STATE HORTICTJLTUKAL SOCIETY. 335 



LETTER FROM J. H. HALE. 



Ei.M Fruit-farm and Nursery, } 



South Glastonbury, Conn., March 6th, 1884. [ 



Oliver Gihbs, Jr., 



Dear Sir: — Your favor of the 1st just at hand, and I am glad to 

 be able to comply with j'our request and give you what few facts I 

 have in regard to the cress fertilization of strawberries, specially as 

 regards the immediate effects on the fruit of the pistillate varie- 

 ties. 



In reply to the question, what perfect flowering varieties shall 

 we plant to fertilize the Crescent, Champion, Manchester or other 

 pistillate sorts. The general answer would be, plant amj that blos- 

 som at the same time as the pistillate to which you wish to supply 

 the polleu. 



However, from a somewhat careful study of this question for some 

 years past, I have become convinced that the size, color, form, tex- 

 ture and flavor of the pistillate to some extent depends upon what 

 variety furnishes the pollen to fertilize its blossoms, and will give 

 you what few facts 1 have that bear on this question. Crescents 

 fertilized by Wilson's Albany gave medium to small sized fruit, 

 bright in color, poor in flavor, and moderately firm ; while Cres- 

 cents with Downing to fertilize it gave larger fruit, not as perfect 

 in form, much softer, dull in color and of very good flavor. With 

 Sharpless the Crescent was of increased size but not as firm as 

 when grown with the Wilson. Fertilized by the Bidwell the Cres- 

 ■cent had a number of the berries that were of the peculiar form of 

 the Bidwell, And the onlj' coxcomb Crescents I have ever seen 

 •were those fertilized by President Lincoln, a variety that has a 

 majority of misshapen berries. 



The Manchester, fertilized by Wilson, Finch, Mount Vernon, 

 Cumberland Triumph or Miner, and every berry was as perfect 

 in form as though run in a mould; while Manchester with Sharp- 

 less gave a number of berries similar inform to the Sharpless. Fer- 

 tilized by Cumberland, Manchester was pale in color, quite soft, but 

 of fine flavor; while fertilized by Wilson they were firm, of rich 

 bright color, but quite acid and of inferior flavor. Manchester, 

 fertilized by Black Defiance, was even darker in color than when 

 with Wilson, and of superior flavor, almost equal to Black De- 

 fiance, itself; and the difference in color between these and the 

 Manchester fertilized by Cumberland was so marked that it was 



