Even such varieties as Concord and Scanimell, which were erratic performers here, 

 are vigorous, heavy producers there. 



In California the blueberry situation is quite different. Very few are 

 grown at the present time. The principal reason for this appears to be lack 

 of interest in this fruit. While much of California's soil and climate are 

 not suited to blueberry growing, there are sizeable areas where, with a little 

 help in the way of irrigation and special soil treatments, considerable quan- 

 tities of blueberries could be grown. 



The slow development of the blueberry industry up and down the west coast 

 is at least partly the result of the intense interest in other small fruits. 

 All three coastal states are heavy producers of strawberries. California is 

 also a heavy producer of boysenberries, loganberries, and trailing blackberries. 

 Washington and Oregon are heavy producers of raspberries and trailing black- 

 berries. These industries are so large and so well developed that, unless 

 there is some sudden change, blueberry growing will continue to expand slowly. 

 The increased production will probably be consumed in local markets. There- 

 fore, eastern growers will not need to worry about shipments from the far west 

 for quite a number of years. 



John S. Bailey 



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NOTES ON STRAWBERRIES 



The following remarks are based on field observations made last summer: 



Virus-free Midland strawberry plants look promising on some farms. On other 

 farms, however, the variety does not make enough runner plants. Several growers 

 reported that Midland has a long picking season. A grower desiring an early 

 ripening variety should plant Midland on a trial basis to determine its suit- 

 ability under his conditions. This should be the case with any variety because 

 variety performance differs considerably from farm to farm in a locality and from 

 site to site on a farm. 



Virus-free Robinson's make abundant runner plants, in fact, on most farms 

 where spacing of daughter plants is not practiced, the plants are too thick'. 

 The dense stand of plants favor gray-mold rot. Growers should set Robinson's 

 at least 24 inches apart in the row, cut excess runner plants after the desired 

 row width has been obtained and remove excess runner plants in the row. 



Growers selling their strawberry crop by the "Pick Your Own" method should 

 either increase the planting distance between rows or narrow the plant rows in 

 order to provide ample walking space for customers. 



June Yellows which was seen in many strawberry beds last spring is not an 

 infectious disease but is due to a hereditary factor or character present in 

 certain varieties. Normal plants of susceptible varieties like Howard 17 possess 

 the character for yellowing and there is no way to predict when a plant or its 

 offsprings will turn yellow. 



W. J. Lord 



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