[Tom Wagner]

I, too, find the history of New Yorker rather fascinating. From the obvious thread of thought that New Yorker goes back to Earliana in its pedigree; the fascination continues.

Let it be known that I am not a historian. I certainly don't have the resources of an Amy Goldman to do this.

Searching the Internet for pedigree is nebulous at best, it is tantamount to discovering that my Great Great Grandfather sired children over a 50 year period!

I don't know the proper ways of alluding to where information should be credited. For that shortfall or inadequacy on my part, I shall use the quote symbol to show pertinent points and hyperlinks for proof.

If I had any eloquence, I would summarize or cherry pick information into a sentence or two. Why bother when you can figure out what I am saying.

"Earliana-" Sparks Earliana - 65 days - Indeter. reg. leaf- clusters of 3-6 oz great tasting red fruit.

http://www.heirloomtomatoes.net/Varieties.htm#Sabre

Earliana
65 days, indeterminate— Extra early five to six ounce fruit is set in clusters of six tomatoes or more. The bright red color and tasty flavor makes this a great early tomato.
It was introduced in 1900 by Johnson & Stokes of Philadelphia. The original stock was produced by George Sparks of Salem, New Jersey and is reported to have been developed from a single plant selection made in a field 'Stone'.(1)

http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache...ient=firefox-a

'Earliana'

One of the first tomatoes developed for short- or mild-summer areas, 'Earliana' is still valued for flavor. George Sparks of Salem, New Jersey developed this variety and seedsmen Johnson & Stokes introduced it in about 1900. A decade later, Buckbee's catalog it as "An extremely smooth, bright red tomato of good size and flavor. Is among the very first ready for the market. This tomato is not only remarkable for its earliness, but for its very large size, handsome shape and bright red color. Its solidity and fine qualities are quite equal to the best medium and late sorts."
Today, 'Earliana' still lives up to much of this description, though it is not as Buckbee's claimed, "very large." In fact, the 'Earliana' is medium-sized. It is larger than a cherry tomato but considerably smaller than Ponderosa types. What is true in Buckbee's write-up is that they have good flavor. In tomato taste-offs held in Seattle, Washington, the 'Earliana' consistently places in the top ten for flavor. Unfortunately, the 'Earliana' has noticeable skin, a shortcoming that is easy to overlook when the tomatoes on every other variety are not even close to ripe.

Kathy Mendelson prepared this Website
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache...ient=firefox-a

Thus, it is virtually impossible to know with certainty the obv genotype of the original Stone from which Sparks selected Earliana. ...

http://www.google.com/search?client=...=Google+Search

tomato breeding can be said to have originated in Canada in 1900. W.T. Macoun, at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa, began making selections from Spark’s Earliana. The best of these selections was dubbed Alacrity and released across Canada via the other research stations and local Department of Agriculture branches. Alacrity was not a static selection —improvements continued to be made to the variety, which was a top producer in trials across Canada until the 1930s. As well, different Alacrity selections were made for different purposes — some for earliness, some for higher yield and uniformity.

http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache...ient=firefox-a

Tom Wagner (Tending tomato clones going back 25 generations of crossing to Earliana)