The Tomato

Work, Paul, 1886-1959Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.6

Word count: 124K words
Chapters: 13

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Tomato by Paul WorkAuthor: Work, Paul, 1886-1959,Language: English, Class: SB: Agriculture: Plant culture, Release Date: Nov 18, 2011

Editor's review

The Tomato is a public-domain English book by Paul Work (1886–1959), released as an e-book by Project Gutenberg in 2019 and classified under plant cultivation within agriculture. Judging from the title and category, it is a specialized agricultural work on the tomato as a crop, likely covering cultivation and growing knowledge. Its notable value lies in offering a sample of agricultural writing from a century ago: plain language aimed at practical use, letting readers understand how early tomato cultivation was described and trace how agricultural techniques evolved over time. As a free e-book, it is easy to access and convenient for searching and excerpting, making it suitable supplementary material for agricultural history enthusiasts or gardening readers. Note that the varieties, tools, and methods it discusses inevitably carry the limitations of their era and should not be applied directly to today's production; also, the book is entirely in English, posing a barrier for readers unfamiliar with agricultural vocabulary. Read it as an old farming book to browse at leisure, and the gain will come more naturally.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in tomato growing and horticulture who want a historical perspective
Readers studying agricultural history or plant cultivation literature who need early English samples
Fans of free public-domain e-books willing to read English agricultural writing
Learners with some English who want to expand vocabulary through specialized texts

Not a good fit for

Growers seeking modern high-yield cultivation techniques and pest-control solutions
Readers who struggle with English and want only Chinese gardening guides
Agricultural researchers needing the latest variety data and experimental results

Reading tips

Skim the table of contents to locate chapters on cultivation and varieties, then read by interest rather than cover to cover.
Keep a notebook to record old-fashioned practices and compare them with modern gardening knowledge.
Compile agricultural terms into a separate list and review them after finishing a first pass.
If using it for writing or research, note the original chapter when excerpting for easy citation checks later.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What aspects of the tomato does this book cover?

Judging from the title and its classification under agricultural plant cultivation, the book centers on the tomato as a crop and likely covers growing and cultivation. The available information does not list specific chapters, so readers should check the table of contents to confirm the scope before deciding which parts to read closely.

Are the growing methods in the book still usable today?

The book was written long ago, and its varieties, tools, and growing conditions differ considerably from today's, so its methods carry the limitations of their era and should not be applied directly. Treat it as historical material or a source of ideas, and rely on contemporary agricultural guidance for actual growing.

Why recommend reading this old farming book?

Its value is not in providing the latest techniques but in presenting early agricultural writing: plain language aimed at practical use, helping readers understand how cultivation knowledge evolved over time. It also suits gardening enthusiasts as light supplementary reading.

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About the author

Work, Paul, 1886-1959 Author · 1886–1959

Paul Work (1886–1959) is an author whose life dates are clear but whose biography remains sparse: his nationality, education, and professional career are not reliably documented in publicly available sources. What can be confirmed is that he left a single work, The Tomato, of which one title is held in this collection. Judging from its title, the book concerns the tomato as a crop and may address cultivation, varieties, or agricultural practice, placing it within practical horticultural or agronomic writing. Because public information is limited, his writing style, academic standing, and the contemporary influence of the work cannot be further described. For today's readers, the book is best regarded as a historical source for early twentieth-century knowledge of tomato growing and for the character of agricultural writing of the period, its value lying more in its subject matter and era than in detailed biographical facts about the author.