General Grant, The Tomato of 1870

Less than 10 years before this tomato was named, this country was fighting one of the bloodiest wars we have ever known.  To name a tomato after General Grant seems frivolous given how recently in 1870 more than tomato sauce was reddening the land.

However...from the good tradition of marketing your product, as a name to proclaim your tomato victorious over all others, it can not be faulted!  I certainly don't...but it still seems odd.  Maybe that's because we no longer name our veggies after people...the Colin Powell Potato, or Obama Aubergine.  We do have the Bush Bean come to think of it, but you know what I mean.

This tomato was so heralded in so many publications that I had to take notice.  I assume Washburn and Co. were excellent promoters of their tomato, but it also seems it was a very good tomato for that time!  Commented upon was the fact it was a smooth round fruit, as are most of our modern store tomatoes.

I can't figure out why Mr. Waring (above) is charging the HUGE sum of $5 for 25 seeds.  Then again, on eBay you find people offering stuff at bizarre prices...fishing for a lunatic I suppose. Or, more likely, it is just a clever way to get us to talk about the General Grant!  Cool.