Grand Forks herald., 1922-08-26
Washington. D. c., Aug, pa
fruit isn't always a fruit; sometimes
It a VEGETABLE.


This is not an account Of vaud eville
magic by which apples might rnirac-
ulously 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 4 court deigned
to turn into a vegetable was the to-
n1Ato. Another time the watermelon
was brought. into court. and an at
tempt was made to prove that it was
la vegetable. But the court stood by
tradition. The Watermelon remained
a friIft. ,... ~.
All this occurred several decades
ago. The courts and the dictionary
have laid down lines Of guidance for
steering straight course in Classify
ing fruits and vegetables, so that no
bers. pumpkins. canteloupes, or string
bea ns are vegetables or not.
Yet, in spite Of that question's be-
ing settled. presumably Tor all time to
come. once in while somebody who
has forgotten about the famous toma-
to case. or who never heard of it,
writes to the department Of agricul-
ture to know whether in stated in
stances he is consuming a vegetable
or fruit
The question seems pertinent now
because 1t 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
on vegeta bles, and a West Indian firm
was convinced that the tomato should
be 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 it's money.
1t presented evidence showing THAI
botannically tomato is a fruit 1t
contains the seeds Of the plant and It
is the product of the blossom.
But, the government pointed out,
fruit, as are other products which GUS
tom clearly classifies as vegetables.
The dictionary and produce men were
quoted The dictionary took the stand
that an agricultural> product which
was M ore adapted to be eaten as des.
sert than in the main body of the
meal was fruit.
Court Reverses Botany. a5
The supreme court decided that as
tomatoes are grown in kitchen gar
dens, and eaten generally as part OF
the body Of meal, and as they are
sold as vegetables, therefore tomatoes
should be considered vegetables so far
as commerce and general use are con.
cerned.
A supreme court Justice said at the
time that common sense and commo
usage should he guides in classifica-
tions of the sort. He recalled pre-
vious attempt OF someone TO prove
that beans were seeds The justice
in that case had said:
we do not see why they should be
classed 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 com
merce or in common parlance. On
the other hand. In speakins generally
cluded uhder tho term vegetables
Al an articiA 'of food on our tables
whether baked Or boiled or forming
basis Of /xoup, they ars. used a. Z
vegetable ~ Wall when ripe rs when
green This - the principal use to
which they are put" "a !.
The HatSr1peiSn case was argued .
fsw years later along similar lines.
WatermeIons were being shipped up
from Mexico to- Arizona. Al green
fruits were on the free list in the tar
III schedule the dealers went to law
to prove tkat p watermelon is q green
fruit. This dime restaurant menus
were brought into court to show that
hotels classify watermelon among
fruits and di1gertz. The main argu-
EnNnt 6Eninik the watermelon "a 4 !