LUTHER BURBANK 



say that selections have been mlade abnost alto- 

 gether for flavor rather than for size and color. 

 I thought that a good home strawberry that is 

 tender, sweet, and of fair size rather than of ex^ 

 aggerated proportions, combining these qualities 

 with the exquisite flavor of some of the wild 

 berries, would be a distinct acquisition. 



The varieties already in the market were many 

 of them of enormous size, but for the most part 

 they lacked flavor. 



Anyone who has known the small wild straw- 

 berry at its best must always experience a certain 

 disappointment in eating the cultivated varieties. 



Moreover, most of our market strawberries are 

 hard, being judged by the growers and the dealers 

 by their shipping quality rather than by their 

 flavor. 



It seemed desirable, particularly for home use, 

 to develop the strawberry for its appeal to the 

 palate as well as to the eye; in other words, to 

 restore to the fruit something of its pristine flavor, 

 while retaining the good qualities introduced in 

 recent times by selective breeding. 



Such an endeavor to improve the flavor of the 

 fruit, combined with the idea of all-the-year bear- 

 ing and ultimately of seedlessness, may be said to 

 suggest the lines of improvement along which the 

 plant developer of the immediate future should 



[102] 



