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Old August 1, 2017   #10
JLJ_
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Wyoming
Posts: 759
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Due to my well known allegiance to Marglobe [g] -- I have quite a bit of info on Marvel, but no time to chase it at the moment. If anyone does run down the original Marvel, please blow trumpets, as I've been looking for it, too. I'd think that as a significant USDA development it *should* be lurking in some US or perhaps Canadian seed bank or archive, but . . . ?

At least it survives in its children.

FWIW, the little bit below may be of interest to those looking for info about it.

As Merveille des Marches was a famous tomato in its day, known among other things as a "disease resistant" tomato, it's not surprising that there were many derivations from it that in English speaking nations were named "Marvel." However, I noticed when she began listing a Marvel tomato that the Marvel Tania sells appears to be of a later date and description different from "the" Marvel -- the famous parent of Marglobe and ancestor of many, many current tomato varieties. Origin of "the" Marvel is well recorded in many locations -- developed in the USA in the early 20th century via many generation selection from Merveille des Marches by Fred Pritchard.

There is some info about Marvel here -- also interesting discussions in Pritchard's work concerning what some now call tolerance vs resistance, ie plants that exhibit a disease, plants where non-apparent disease may be detected via microscopic exam of internal parts, and . . . rare . . . instances where a plant just does not appear to acquire the disease:

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https://ia801703.us.archive.org/11/i...il1015prit.pdf


BULLETIN 1015, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. March 28, 1922

DEVELOPMENT OF WILT-RESISTANT TOMATOES.

By Fred J. Pritchard, Physiologist, Office of Cotton, Truck, and Forage Crop
Disease Investigations.

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Below is my record of Pritchard's description of his "Marvel" tomato from pages 15, 16 . . . and 17? of the brochure above (though looking at one copy of that brochure, p 16 seems to not be displaying, which may be confusing):

"The Marvel is a selection from Merveille des Marches (Marvel of the Market), a French variety sold by Vilmorin-Andrieux & Co., Paris, France. Before it was named it was distributed for trial as F 59. The Marvel and F 59 are therefore the same variety.

Under favorable conditions the Marvel produces a heavy crop of medium-early smooth red fruit, similar in size, shape, and smoothness to the fruit shown in Plate IX, figure 1. It usually sets a great many fruits and continues to bear heavily long after most early varieties are dead.

It is highly resistant to tomato wilt and possesses a little resistance to tomato leaf-spot {Septoria lycopersici).

It is an excellent variety for forcing, for medium-early trucking, and for home gardening. Its wonderful vitality of vine, its relative freedom from diseases, and its superior fruit for use in the fresh state make it an excellent tomato for all-round use.

Variety very productive, medium early, long bearing, highly resistant to tomato wilt (Fusarium lycopersici) , somewhat resistant to leaf-spot (Septoria lycopersici) and to leaf-mold (Cladosporium fulvum).

Plant medium large, erect, vigorous ; branches many, long, medium stout: internodes long.

Foliage type, standard: leaves large, deeply divided, smooth, dark green, shading the fruit.

Flowers large ; fruit cluster small, many, scattered.
---last paragraph from elusive page 16? ---
Fruit medium large, oblate, bright red, with occasional shallow cracks either encircling or radiating from the stem; stem-end cavity shallow, smooth; blossom-end basin small ; stylar scar small, circular ; skin thin ; vertical section medium long, oval ; cross section round, smooth ; walls thick, firm, juicy, evenly colored ; cells many, small, irregular, well filled : seeds fairly numerous, small; pulp medium thick; core not defined; flavor sprightly acid."
---slightly acid???---

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As I believe this is long out of copyright should be OK to include this image from the brochure above -- "the" Marvel looked like this: (Of course, in those days, a smooth round red tomato was kind of the "new thing".
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Tomatoes Marvel and Arlington.jpg (134.0 KB, 64 views)
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