Edward L. Hedden Nix wished to exempt his tomato imports from a vegetable tariff included in the Tariff of 1883, as tomatoes are botanically considered fruit. In 1893, the Supreme Court ruled against Nix, stating that tomatoes were generally considered vegetables and thus should be taxed as such. Edward L. Hedden Edward Long Hedden (December 24, 1828 – February 6, 1893) was Collector of the Port of New York from 1885 to 1886. Hedden was born in 1828, in New York City, New York, to Josiah Hedden (who had studied law under Alexander Hamilton) and Elizabeth June Hedden. In 1855, he married Elizabeth
Nix v. Hedden the plaintiffs' counsel entered into evidence definitions of the words "fruit" and "vegetables" from Webster's Dictionary, Worcester's Dictionary, and the Imperial Dictionary. They called two witnesses, who had been in the business of selling fruit and vegetables for 30 years, and asked them, after hearing these definitions, to say whether these words had "any special meaning in trade or commerce, different from those read." During testimony, one witness testified that in regard to the dictionary definition: Another witness testified that "I don't think the term 'fruit' or the term 'vegetables' had, in March 1883, and prior thereto, any special meaning