The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-08-26
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
WHEN A FRUIT is A VEGETABLE.
FREDERIC ,. HASKIN. DireCtnF.
wGshingtOn, ID. Q.

Washington, D. c., Aug. ga fruit
isn't always a fruit; sometimes it's a
vegetable.
This is not an account of vaudeville
magic by which apples might mfrac-
ulously be turned into turnips. 1t has
more to do with that solemn and logi-
cal 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 vege-
table But the court stood by tradi-
ton. The watermelon remained a
fruit.
All this occurred several decades
ago The courts and the dictionary
have laid down lines of guidance for
steering a straight course in classify
ing fruit and vegetables, so that no
one need worry over whether cucum-
bers, pumpkins, cantaloupes, or string
beans are vegetables or not.
| yet, in spite of that questions be-
| ing settled, presumably for all time TO
come, once in a while somebody who
has forgotten about the famous
/ tomato case, or who never heard or
| it, writes to the department of agri-
culture to know whether in stated in
stances he is consuming a vegetable or
| a fruit.
The question seems pertinent now
because it has just been raised again
and because the new tariff bill illus
trateS how the tomato got into court
back in the eighties. 1t was a tariff
| law that did it, the bureau of plant
| industry explains. The tariff on fruits
in general was lower than the tariff
on vegetables, and a West Indian firm
was convinced that the tomato should
be a fruit The company entered its
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 its money.
botanically a tomato is a fruit. 1t
contains the seeds of the plant and
it is the product of the blossom.
But, the government pointed out,
botanically speaking squashes are
fruit, as are other products which
custom clearly classifies as vegetables.
The dictionary and produce men were
quoted. The dictionary took the stand
that an agricultural product which
was more adapted to be eaten as des-
sert than in the main body of the
meal was g. fruit.
Court ReYerses Botany.
The supreme court decided that. as
tomatoes are grown in kitchen gar
dens, and eaten generally as part of
the body of a meal and as they are
sold as vegetables, therefore tomatoes
should be considered vegetables SO
far as commerce and general use are
concerned.
a supreme court justice said at
the time that common sense and COM
mon usage should be guides in CLASH
ficationS of the sort. He recalled a
previous attempt of someone to prove
lat beans were seeds. The justice
that case had said:
I'VE do not see why they should be
c.asSed as seeds any more than wal
nuts should be so classified. Both are
seeds in the language of botany or
natural history but not in commerce
or in common parlance. On the other
hand, in speaking generally of provi-
sions. beans may well be included I'M
der the term vegetables As an ar
ticle of food on our tables, whether
baked or boiled or forming a basis of
soup, they are used as vegetable as
well when ripe as when green. This
is the principal use to which they are
put"
The watermelon case was argued a
few years later along similar lines. |
Watermelons were being shipped up
from Mexico to Arizona. AS green
fruits were on the free list in the |
tariff schedule the dealers went to |
law to prove that a watermelon is a |
green fruit This time restaurant !
menus were brought into court to |
show that hotels classify watermelon |
among fruits and desserts. The main |
argument against the watermelon as a !
fruit was that the seeds are commonly |
listed among vegetable seeds. Yet the |
watermelon is sold by dealers as a |
fruit. The court made the obvious
decision.
If dessert is the key word, it might |
logically be asked whether pumpkins |
are not fruit. They are certainly used |
to a great extent in pie which is GER |
tainly dessert. The department of |
agriculture merely smiles at this sug-
gest1on. Pie, pickles and preserves |
are manufactured products, it seems, |
and it would be impracticable to re- /
classify an agricultural product on /
the basis of what can be manufac-
tured from 1t.
Now Comes the Avocado.
Perhaps the latest controversy on i
this subject occurred over the avo-
cado. Because the avocado is called /
the alligator pear in this country there !
was an argument as to whether IL |
should come under the paragraph in
tariff law providing a certain rate for
pears. 1t was finally decided that it is
a misnomer to call the avocado a pear.
1t was further brought out that
while this tropical fruit may be eaten
In this country it is almost invariably
served as a salad, which would seem
to make the alligator pear a vegetable.
But no; it was assigned to the general
section of the tariff law fixing the
rate on fruits in the natural state not
otherwise provided for.
A tariff act generally mentions spe-
the most common fruits and
and fixes a rate on each.
The rest are bulked together in several
paragraphs One sets the rate on
vegetables In their natural state and
not specially provided for" Another
paragraph may state the rate on
Vegetables If cut, sliced, or otherwise
reduced in size, or If parched or roast
ed, or If picked or packed in salt,
brine, oil or prepared or preserved in
any other way and not specially pro-