Many years elapsed before it was used as food, and the
botanical name given to it was significant of the estimation in
which it was held by our forefathers. It was called Lycopersicum--
a compound term meaning wolf and peach; indicating that,
notwithstanding its beauty, it was regarded as a sort of "Dead Sea
fruit." The Italians first dared to use it freely; the French
followed; and after eying it askance as a novelty for unknown
years, John Bull ventured to taste, and having survived, began to
eat with increasing gusto. To our grandmothers in this land the
ruby fruit was given as "love-apples," which, adorning quaint old
bureaus, were devoured by dreamy eyes long before canning
factories were within the ken of even a Yankee's vision. Now,
tomatoes vie with the potato as a general article of food, and one
can scarcely visit a quarter of the globe so remote but he will
find that the tomato-can has been there before him. Culture of the
tomato is so easy that one year I had bushels of the finest fruit
from plants that grew here and there by chance. Skill is required
only in producing an early crop; and to secure this end the
earlier the plants are started in spring, the better. Those who
have glass will experience no difficulty whatever. The seed may be
sown in a greenhouse as early as January, and the plants potted
when three inches high, transferred to larger pots from time to
time as they grow, and by the middle of May put into the open
ground full of blossoms and immature fruit.
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