the new world. He never doubted for one moment that he woud sue ceed, because he was willing to work.
 D. Lusco is a little, wiry active kind of man. He weighs 1S6 pounds s about five feet six inches tall, but is bundle of energy. For s4 years he has been trucking in this district. Avenue E and Eleventh street, south
 hch is now built up. For years he Lad the famous patch just beyond Sloss furnace. For a few years he was located at Smithfield. and now he is established at Glen Iris.
 All this time he has been busy rais ing vegetables, but n t too busy to rear family. I asked him if he was married, and he replied, Yes" Have you hny children" I then queried, and his face lit up V tn a smile as he proudly answered, Yes, I got 10 and all are living. Four of them are boys, and six are girls, and two of my girls are married. My boys are big and strong and help me in the fields and in the marketing"
 He married here in Birmingham, and the Yiie of his young manhood is the mother of the boys and girls. Here Is concrete example on which to preach a sermon, make an address or write an editorial as to whether it pays to try and turn emigrants to- wards the ssuth. Here in our midst is an Italian who for more than a quarter of century has been hard worker, a ,sood citizen and whose children are an asset to the com munity
 promised him to try and get out to see his fouf aces in tomatoes. as I am ,snx ous, to see what he has been able to do and want to>get his method of cultivation and see where in it differs from that of Professor Pulliam. It's little strange that two mon at the opposite ends of Bir- mingham should be in competition as tomato raisers. One the professor of Latin. dead language, the other speaking Italian; the former a man of culture, the latter not ashamed to be known as manual worker, yet both typifying the thing which makes America great. l take my hat off to them both. Long may they live to show us the> way to grow tomatoes.