DESCRIBING STRAWBERRIES 73 



see the chapter on describing pome fruits, 

 page 34- 



The season may be specified exactly by giv- 

 ing the actual date at which the variety is 

 ready for the table, or it may be given in rela- 

 tive terms, as early, medium, or late. In 

 general the former method is to be preferred. 

 In determining the date of ripening, one 

 should have regard to the time when the 

 variety is actually ready for use, not to the 

 time when it may be picked for shipment. In 

 order to indicate whether a variety covers a 

 long or a short season, it is desirable to give 

 not only the date when the first picking 

 can be made, but also the date of the last 

 picking. 



Shipping quality constitutes one of the 

 most important commercial qualities of any 

 strawberry, yet it is hard to determine it 

 without actual experience in shipping the 

 fruit to market. The texture of the berry 

 furnishes some clue, but is by no means an 

 infallible guide. Whenever the shipping 

 quality of a variety is actually known, how- 

 ever, it ought to be entered with especial 

 solicitude in the description. 



The blossoms of different varieties differ 



