Vegetable of a flowering plant. This is considerably different from the word's culinary meaning. While peaches, plums, and oranges are "fruit" in both senses, many items commonly called "vegetables", such as eggplants, bell peppers, and tomatoes, are botanically fruits. The question of whether the tomato is a fruit or a vegetable found its way into the United States Supreme Court in 1893. The court ruled unanimously in "Nix v. Hedden" that a tomato is correctly identified as, and thus taxed as, a vegetable, for the purposes of the Tariff of 1883 on imported produce. The court did acknowledge, however, that, botanically
Edward L. Hedden and replaced him with George H. Sterling, without administering a civil service exam, as this was not required by law. The decision was attacked by civil service reformers, who believed the appointment was politically motivated and that Sterling was incompetent, although Hedden defended his choice. Eventually, President Cleveland demanded a competitive examination and Sterling lost the post. On August 7, 1886, Hedden resigned his post and was replaced by Daniel Magone. In 1887, Hedden was named as the defendant in the case "Nix v. Hedden", in which fruit importer John Nix sued Hedden to recover duties Nix believed were unnecessary.