498 NEW JERSEY STATE AGRICULTURAL 



From the 266 seed catalogues it is seen that eleven are listed 

 more than one hundred times and twice that number over fifty 

 times. Some of the varieties that now take a high rank have 

 come toward the front since the Bulletm above considered was 

 prepared. It is seen that some of these varieties are popular 

 for earliness as shown by their names being in the list of those 

 leading in the first pickings. Other sorts are the standards for 

 the main crop in mid-season. 



Scale of Points for Tomatoes. 



An attempt has been made to construct a scale of points by 

 which to judge the merits of any ordinary tomato. In other 

 words, a number of the leading characteristices have been esti- 

 mated separately, and the individual judgments afterwards 

 brought together upon the basis of one hundred units, as is 

 done in the various "scales of points" now in use by live stock 

 men in recording their opinions at fairs and elscAvhere. 



In the construction of such a "score card" for tomatoes, the 

 difficulties are numerous, and the present one is offered only as 

 a report of progress. Fifty of the one hundred points were 

 arbitrarily assigned to the fruit, and the remaining fifty to the 

 plant as a whole. Naturally, the plant comes before the fruit, 

 but the scheme has been arranged in the order in which the 

 work was carried out; that is, the fruit as a whole was taken 

 first, and its interior qualities were next considered, followed by 

 those of the plant. It is seen that the fifty points for the fruit 

 are considered under ten headings with varying values, as indi- 

 cated by the number of points at the head of each column. Thus 

 "surface," whether smooth or grooved, etc., is. of more conse- 

 quence than mere "color" or "skin," although a bad color or a 

 weak skin are serious objections. In the same way, "cells" and 

 "flesh" are of more weight than "size" and "shape." A tomato 

 although medium in size and out of shape, if it has small "cells," 

 little pulp and "solid flesh," is still one of much merit. 



In the plant itself "form," or desirable habit of growth, is 

 sought. In this the standard varieties are judged separatelyj 

 from the so-called dwarfs. Much stress is put upon "vigor, "< 

 or ability to thrive under suitable conditi'ons. The "foliage"^ 

 needs to be "heavy," not "thin," and strong, to resist the hotc 

 sun of our mid-summer days and the fungous and other enemies'^ 

 that attack it. Greatest stress of all is laid upon "productivcrL- 

 ness," a qualitv of plant that needs no explanation. Some sorts^ 



