THE STRAWBERRY, A TRIUMPH OF 
PLANT BREEDING 
systematic plant breeding accom- 
plished in horticulture during recent 
??? 
|: one asks, ‘‘What has deliberate, 
years?’ no general answer can be 
given. In some fruits scientific plant 
breeding is still almost unknown. The 
varieties of cherry, for example, which 
are grown in the United States are 
practically all of unknown origin; they 
appear by accident and some one 
recognizes their merit and propagates 
them. In other fruits much more has 
been done by scientific breeding, but 
probably with no single fruit has more 
been accomplished than with the straw- 
berry. 
Of the 200,000 acres or thereabouts 
which are planted to strawberries in the 
United States, it is probable that 90% 
are planted to varieties which have 
been produced during the last quarter 
of a century, as the result, not of 
chance, but of intelligent manipulation 
by breeders. 
Strawberries have been grown in this 
country ever since it was first settled, 
but the original strains bore fruit only 
in the early summer. One of the 
greatest advances in the industry was 
the introduction of the fall-bearing 
or ever-bearing varieties, the first of 
which was Pan-American, produced by 
Samuel Cooper, of Delevan, N. Y., in 
1898. This was a sport from the variety 
Bismarck, which bore only in the early 
summer. 
Mr. Cooper produced a number of 
seedlings by self-fertilization from this 
sport, and then crossed them with each 
other and back on the parent. In this 
way a number of other more desirable 
varicties were obtained. 
Crossing Pan-American with Dunlap 
(Senator Dunlap), a widespread and 
famous variety, Harluw Reckhill, of 
Conrad, Iowa, produced in 1908 the 
variety Progressive, which has proved 
one of the most popular in the northern 
States. The number of plants of Pro- 
gressive in existence at the present 
time cannot be much short of 700,000,000 
or 800,000,000—a pretty good record 
for eight years. 
Dunlap itself, which has long been 
the most widely grown northern variety, 
originated with Rev. J. R. Reasoner, 
of Urbana, IIll., in 1890, but was not 
introduced to the trade until 1900. 
It was the result of definite breeding. 
The variety Klondike, which makes 
up probably nine-tenths of the area 
planted in the southern States, was 
produced as long ago as 1895 by Robert 
Cloud, of Louisiana, as a result of a 
carefully planned cross. 
Why, it may be asked, has intelligent 
plant breeding been so much more 
widespread with the strawberry than 
with any other fruit? The ease with 
which results are got appears to be the 
principal reason. Crosses are easily 
made, seedlings are easily grown, and 
they multiply so rapidly by runners 
that a large stock can be obtained in a 
very short time. Thus a commercial 
breeder, if he can produce something 
really good and keep it under his 
control for a few years, is able to offer 
for sale a large enough stock to bring 
generous financial returns. This seems 
to be the principal reason why the 
strawberry grower can get varieties 
produced with a view to meeting his 
definite needs, while the grower of 
many another fruit is forced to content 
himself with varieties that appeared 
by accident, and may be far from ideal. 
Encouraging Race Suicide 
“Some day,” says the March Eugeni- 
cal News, ‘“‘it may be regarded as 
a crime against society to publish 
such an advertisement as the following 
which has been running in the Survey : 
‘Wanted — Married couples without 
children, between the ages of 30 and 
45, to take charge of cottages’ at a 
school for boys.’’ But not 1f they pre- 
fer caretakers of inferior quality. 
191 
