58 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 441 



remains a definite need for a first early tjpe. Several lines are now being purified 

 with this in mind. Even with Great Lakes, growers located away from the cool- 

 ing effect of the seashore have had trouble with the lettuce crop seeded in the 

 field due to scald, breakdown, and slime in the heads, brought on by hot weather 

 at heading time. The experimental plantings were so affected this year, and al- 

 most 100 percent of the Great Lakes type plants which have an unprotected head 

 were unmarketable because of breakdown. The only plants not affected were 

 those of the so-called crinkle type which have leaves that are savoyed, and also 

 have more protection from leaves on top of the head. A seed crop of this type of 

 plant is being produced for more extensive trials next year. 



Trellis Tomatoes. The work and publications of plant breeders, and the 

 offerings of commercial seedsmen of hybrid tomato seed, have created an interest 

 among local market gardeners. Because of market customs and preference, the 

 type of tomatoes produced elsewhere cannot be used locally by commercial grow- 

 ers. To determine whether there is sufficient advantage to warrant the higher 

 cost, five different tomato hj'brids were planted Several combinations of 

 strains and varieties were used in a search for the best hybrid. 



The early yield of ihe five different hybrids, all of which had as one parent 

 either Trtllis No. 22 or Waltham Forcing, was 25 percent greater than that of 

 either of these two, which are the standard by which the hybrids must be meas- 

 ured. The advantage at the three-quarter harvest period had shrunk to 16 per- 

 cent, and it was only 10 percent for the complete harvest. 



Since the greatest returns are for early tomatoes, a difference of approximately 

 1 pound more per plant from the hybrids at this stage would seem to more than 

 justify the expenditure of 1 cent per plant, which is one current quotation for 

 hybrid toniato seed. 



The fruit from some hybrids was too soft; from others too small. Considerable 

 miore testing will be required to find the best combination. 



A hybrid between determinate varieties, such as Red Cloud and Victor which 

 are very early, and Trellis No. 22, when grown by the flat culture method, pro- 

 duced a sufficient increase in yield to offer promise for the future for those grow- 

 ers who do not trellis tomatoes. 



Progress is also being made in testing Selections No. 1 and 3 by growers. 

 Selection No. 3, which has been named Waltham Scarlet, shows promise for the 

 home garden, and will be so featured by a Boston seed firm. 



Butternut Squash. Progress has been made towards the breeding of a strain of 

 high-yielding Butternut squash with a minimum of crooked, cracked, and too 

 long fruits. Inbred lines were grown during the year that produced no fruit 

 which was too long. That same strain also had no crooked fruit. An analysis 

 of the percentages of the various grades produced by the inbred lines shows that, 

 if too much reduction in the length of fruit is made, an increase occurs in the per- 

 centage of culls, i.e., fruit less than 7 inches or weighing less than a pound. 



The occurrence of cracks in the fruit seems to be associated with moisture 

 supply. Cracking takes place during and after rains that break long dry periods. 

 The tendency to crack seems to be at least partially genetic as some lines had 

 only 5.8 percent cracked fruit while others had as much as 27 percent. There 

 does not seem to be any association between cracking and any other grade de- 

 fect, such as large or crooked fruit. 



In storage experiments of an exploratory nature to determine the conditions 

 under which to test the inbred lines for keeping qualities, loss in weight of But- 



