The Forrest City times., 1892-10-07
A BREEDING EXPERIMENT WITH
 TOMATOES.
Interesting ts Growsrs Whs w'sh =
 Save Seed.

Interesting ts Growers Whs Wish = Save Seed.
 8. Con. of the Wisconsin Agricultural
 College.
 The extent to which plants may be modified by selection of seed IS of inter- est both to the practical cultivator and the man of science. Few systematic experiments upon this subject appear to have been reported. The one here given is not regarded as complete, but the results are thought of sufficient interest to merit presentation.
 In the fall of 1888 seed was taken by the writer, then at the New York agri- cultural experiment station xt Geneva, from thoroughly mature fruits of the Cooks Favorite tomato. and at the same time from other fruits that showed no external indications of ma turity. The latter fruits had nearly attained thoir full size, but had not commenced to change color towards ripeness. Tho following season lfSS4) plants were grown from both these se- lections of seed, and in the autumn, seeds were taken as before, i. G., from ripe fruits from the plants grown from ripe fruits, and from immature fruits from those grown from immature fruits. Plants were again grown from the two selections of seed in 1885, when seeds were again taken from the two strains as before, from which other plants were grown in 1886. From the latter crop seeds were taken and saved which were, however, not planted un- til tho spring of 1889, when plants were grown from them at this station. and the two strains have been contin- ued up to the present time. We have, therefore, one strain of the tomato grown through six generations from seeds taken from fruits that had not commenced to change color towards ripeness. The two strains have been grown side by side throughout the ex- pertinent. What has been the effect upon the plants9
 The foliage and stems of ten plants grown from the ripe seed the past sea son, from which the fruit had been all picked, weighed on September Fl. l49 bounds, while the same number from the immature seed weighed but 65} pounds. These ten plauts from the ripe seed had matured up to September 12, 1298 fruits, weighing 57 ,127 2 grammes, while the ten plants from the unripe seed matured at tho same time, 25l9 fruits, weighing l02,S76.6 grammes.
 But these differences are by no means the only ones apparent in tue two strains. The use of the immature seed has clearly tended to promote early maturity, though the degree to which this influence has been manifest has not been uniform in different sea sons. The first season (l884) the plants from the unripe seed matured their first fruit twenty days in advance of those from the ripe seed, and they had matured ton fruits ten days in ad- vance of the latter. In 1885 the two
 strains ripened first their fruit on the same day, though the one from the unripe seed matured ten fruits seven days in advance of the other. In 1886 and in 1889 the dates of the first ma. turity were not noted. In 1890 the
 strain from immature seed ripened it's first fruit eight days and 1891 at least fourteen days in advance of the other. Dr. J. c. Arthur, who grew the two strains at the Indiana experi.
 ment station in 1890, secured greater
 earliness of three weeks from the im-
 mature seed. It thus appears that in
 the five trials in which the dates of
 first maturity were noted, the strain from unripe seed gave it's first ripe
 fruit, on the average, 126 days oxrlisl thar, tho of her atruip