Halsted: Reciprocal Breeding in Tomatoes 



173 



is 13.43%, in length 4.23% and in width 

 5.28%. 



The relation of the color of the fruit 

 (red or yellow) to the size and weight of 

 the fruit is given in Table X. 



Table X shows that the plants with 

 red fruits produced heavier and larger 

 tomatoes than did the plants with 

 yellow fruits, the difference in weight 

 being 11.59% and in length and width 

 3.20% and 4.88% respectively. 



The green foliage carries more chloro- 

 ph}'ll than yellow foliage and therefore 

 it may be expected to have the greater 

 photosynthetic power; and this may 

 account for the dift'erences in weight and 

 size of fi-uits. Excepting this single 

 factor the series of tables shows that the 

 Mendelian characters, associated in the 

 Dandy Dwarf, are correlated with the 

 larger fruit. This is in the face of the 

 do\Anward pull of the factor for yellow 

 foliage. 



Weight, Length, Width, 

 Number gr. mm. mm. 

 The extracted 



Yellow Cherry. 31 11.31 22.07 27.61 

 The extracted 



Dandy Dwarf.. 4 17.00 25.20 33.60 



From this table it is computed that the 

 excess of weight and size of the fruits 

 from plants of the Dandy Dwarf type 

 over those of the Yellow Cherry are 

 50.31, 14.18 and 22.48 per cent respec- 

 tively. 



As frequently shown in plant breed- 

 ing, it is here found that the fruits of 

 the Fi plants exceed in weight and size 

 those of the Fo plants, as shown below : 



Weight, Length, Width, 



gr. mm. mm. 



Fi 16.38 27.21 34.41 



F2 13.45 23.38 29.09 



It might be more to the point to make 

 the comparison with only the F2 plants 

 that show the Mendelian characters of 

 Fi. There are 40 of these in one cross 

 and 38 in its reciprocal, and the results 

 for these 78 ]5lants — extracted Fi if one 

 may so call them, are as follows: 



It is seen that the differences between 

 the Fi and the F2 are here greater than 

 when all the F2 plants are considered. 



The present study of the F2 of a true 

 reciprocal cross of the two widely 

 differing varieties of tomatoes suggests, 

 that for the Mendelian characters the 

 seed parent in both combinations shows 

 a more potent influence over the off- 

 spring than does its mate, the pollen 

 parent. But with characters of fruit 

 weight and size requiring averages for 

 an expression of results, the evidence 

 points in the opposite direction, namely 

 that the pollen parent is the more influ- 

 ential. 



When the results of both crosses are 

 combined, it is noted that the fruits of 

 greater weight and size are produced 

 by: (1) Dwarf plants, (2) green-foliage 

 plants, (3) coarse-leaved plants, (4) red- 

 fruited plants. The extracted Dandy 

 Dwarf plants, so far as the Mendelian 

 characters are concerned, had unusually 

 large fruits and contrariwise the ex- 

 tracted Yellow Cherry plants for their 

 segregating characters had compara- 

 tively small fruits. 



Proposed South African Agricultural Census 



The announcement is made in Com- 

 merce Reports that a census is soon to 

 be taken of all agricultural resources in 

 the Union of South Africa. The census 

 is to be exhaustive and will embrace 

 live stock, cereals, dairy products, viti- 

 culture, the area of farms, the number 

 of ag-ricultural employees, irrigation of 

 land, aft'orestation, and such matters as 



will be necessary to afford complete in- 

 formation on those subjects. Provision 

 is to be made for the returns to show 

 the ages and classes of stock, sheep, 

 ostriches, poultry, horses, mules, and 

 asses. Data on stock diseases and losses 

 from droughts will be collected, and 

 farm implements are to be enumerated, 

 while at the same time all phases of 

 wine cultivation will be classified. 



