February 28, 1920 



H HTl C U L T U H E 



l(i9 



RAMBLING OBSERVATIONS OF 

 A ROVING GARDENER 



At recent exhibitions in Boston 

 visitors have been greatly interested 

 In a remarkable new strawberry ex- 

 hibited in bottles by Mr. Lewis Graton, 

 of Whitman, a strawberry grower of 

 long experience. It is with pleasure 

 that I learn of Mr. Graton's intention 

 to put tills strawberry on the market 

 this season, for It seems to me that it 

 has great possibilities. Mr. Graton 

 himself is not an extensive commercial 

 grower, but has spent many years in 

 perfecting this particular variety, hop- 

 ing to make it the finest strawberry on 

 tilt* market. 



The absolutely perfect strawberry 

 still eludes us, and doubtless always 

 will, because of the variety of our 

 tastes and requirements. One person 

 may prefer a sweet berry, and will 

 deem such a berry as approximating to 

 his standard of perfection. Another 

 win think that this sweet berry of the 

 other's preference, lacks the essentials 

 of aroma and flavor that mean perfec- 

 tion to him. If one is a commercial 

 grower and desires to broaden his 

 market, his ideal is a berry that will 

 stand long transportation without 

 deterioration. 



Since the introduction of the so- 

 called everbearing strawberries, some 

 tell us that the perfect strawberry 

 must be everbearing. I believe this 

 is asking too much. We don't expect 

 a Baldwin or a Northern Spy to be at 

 their best in August or September. 

 Neither do we expect a Yellow Trans- 

 parent to last all winter. Strawberries, 

 like humans, have their limitations. 

 Some men charm us with exalted 

 poetry. Some sweep the heavens to 

 discover new constellations. Some 

 delve in the ever-cooling strata of our 

 old earth to read at first hand the 

 history of our globe: but the great 

 majority of us have to be content with 

 humbler tasks. 



"Some, and I am one of these," said 

 Mr. Graton to me recently, "have 

 looked for a strawberry that would 

 possess as many as possible of the best 

 qualities of the very best, and as few 

 as possible of the undesirable qualities 

 of the others. For a good many years 

 I have sought the perfect strawberry, 

 and latterly I have done a good deal 

 of experimenting to reach this goal. 

 And I hope I may be pardoned for 

 stating that I have been more success- 

 ful than I had dared to hope. 



"My ideal of a strawberry is of one 



possessing a distinct and pervasive 

 aroma, and that unmistakable flavor 

 so often lacking in cultivated straw- 

 berries. It should have a rich, deep 

 color clear through and be without 

 green tips. It must have good size and 

 it should hold its size to the last pick- 

 ing. It should be sufficiently firm to 

 stand reasonably long transportation. 

 It should make a goodly number of 

 strong runners. And lastly the root 

 system should be strong and deep to 

 enable the plants to withstand the 

 vicissitudes for dry seasons." 



The St. Martin which Mr. Graton 

 has developed from seed possesses 

 these desirable qualities to an eminent 

 degree. The large berries are a dark, 

 rich red clear to the center, and are 

 without green tips. The flavor is de- 

 licious, just the flavor looked for In a 

 high class strawberry. Some persons 

 have pronounced It even superior to 

 the Marshall as to flavor. 



Sixteen St. Martins have filled a 

 quart basket, and It holds Its large 

 size to the last picking. Fourteen 

 berries have heaped a pint basket at 

 the twenty-fourth picking of the sea- 

 son. It is excellent for canning, and 

 It retains its high qualities in the jar. 



It has a perfect blossom, and It 

 makes an abundance of long, strong 

 runners. One plant set in April had 

 fifty well rooted plants on November 

 first of the same year. 



While it Is unsurpassed as a table 

 berry. It is sufficiently firm to endure 

 reasonably long transportation. Three 

 or four years ago I sent some St. Mar- 

 tins to a friend at a distance of over 



lour hundred miles, and they reached 

 their destination In good condition, 

 notwithstanding the fact that they 

 were fully ripe when forwarded. 



This great strawberry was not de- 

 veloped by strictly scientific processes 

 of puUenization, but is the result of a 

 seed sown with some others at Tru- 

 mansburg, N. Y., in 1909. The seeds 

 were taken from well ripened, typical 

 specimens of the following varieties: 

 Brandywine, Kidgeway, Miller, Glen 

 Mary, Commonwealth, and New York. 

 The resultant seedlings were gradually 

 cut down to the one that is now the 

 St. Martin. 



The original work on the St. Martin 

 was done in New York state, but some 

 years ago Mr. Graton moved to Mass- 

 achusetts, bringing the plants with 

 him. In 1919 it received the silver 

 medal at the strawberry exhibition of 

 the Massachusetts Horticultural So- 

 ciety. Mr. Graton had a somewhat 

 sentimental reason for giving the 

 berry the name which It bears, for St. 

 -Martin, near Montreal, Is the town 

 where as a bare footed boy he gathered 

 the wild strawberries that grew in 

 abundance In the dewy meadows. 



Altogether eleven years have been 

 required to bring the new berry to a 

 point where it would be put on the 

 market, and it seems to me that the 

 faithful, conscientious application 

 which Mr. Graton has given the task 

 entitles him to the reward which he 

 now seems likely to receive. 



I understand that M. H. Walsh, the 

 famous rose grower of Woods Hole, 

 Mass., and originator of Excelsa, Is a 

 staunch opponent of the quarantine as 

 it now stands and would like to see 

 some concerted action taken to have It 

 amended. By the way, Mr. Walsh has 

 a son In Congress, and doubtless he 

 would be willing to lend his aid. 



The St. Martin Strawberry 



