45 



Comes through the winter unharmed. Flowers protected by the 

 leaves. Very productive. 



Sharpless. S. Flower-stalks very high. leaves large and 

 glossy. The strongest grower of all. Flowers large, and badly 

 exposed. Winters well. Prospect of a heavy crop. Later 

 notes show that the fruit was entirely destroyed by frost. 



Wilson. S. Foliage dark and healthy. Has wintered un- 

 harmed. Fruit-stems taller than leaf-stalks, leaving the flowers 

 that open early almost entirely exposed. Well set for fruit. 



From these notes, any one can select varieties that are hardy, 

 healthy, and productive, and that may be safely planted on 

 frost} 7 land, thereby avoiding disappointment and loss. 



SIZE OF BERRIES. 



Apparently fabulous stories are often told relative to the size 

 of berries. It is useless to give measurements in describing 

 different varieties, as the size of any variety will depend upon 

 the soil, exposure, locality, and general treatment it receives at 

 the hands of the cultivator, and often upon some cause difficult 

 to explain. A berry that would be classed as small, when 

 grown under ordinary conditions might be made to rank as large 

 in the hands of an expert. 



The classification is usually as follows : Small, medium, large, 

 very large. Just what is a small or a large berry has never 

 been settled, all such terms being used in a relative sense. 

 Small strawberries among fruit-growers and dealers in plants 

 are unknown. No such thing will be found in any of the cat- 

 alogues. Look over the catalogue of the American Pomological 

 Society, where every variety described is thought worthy of 

 general cultivation ; and of forty-one varieties named, no berry 

 will be found classed as small, and in the copy before me, only 

 three as medium. 



Specimens of the Sharpless are often found growing in matted 

 rows, with nothing like high cultivation, measuring five or six 

 inches in circumference. It is not rare to hear of them eight 

 and even nine inches. It is undoubtedly the largest of all straw- 

 berries, and usually takes the prize at the fruit-shows when size 

 is the criterion. Bidwell, Cumberland, Jersey Queen, Miner's 

 Prolific, Monarch, and Shirts, are all classed as very large ; and 



