STRAWBERRIES FOR THE HOME 1 55 



midseason, and late varieties. It is quite 

 easy to make these divisions, but it is very 

 difficult to make a gradation of the varieties 

 constituting each division. A noted grower 

 was asked at a convention whether a partic- 

 ular variety was not earlier than any others. 

 He replied, *Yes, it may be ten minutes 

 earlier.' 



^' Early, — Excelsior, Michel's Early, John- 

 son's Early, and Climax are among the ear- 

 liest varieties, and under the ten-minute 

 schedule they ripen in the order named. 

 The Excelsior is a seedling of the old Wilson's 

 Albany, and has many of the good qualtities 

 of its parent, but it has unduly developed its 

 degree of acidity, and we have discarded it 

 on that account. No one wants to squeal 

 when eating a strawberry. But its colour is 

 very fine, and no variety is better for canning, 

 the colour of the preserved fruit being superb. 

 Michel's Early is an old reliable berry, 

 pleasing in colour and quality. The berries 

 are rather undersized and the plant is not a 

 heavy yielder. Johnson's Early is an im- 

 provement on Michel's. Climax is a newer 

 variety, with vigorous plants and fruit of 

 high quality and beautiful appearance. 



