Laridreth tomato improvement work started many years ago. Because of 
the importance of the plant as the basis for selection, all tomato fields of the varieties 
to be improved must be carefully examined. The best plants are staked, given 
numbers, and the seed from each plant is saved separately. 
Figure 2 —A Typical Select Tomato Plant —Note the uniformity of the 
tomatoes, the large yield of early fruits and the healthiness of the vine. Many 
hundreds of these are selected and given numbers every year. 
Every year, seed from each staked plant the previous year is planted separately 
and a plot grown of each selection. For six years, a system for the elimination of 
the poorer plant selections has been followed. This consists in: 
First—grading and weighing the fruits from each selection. 
Second—examining each plant for detection of disease and trueness to type. 
Third—examining the exterior and interior color of the ripe fruits. 
Fourth—careful notations on the shape and size of the fruits. 
Fifth—the internal structure of the fruits carefully examined. 
Every year this elimination is going on, the careful records taken, and the 
discarding of the plant selections which do not measure up to our very high standards. 
It is no wonder that numerous tests at various State Agricultural Experiment 
Stations have shown that our Certified Tomato Seed is a superior product. Ask 
your own State Experiment Station about it. 
