296 Report OF THE HorTICULTURAL DEPARTMENT OF THE 
tural societies often refuse to award premiums. to fruits which 
have been modified in this way. In this experiment with the 
tomato, however, there was no difference to be noted in regard to 
either color or flavor. Daniel’ reports that the product of ringed 
tomatoes and egg-plants in his experiments lacked flavor and that 
the deterioration was very marked. He says that the “ flavor was 
insipid and less savory’ than with fruits on unringed plants. 
Effect on foliage.— The foliage of the ringed plants was more 
or less abnormal but not nearly so much so as with the chrysan- 
themum. The foliage of forced tomatoes not infrequently takes 
on a peculiar curved pendent position with elevated cushiony 
areas, more succulent than on normal plants. This abnormal | 
condition results from derangement of the cell tissue because of 
the disturbance of the physiological processes. When exagger- 
ated, this condition becomes a disease, the cedema of the tomato, 
named and described by Atkinson. The plants of the ringed 
tomatoes seemed to suffer from a mild case of cedema. Accord- 
ing to Atkinson cedema is brought about® “ by an excess of water 
which stretches the cell walls, making them very thin and the 
cells very large.’ It would seem from theoretical considerations, 
and from the behavior of the plants’ as well, that ringing, in 
checking the flow of plastic material downward, causes an ex- 
cessive quantity to be stored in the leaves and in this way brings 
on the swelling and the distortion of certain parts known 1s 
cedema. ‘There were slight differences in color to be noted in the 
foliage of ringed and unringed plants, probably due to the break- 
ing down of the stretched cell walls, causing the death of the 
cells and consequent injury to the adjacent parts followed by the 
yellowish tinge indicating diseased or dead tissues. 
Effect on the roots —The theory of ringing, to promote fruit- 
fulness by keeping the prepared plant food in the top of the 
plant, acknowledges that the top is fed at the expense of the 
roots. Should the wound of the ring never heal over, the roots 
must starve and die unless there should be foliage below the ring 
to support them. The roots of the ringed tomatoes in this 
experiment showed the effects of this starvation. As with the 
chrysanthemum roots illustrated in Plate XXIV they were less in 
number and of smaller size. 

" Daniel, Lo. Compt... Rend. Acad... Scr’ (Paris), 131: 1253-55. 4. oo 
* Atkinson, Geo. F. N. Y. Cornell Sta. Bul. 53. 1893. 
° Idem, p. 107. 
