SEPTEMBER 1906 
The most economical variety for the 
home garden is one that begins to bear early, 
and continues to yield evenly over a long 
period. Some otherwise excellent varieties 
have been introduced at times which bore 
superb looking fruits in one big crop, and 
then stopped. Such types do not find favor. 
COLOR AND QUALITY 
The question of color is one on which in- 
dividual judgment and fancy has large play. 
There are four distinct color groups of toma- 
toes; three shades of red, which may be 
distinguished as pink, scarlet and crimson or 
purple; and yellow. There is a distinct 
correlation of flavor and color. Without 
exception the yellow fruited varieties are 
sweeter than the red ones and also contain 
less of the peculiar acidity which after all 
is the great charm of the tomato. 
Of the red group, the scarlet ones appeal 
most strongly to the largest number of people. 
There is an indescribable quality in a rich 
bright scarlet that positively seems to make 
one’s mouth water. Even though the pink 
or crimson varieties were actually better 
quality than the scarlets, still we are sure that 
the scarlets would be the most popular. We 
see it in other things. Bright red is instinct- 
tively associated in one’s mind with high 
quality. The crimson or purple fruits, as a 
matter of fact, embrace some of the very 
best varieties, as for instance Trucker’s 
Favorite, which, though one of the more 
recent varieties, has attained a permanent 
place in the popular fancy. 
EARLINESS ALL SUFFICIENT 
As a rule, earliness is obtained at the ex- 
pense of quality. It is so in all our garden 
fruits and vegetables. Of recent years the 
seedsmen have been making one continuous 
effort to introduce earlier tomatoes, that is 
to say, varieties that will carry full crops in 
the shortest period after starting the seed. 
As a matter of fact advances in this respect 
have been very little. From time to time a 
novelty is heralded as being a week to ten 
days earlier than the earliest hitherto known, 
and calculating from the time when tomatoes 
first came into general cultivation, we would 
by this time easily have arrived at the stage of 
getting the ripe crop before the seed was sown! 
J 
This sort of tomato is very wasteful when sliced. The 
stalk end is all loss 
THE GARDEN -MAGAZINE 
Cherry tomatoes, lessthan aninchindiameter. Might 
as well have larger fruits for the same labor 
A poor type of hollow fruit. Such large seed cavities 
are wasteful, and awkward to serve sliced 
Always select a fruit that is 
The ideal of solidity. 
heavy in comparison with its size 
The standard of earliness to-day is probably 
Sparks’ Earliana. It exactly fits the stated 
ideals of a quality tomato, in size, color, and 
solidity. It is also an abundant yielder for 
about four weeks. For a main crop variety, 
the old favorite Stone is still unsurpassed. 
Doubtless there are others as good. It is 
large, smooth, solid, scarlet, slightly flattened. 
It has one attribute which may be counted as 
a slight weakness, but should not be allowed 
to interfere with appreciation of its real qual- 
ities. Toward the end of the season the skin 
is somewhat prone to split at the basal or 
stalk end of the fruit. 
A TOUGH SKINNED EXAMPLE 
The skin thickness of the fruit has a great 
deal to do with its qualities as a shipper. 
The harder, tougher, or thicker the skin, the 
better the fruit is for shipping, of course. 
But we for home use don’t need to study ship- 
ping qualities. If we did, we would al] be 
growing Honor Bright. It will withstand 
almost any sort of hard usage, and it is curi- 
ously interesting, because it ripens, or rather 
it colors from the inside working outward. 
When in the first stage of ripeness, the fruit 
changes from green to a peculiar yellow- 
ish white. When of a golden yellow, it can 
be picked and given rough handling without 
suffering injury, and it will ultimately ripen 
off into the brightest scarlet. But for com- 
fort in eating, you have to remove the very 
63 
tough skin. The home gardener can afford 
to start with a skin that is considerably more 
delicate. The tender skinned varieties have 
a tendency to split, especially when they are 
under highest cultivation, which means that 
the fruits are juicy to the bursting degree. 
Other things being equal, always give 
preference to a fruit of even form and smooth 
outline. It eases the handling for table. 
There is practically no waste in a smooth 
surfaced tomato. A ribbed fruit of the old- 
time type is wasteful to a degree, especially 
as both the flower and stalk ends resolve 
themselves into stringy irregular rings. 
There is thus a loss in slicing of perhaps 
15 to 20 per cent. Equally, a solid fruit, 
that is one in which the seeds are few and 
the divisions of the cavity both many and 
thick, is a better fruit for the table. It is 
easier to slice, and to handle subsequently. 
An open celled tomato falls to pieces easily. 
ADD SUGAR IN COOKING 
When cooking tomatoes, the addition of 
sugar becomes necessary. As a matter of 
fact, the chief nutritive value of the tomato 
lies in its sugar content, and in many pro- 
cesses of cooking this is dissolved or modified, 
which would seem to indicate the desirability 
of adding sugar directly. Ripe tomatoes are 
nearly 5 per cent. sugar, and it has been 
found practically one-half of this is lost in the 
process of cooking. This is_ particularly 
true of the red varieties. The yellow kinds 
have seemingly a greater sugar content; for 
it is certain that when cooked they do not 
acquire that extra acid quality which char- 
acterizes the red ones. Far from having to 
add sugar to the cooked yellow fruit, there 
appears to be still an absence of acidity. 
When serving sliced tomatoes, especially 
if you grow thick skinned varieties, it is well 
to get rid of the skin. 
Rub the blade of a silver knife all over the 
surface. This is a better way than the usual 
one of scalding them, which loosens the skin 
but however quickly done, seems to impart a 
‘““cooked”’ flavor. After peeling, slice the 
fruits and place them on ice, or ina cold place 
for an hour, to get thoroughly chilled. They 
can be used for salad, baked, stewed or fried. 
Stirling Castle,an early crop variety, and good for fore- 
ing. Abundant bearer of moderate sized fruits 
