Varieties 297 



conic, often furrowed, dark crimson ; calyx of medium size, slightly 

 discolored, somewhat depressed, easily detached ; seeds rather 

 large, slightly protruding; flesh dark red, firm, juicy; core pink, 

 partly hollow ; flavor mild subacid ; quality very good. Midseason. 

 Marshall is a standard variety for home use, forcing or a special 

 market. It requires high culture and a rich, heavy soil; it fails 

 completely on poor and sandy soils. Marshall is a favorite among 

 market-gardeners who practice hill culture and manure heavily. 

 It is an excellent exhibition variety on account of its large size, 

 beauty and high quality; but it is rather unproductive, tender in 

 bloom and rusts badly. It is preeminently an amateur and special 

 purpose variety. 



Sharpless (S). (Dawley; Ontario; Shaw.) — Originated in 1872 

 by J. K. Sharpless, Catawissa, Pennsylvania, from mixed seed of 

 Jucunda, Charles Downing, Wilson and Col. Cheney, but thought 

 to be a seedling of Charles Downing; introduced in 1877. Plant 

 of medium size, rather spreading ; leaves medium in size and color ; 

 runners moderate ; fruit-stalks long, stiff ; berry large, very irregu- 

 lar, wedge-conic, bright scarlet; calyx medium, easily detached; 

 seeds protruding; flesh light red, medium firm; core pink, hard, 

 often hollow; flavor mild subacid; quality good. Midseason to 

 late. Between 1880 and 1900 the standard combination for com- 

 mercial culture was Crescent pollinated with Sharpless. Sharpless 

 is not as productive as Crescent but the berries are much larger; 

 few varieties produce as many large berries. The main defect of 

 this variety is the misshapen fruit. It is rather capricious, tender 

 in blossom, and the berries are likely to have green tips and decay 

 before fully ripe. It succeeds better in hills than in matted rows, 

 and requires strong soil and high culture ; then it bears very large 

 berries of good quahty. Sharpless is still grown to some extent on 

 the Pacific coast, especially in California and in British Columbia. 



Warfield (P). —Originated about 1882 by C. B. Warfield, Sand- 

 oval, Illinois, a chance seedling, thought to be Crescent x Wilson ; 

 introduced in 1885. Plant erect ; leaflets medium in size and color, 

 sharp-toothed; runners very numerous; fruit-stalks long, stout; 

 berry medium, conic, glossy dark crimson; calj-x large, easily 

 detached; seeds prominent, protruding; flesh dark red, firm, fine- 

 grained; core red, solid; flavor acid; quality fair. Early. Be- 

 tween 1890 and 1900 Warfield was grown more than any other 

 early variety ; the "big four" of that period were Crescent, Bubach, 



