XXIV.] RUNNING OUT OF TOMATOES, 393 



introduced, now many years ago, it was a large 

 tomato."* Mr. W. W. Tracy, of Detroit, an expert 

 in the seed trade, informs me that he has tried in 

 vain for two or three years to secure true stock of 

 the Tilden. The Trophy shows the same tendency 

 to become inferior, and it is difficult to procure a 

 good stock of it. In the test of 1887, this fact was 

 noticed. " The Trophy is evidently not so good as 

 formerly. Our crop this year, from seeds of last 

 year's crop, showed a much greater per cent of poor 

 fruits than the crop of 1886." t Paragon begins to 

 show the same weakness. — Bulletin X. Cornell Ex- 

 periment Station, 117 {October, 1889). 



We are still confirmed in our belief that varieties 

 of tomatoes are unstable, and that they soon "run 

 out." The strongest proof of this fact, perhaps, is 

 the difficulty of maintaining any varietj^ true to its 

 type, under good culture and careful selection. The 

 variety, under this treatment, is very likely to 

 "improve" or depart from its original character. 

 An apt illustration of this has come to our experience 

 this year in the Trophy. In our last year's report 

 we observed that this standard variety is running 

 out, and that it is difficult to procure typical stock 

 of it. A careful Long Island gardener opposed the 

 statement, and cited the fact that he had kept the 

 Trophy (though somewhat improved) all these years 

 by careful treatment. He furnished us seeds, but we 



* Bailey, Bull. 31, Mieh. Agr. Coll. 22. 



tibid, 21. See " Origin of the Trophy Tomato," in Essay XXX., for further 

 notes on this variety. 



