EXPERIMENT STATION REPORT. U^ 



variety, smooth and handsome, with few seeds." It is found that 

 Burr, above referred to, in his book,* now approaching old age, but 

 full of valuable information, adds but little to Dr. Sturtevant's state- 

 ment when it says, under "Seedless Tomato," "Very similar to, if 

 not identical with, 'Perfected Fruit,' almost rose-red, solid and with 

 comparatively few seeds." The "Perfected," including the so- 

 called "Seedless," it is stated, is an "improved sub- variety ob- 

 tained from the Common Large Red by cultivation and selection." 

 To further quote: "From the time of the introduction of the- 

 tomato into general use in this country, the Large Red was almost 

 the only kind cultivated or even commonly known." 



These notes show that what was called the "Seedless Tomato" 

 was only so in name ; that it came upon the horticultural horizon be- 

 fore the development of the "Trophy" and its class, and it was a 

 cultural form of the old, original red tomato, and is now lost from 

 sight. A second fact of special value is Dr. Sturtevant's opinion 

 as to the comparatively high quality of seedless tomatoes and the 

 quickly-following inference that the reduction of the seeds would be 

 at the gain of value to the fruit. 



With this as an introductory, it may be of interest to state that 

 absolutely seedless tomatoes have been produced at the New Jersey 

 Experiment Station, and the following is a record of how the desired' 

 and possibly quite novel fruit was obtained : 



In the breeding of tomatoes, that has been going on for some years, 

 only two varieties have been employed, namely, the " Dwarf^Cham- 

 pion," representing the stiff -stemmed, upright type, sometimes called 

 the "Tree" tomatoes, and the " Golden Sunrise," which js a]_low- 

 spreading, large, rapid-growing variety, practically the opposite of 

 the first mentioned. The "Champion" bears a medium-sized, red 

 fruit, and the "Sunrise" has a large, golden-yellow berry. These 

 two sorts prove to be sufficiently distinct for the breaking up of their 

 types when brought together in the process of crossing. Asja result, 

 there are many offsprings, that combine closely some of thecharacter- 

 istics of the parents, while others are left unchanged. This is 

 observed in the stems and foliage, and perhaps more noticeably in 

 the fruit, Avhich may be mottled with the red and yellow. One ot 

 the ends sought, and being reached, is a fruit with a blush like su. 

 "Crawford" peach, at the same time being of high quality and 

 borne by vigorous and prolific plants. 



*"The Field and Garden Vegetables of America," Fearing Burr, Jr., 1865. 



