History
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* Commercial variety available in the USA … * Commercial variety available in the USA in the early 1900s.
* Developed and introduced in 1889 by W. Atlee Burpee.
* [http://nctomatoman.topcities.com/Seed_Catalog_Scans/1914_Burpee/1914_Burpee_tomato2.jpg '''Click here''' to view a page from Burpee 1914 Catalog] on Craig LeHoullier's website. The catalog description says:
: "''Burpee's Matchless is a strong vigorous grower with thrifty vines which produce large handsome tomatoes most abundantly throughout the season. The fruits, of a rich cardinal-red, are remarkably solid and smooth, free from core and uniformly of the finest flavor. The tomatoes are always of the largest size; they do not become smaller even late in the season, as the healthy growth of vine and foliage carry magnificent crops until they killed by frost. After the vines have been killed by frost we have repeatedly noticed that the full-grown green tomatos remaining were fully as large as the ripe fruits gathered during the season. For tomatoes of the largest size, always perfectly smooth, firm and handsome, long keeping qualities and finest flavor, we say without fear of contradiction that there is no scarlet-fruited tomato the equal of Burpee's Matchless.''"
* [[Matchless]] and [[Quarter Century]] are not the same. True [[Matchless]] is not rugose leafed as [[Quarter Century]] or [[Matchless (Austin)]].
* Carolyn Male's post at GardenWeb tomato forum on April 27, 2003 says that ''"What I show in my book as [[Matchless]] is [[Quarter Century]]. Craig determined that [[Matchless]] was not rugose leafed, from doing some research, and now has grown out what he feels to be [[Matchless]], from another USDA accession number."''
* '''Not the same as '''
** [[Quarter Century]]
** [[Matchless (Austin)]] uarter Century]]
** [[Matchless (Austin)]]
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