Just for fun - these are the Burpee tomatoes in 1939

[nctomatoman]

Seems like one of my goals is going to be to try to go for a complete collection of Burpee seed catalogs (well, maybe between 1900 and 1960 or something like that).

Today I just got a 1939 Burpee - here is what they listed for tomatoes:

Red fruited (21 listed):

Break O'Day (bullseye variety)
Pritchard (Scarlet Topper) (bullseye)
John Baer
Sunnybrook Earliana
Grothen's Globe (bullseye)
Spark's Earliana
Penn State (bullseye)
The Burbank
Early Baltimore
Farthest North
Bonny Best
Nystate
Marglobe (bullseye)
Dwarf' Stone
Chalks Early Jewel
Matchless (bullseye)
Stone
Rutgers (bullseye)
Norton
Beefsteak
Greater Baltimore

Pink fruited (14 listed):

Fordhook First
June Pink
Burpee's Globe (bullseye)
Early Detroit
Sweetmeat
Gulf State Market
Self Pruning
Trucker's Favorite
Dwarf Giant (bullseye)
Jack O'Hearts (bullseye)
Oxheart
The Burpee
Glovel
True Giant Ponderosa (bullseye)

Yellow or Orange fruited (5 listed):

Tangerine (bullseye)
Golden Ponderosa
Golden Queen
Yellow Pear
Yellow Plum

So, a total of 40 different tomatoes...surprised to not see red cherry or plum, or any paste tomatoes.

I think most people remember Burpee for using the Bullseye on what they consider to be their top varieties.

A few things surprised me on the list - they obviously consider Chalk's, Baer and Bonny Best to be distinct/different, others think that they are so similar that they are essentially synonyms.

A few rather rare pinks are on the list that seem to be long gone or renamed- The Burpee, Sweetmeat, and Jack O'Hearts.

And Tangerine sounds interesting - they describe it as 4 inches or more in diameter, with an orange skin color but a much paler hued interior. Another one that may be gone or renamed??

[mjc]

I vote for renamed...

Tangerine's description sounds familiar...

There is a WV Sweet Meat that's floating around (patty_b) that is a large pink, I wonder if it is any relation to the original SM from Burpee catalog?

[carolyn137]

http://tomatoville.com/showthread.ph...ight=sweetmeat

Here's Patty's comments about W VA sweetmeat.

[mjc]

Tania has it list as pink...

http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/W...inia_Sweetmeat

http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Sweet_Meat

[mecktom]

Marglobe and Rutger's are still mighty fine maters!

[eyolf]

RE: Bonny Best / John Baer

I believe that Chalks was reselected to get John Baer and Bonny Best by different people; I've grown all three side by each, and found JB and BB to be more uniform and similar to each other, while C-E-J was more variable...at least from the sources I tried. So, yes, there may be differences...but not many of us could discern them. I know I couldn't have if I didn't have them labelled!

A Canadian reselected Bonny Best to get "Pollock" a few years ago, and I find that variety to be even better. As well, I believe "Early Alberta" to be from that lineage as well. I'm sure there are more.


It isn't very hard to imagine Burpee listing a variety under more than one name if they believed it would result in more sales.

[Stepheninky]

Originally Posted by eyolf

RE: Bonny Best / John Baer

I believe that Chalks was reselected to get John Baer and Bonny Best by different people; I've grown all three side by each, and found JB and BB to be more uniform and similar to each other, while C-E-J was more variable...at least from the sources I tried. So, yes, there may be differences...but not many of us could discern them. I know I couldn't have if I didn't have them labelled!

A Canadian reselected Bonny Best to get "Pollock" a few years ago, and I find that variety to be even better. As well, I believe "Early Alberta" to be from that lineage as well. I'm sure there are more.


It isn't very hard to imagine Burpee listing a variety under more than one name if they believed it would result in more sales.

"I believe that Chalks was reselected to get John Baer and Bonny Best by different people"

From what I read I agree with that. John Baer if I understand correctly was introduced in 1906 and Bonny Best was introduced in 1908.

Bonny Best was either developed at the Bonny Plant Farm of Union Springs, Alabama or by a breeder in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

All I know is that my Mom makes me plant it each year. Its one of her favorites to can and also just to eat sliced. Many times when I talk of planting tomatoes she hints that I could just plant just those. LOL

[nctomatoman]

I actually think that Bonny Best was developed by/first released by Stokes (formerly Johnson and Stokes) of Pennsylvania....I've got a Stokes catalog (just purchased) around that date, so will check.

[Stepheninky]

Originally Posted by nctomatoman

I actually think that Bonny Best was developed by/first released by Stokes (formerly Johnson and Stokes) of Pennsylvania....I've got a Stokes catalog (just purchased) around that date, so will check.

Cool deal that would support the claim that it originated in Pennsylvania vs Alabama since there seems to be some ? about it.

[oc tony]

This is what I remember reading. Bonnie Best was a selection of Chalks Early jewel in about 1908 done on the Bonnie plant farm in Alabama. John Bauer was a selection of Bonnie Best done about 1915 and I don't remember by who or where.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by nctomatoman

I actually think that Bonny Best was developed by/first released by Stokes (formerly Johnson and Stokes) of Pennsylvania....I've got a Stokes catalog (just purchased) around that date, so will check.

Bonny Best was developed by George W. Middleton of Jeffersonville, PA from a single plant selected from a field of Chalks Early Jewel. It was introduced by Walter P. Stokes in 1908.

John Baer made a selection from Bonny Best that was called John Baer and it was released in 1915.

The triad of Bonny Best/Chalks Early Jewel/ John Baer are almost identical in all ways. And all of them were also known by MANY synonyms which I won't list here.

[quiltedcat]

My Great Uncle John Harts was the developer of the Jack O'Hearts tomato when he worked for the Agler Musser (?) Seed Company. He was quite an accomplished man who unfortunately died when I was 6 mo old in 1947.
He was the first football coach at the University of Oklahoma.
I have his logbook from when he was shanghaied in San Francisco in 1898 on a whaling ship to Alaska. He had left the farm in Iowa to find his fortune.
I have googled this tomato before but never came up with any results before.

[tjg911]

craig,

i don't recognize but 2 or 3 of those names and never grew those.

are these tomatoes op or hybrids? were op generally all people grew at that time? when did hybrids become popular?

tom

[Sun City Linda]

I bought some seed for Tangerine from Totally Tomatoes website a couple months ago on a close out for, I think $1.00. I googled it then and several vendors sell it and quote the original Burpee description. Hopefully, that is what I have! LInda

[salix]

QuiltedCat (love your screen name) - what an interesting individual your great uncle must have been. And how lucky for you to have his logbook. Is the Jack O' Hearts tomato still available, and do you maintain it for the family?