222 Ad Interim Report. 



AD INTERIM REPORT 



Of the Fruit Committee of the Massachusetts Horticultural 



Society, 1868. 



Seedling Strawberry, No. 13, of Hon. M. F. Wilder. — By invitation from 

 Col. Wilder, your Committee visited his estate on the 7th of July for the 

 purpose of inspecting his beds of seedling strawberries, especially the 

 one which he has designated as No. 13. Without dwelling upon the many 

 objects of interest and the bountiful hospitality of our host, we confine 

 our report to the strawberries in question. We found the seedlings grow- 

 ing in several locations in beds from one to three years old, and in proximi- 

 ty to standard varieties, such as the Hovey, the La Constante, and the 

 Triomphe de Gand. All the beds seemed to be under good but not extraor- 

 dinary culture ; the older kinds yielding only an average crop. Seedling 

 No. 60 compared very favorably with the Hovey ; but it does not at present 

 sufficiently indicate superiority to older kinds to require a more extended 

 description than has been given in previous reports. It should here be 

 stated, that, during the absence of Col. Wilder in Europe, by some misun- 

 derstanding the Nos. 13 and 60 were interchanged in our report of last 

 season. The description of No. 13, as given in the report, belongs to No. 

 60,* and vice versa. The varieties are quite distinct, and are entirely sepa- 

 rate in the grounds of Col, Wilder. 



No. 13 was the chief object of interest, and fully maintained the reputa- 

 tion of two previous years. As there are many indications that La Con- 

 stante is one of its parents (though there are also strong points of differ- 

 ence), we may with propriety compare it with this variety. In health and 

 strength of foliage, the beds of No. 13 were in marked contrast. In quan- 

 tity of fruit, there was the same contrast, the amount on La Constante 

 being small, as is usual ; while there was a great profusion on all tJie beds 

 of No. 13 growing side by side. The foliage seemed to be just sufficient 



* The report for 1867 should read as follows: "The favorable opinion entertained last year of the 

 seedling strawberry of Hon. M. P. Wilder — a cross between La Constante and Hovey's Seedling, and 

 now designated as No. 13 — is confirmed this season. The fruit is of the largest size, o good flavor, in 

 appearance a medium between its parents, not so polished or glazed, and with seeds more embedded than 

 in La Constante. An examination of the bed gave indications of vigor and decided productiveness." 



