Volume V JULY, 1915 No. i 



HEREDITY OF TYPES OF INFLORESCENCE AND 



LJHU A 17 V 



FRUITS IN TOMATO. psw y.wk 



By M. B. crane. u^kuhm. 



■foil II lanes Horticultural Institution. 



Introduction. 



The priiiiaiy (il)ject of tlif fdllowiiig investigations in tomatoes was 

 the elucidation of the mode of the inheritance of the forms of the 

 inflorescence. Observations were also made on the inheritance of 

 fruit-shape and other characters, and the results are included in this 

 paper. 



Originally two types of inflorescence were employed, but although 

 they are widely different, it is not easy t(j give a clear morphological 

 description of them, owing to their complex nature. 



All the plants grown in these experiments were raised from one 

 original cross, namely Wonder of Italy ^ x Lister's Prolific j"; both 

 these varieties have been cultivated in this country for many years, and 

 they difier considerably in several characters. 



Most of the breeding was carried out under strict conditions in a 

 house especially corLstructod for plant-breeding, insects being excluded. 



The parent plants of a few of the F-^ families were however grown in 

 the open, but as is e.xplained later in this paper, the flower of the tomato 

 is not adapted to cross-pollination. In all cases the families in question 

 were constant to recessive characters, and individuals which proved to 

 be of the same genetic constitution gave results analogous to those 

 obtained in the breeding-house. 



It is a general practice in the cultivation of tomatoes to remove all 

 axillary growth from the plants at an early stage, and it was necessary 

 to adhere to this practice with the majority of the plants grown in these 

 experiments. A few individuals in various families were however 

 allowed to develop naturally, so that observations might be made on the 

 general branching system of the plants. 



Jourp. of Gen. v ^ 



