121 



These figures express merely the ratio between weight and vol- 

 ume ; or, in other words, they give an accurate measure of the ab- 

 solute weight of different fruits. For purposes of comparison, this 

 method presents some advantages over mere specific gravity. The 

 lowest ratios are evidently the measures of greatest weight. The 

 heaviest tomatoes, size for size, in the above test are, therefore, 

 Jones' XXX. Volunteer, Prelude, and Alpha, while the lightest 

 are General Grant, Paragon, and Favorite. But the figures are 

 nevertheless not a measure of solidity, for which they were made, 

 inasmuch as solidity depends somewhat upon the strength of the 

 fleshy portions of the fruit : two tomatoes, exactly alike in weight 

 and volume, may differ in solidity. 



An experiment was undertaken to determine if keeping qualities 

 are correlated with solidity. Representative samples of man}' va- 

 rieties, taken so far as possible in the same stage of maturity', were 

 placed together upon a forcing-house table and the fruits were re- 

 moved as soon as they began to deca}-. It was found that some 

 of the frailest varieties kept the longest. It appears, therefore, 

 that solidity must be measured by a general judgment rather than 

 b}- any definite expression. This conclusion is quite at variance 

 with common opinion. 



Much has been said concerning the superiority of certain varie- 

 ties for cooking purposes, aside from qualit}- of fruit. There is 

 said to be characteristic differences between varieties in time of 

 cooking and amount of shrinkage. A painstaking cooking test 

 was made with a few varieties, but the results are so variable as to 

 appear to be merely accidental or characteristic of individual 

 fruits. The fruits were cut into thin slices and placed in boiling 

 water. The shrinkages in weight and bulk do not appear to be 

 correlated. In som^ instances shrinkage was slight, while in oth- 

 er varieties, equally as solid and good, it was great. The test in- 

 dicates, so far as it goes, that judgments founded upon the man- 

 ner in which varieties cook, are unreliable. The results are given 

 for what they are worth : 



