Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XV.djvu/822

 792 TOMATO racemose clusters of yellow flowers, which, with the exception in the anthers already noted, have a similar structure to those of the sola- nums. (See SOLANUM.) The fruit is normally a two- or three-celled berry, but in the culti- vated plant there are usually numerous cells ; the fruit, especially in the larger specimens, of- ten has a very complicated structure, resulting from the union of two or more flowers ; their pistils being fused together present at maturity a curiously abnormal fruit, in which all traces of the original structure are lost. The culti- vated tomatoes present a great variety in form, color, and size, and it is not known whether they are from several species or are differ- ent forms of one very variable species. The plant is remarkably plastic, and by selecting seeds from fruit with desirable peculiarities, it is very easy to establish a strain or variety. When tomatoes were first cultivated in our gardens there Avas but one variety ; this had a Tree-formed Tomato. large, red, much wrinkled, and often irregular and misshapen fruit, with a thick outer wall, and a central placenta bearing the seeds sur- rounded by their pulp, and a considerable cav- ity or empty space between the two. By se- lection this was improved as to its surface, and greater solidity acquired, and the strain known as the smooth red was obtained, which is still one of the best. The variety known as the "Trophy" probably combines more good qualities than any other; it has very large and smooth fruit, which is solid throughout, and of the best possible quality; this is the result of 20 years' careful selection by an in- telligent grower, with a definite end in view. Many attempts have been made to increase the earliness of the fruit, but improvement in this direction is limited by the law that every plant needs a certain aggregate amount of heat to bring it to maturity; the varieties "Con- queror" and "Canada Victor" have appar- ently reached this limit. Among the very TOM GEEEN distinct varieties is the "Feejee," which has a large rose or pinkish red fruit; there are several yellow varieties and one nearly white large one, and there are both yellow and red of smaller sorts named according to the shape and size of the fruit, such as the pear, plum, and cherry tomatoes; the currant tomato, which has berries scarcely larger than a large currant, in long racemes, and delicate foliage, is very ornamental, and apparently a distinct species, probably L. cerasiforme. The upright or tree tomato originated in France ; its main stem is thick, and its few branches so short and strong that it carries its weight of large fruit without support ; but it is not very pro- ductive. Less than half a century ago the to- mato was almost unknown to northern gar- dens, or cultivated in them only as a curiosity, but at present it is one of the most popular of vegetables. As the fruit will color and ripen when picked green, it can be transported to great distances, if properly packed in small crates with abundant openings for ventilation ; the first tomatoes in the northern markets come from Bermuda, appearing in February, followed successively by contributions from Florida, Georgia, &c., before the fruit from the gardens near by is ripe. At the north the seeds are sown in hot-beds, the young plants set out in other hot-beds, and finally transplanted to cold frames, where they may be protected at night until the weather is warm enough to set them in the open ground. Light, well ma- nured soils are better than heavy ones for this crop ; in field culture the plants soon fall over with the weight of fruit and are allowed to lie upon the ground, but in private gardens they are supported by a frame or trellis, or tacked up to a fence or the side of a building ; by proper pruning and removing the excess of young fruit, the size and quality of that allowed to ripen is greatly improved. The tomato is used in a great variety of ways, being eaten raw as a salad, stewed, baked, broiled, and as an in- gredient of soups, stews, and sauces; it is used to make a popular catsup, and is pickled and preserved in various ways. The strawberry tomato is described under PHTSALIS. TOMBIGBEE, Tombigby, or Tombeckbee, a river of Mississippi and Alabama, which rises in Tishomingo co. in the N". E. extremity of the former state. It first flows S. to Columbus, thence S. E. to Demopolis, Ala., where it re- ceives the Black Warrior on the left, and thence generally S., with many and sudden windings, to its junction with the Alabama, about 45 m. from Mobile, where the united stream takes the name of Mobile river, and falls into Mobile bay about 30m. from the gulf of Mexico. Its length is estimated at 450 m., and it is navigable for large steamboats to Co- lumbus, 366 m. from the mouth of Mobile river. TOM GREEN, a S. W. county of Texas, formed in 1874;. area, about 14,000 sq. m. It is bounded S. W. by the Pecos river and N. W. by New Mexico. In the east it is intersect-