Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-08-29
VIZ ASHINGTON, D. c., Aug. ga fruit
w isn't always fruit; sometime it's
vegetable.

WV ASHINGTON, D. c., Aug ga fruit
wv isn't always fruit; sometime it's a
vegetable.
This is not an account of vaudeville magic
by which apples might miraculously be
turned into turnips. 1t has more to do with
that solemn and logical body, the supreme
court of the United States, and apples and
other fruits are scarcely involved at all. The
fruit which a court deigned to turn into a
vegetable was the tomato. Another time the
watermelon was brought into court, and an
attempt was made to prove that it was a
vegetable. But the court stood by tradition.
The watermelon remained fruit.
All this occurred several decades ago. The
courts and the dictionary have laid down
lines of guidance for steering a straight
course in classifying fruits and vegetables,
so that no one need worry over whether Gu
cumbers, pumpkins cantaloupes or string
beans are vegetables or not.
Yet, in spite of that questions being set
tied, presumably for all time to come, once in
a while somebody who has forgotten about
the famous tomato case, or who never heard
of it, writes to the department of agriculture
to know whether in stated instances he is
consuming a vegetable or fruit.
The question seems pertinent now because
it has Just been raised again and because
the tariff bill illustrates how the tomato got
into court back in the eighties. 1t was a
tariff law that did it, the bureau Of plant In
dustry explains. The tariff on fruits in gen.
and West Indian firm was convinced that
the tomato should be fruit. The company
entered it's shipment of tomatoes as fruit,
but the government held that the tomato
was a vegetable and the importers had to
pay the higher rate.
The company paid and promptly went to
court to recover it's money. 1t presented
evidence showing that botanically tomato
is fruit. 1t contains the seeds of the plant
and it is the product of the blossom.
But, the government pointed out, botan-
ically speaking, squashes are fruit, as are
other products which custom clearly CLASH
| fies as vegetables. The dictionary and prod
uce men were quoted. The dictionary took
| the stand that an agricultural product which
was more adapted to be eaten as dessert than
| in the main body of the meal was fruit.
Court Reverses Botany
The supreme court decided that, as toma-
| toes are grown in kitchen gardens, and eaten
generally as part of the body of a meal, and
| as they are sold as vegetables, therefore to.
| matoes should be considered vegetables so far
| as commerce and general use are concerned
A supreme court justice said at the time
| th-t common sense and common usage should
| be guides in classifications of the sort. He
| recalled previous attempt of someone to
| prove that beans were seeds. The justice in
| that case had said:
eve do not see wEr they should be c1assed
| as seeds any more than walnuts should be
| so Classified. Both are seeds in the language
| of botany or natural history, tut not in com
| merce or in common parlance. On the other
| hand in speaking generally of provisions,
| beans may we'll be included under the term
| vegetables AS an article of food on our
| tables whether baked or boiled or forming q