ON THE TOMATO 



They took on twisted and contorted forms, and in 

 particular their leaves were curled and twisted 

 into fantastic shapes. 



As to fruit, some of the plants produced long 

 clusters with tomatoes much larger than cherries; 

 others furnished small fruit like that of one of the 

 parents. And in some cases a plant that had re- 

 tained the short stocky tree form of the common 

 tomato bore clusters of small tomatoes in bunches 

 similar to those of the other parent. 



The foliage varied astonishingly between the 

 two types. In some there was an exact compro- 

 mise that was very curious. The dark, blistered 

 leaves of the ordinary tomato, combined with the 

 long, slender leaves of the currant tomato, pro- 

 duced a most interesting effect. Other specimens 

 showed every possible gradation between the 

 parent forms. 



Here, then, was a case in which there was no 

 conspicuous dominance of one parent or the other 

 as regards any individual character that could be 

 segregated and classified. 



Neither as to size and form of plant-stalk, nor 

 as to leaf, nor as to the fruit itself, was there clear 

 prepotency or dominance of one parent over the 

 other. 



If there was an exception to this it was perhaps 

 that the fruit tended to be borne in clusters, as in 



[115] 



