>. 
E. W. TOWNSEND & SONS, SALISBURY, MARYLAND 31 
Pedigree of Howard Supreme As Furnished by the Originator 
BREEDING OF HOWARD’S SUPREME 
Cresent (P) 
No. 103 (P)* 
Howard Marshall (S) 
Supreme (P) Cresent (P) 
No. 17 (%%C) 
No. 1 
Cresent (P) 
Haverland (P) 
Sharpless (S) 
Belmont (S) * 
No. 14 (P) 
Cresent (P) 
Cyclone (S) 
Cumberland Triumph (P) 
Clyde (S) 
*S  Staminate 
P Pistillate 
Green Prolific (P) 
9 
| Lucinda (S) 
HOWARD SUPREME carries 60% of crescent blood, which dominated all markets from 1875 to 
1890, giving better seedlings to the world than any other variety ever originated. 
History and Breeding of Howard’s Supreme Strawberry 
This new pistillate seedling was originated in 1909, 
at Belchertown, Massachusetts, by Everett C. How- 
ard, Junior member of the firm of A. B. Howard & 
Son, Horticulturists, in their experimental and trial 
grounds. 
The Senior member, the late Arthur B. Howard, 
originated the Howard No. 17 versus The Premier 
in 1904, and many other fruits and flowers, during 
nearly a life time spent in plant breeding and im- 
provement. 
Howard Supreme was produced in their green- 
poe using Howard’s No. 103 as the mother plant, 
in 07. 
Pollen was applied by a camel’s hair brush from 
the now famous Howard’s No. 17 to make the cross. 
The following spring the seeds were sown in their 
greenhouse and the new seedlings fruited for the 
first time in their trial beds in 1909. 
_ This new variety was the most striking and dis- 
tinct of any of the lot of 1000 seedlings fruiting at 
the time from 10 various crosses. 
The mother plant, No. 103, was a seedling of the 
Crescent crossed by the Marshall. 
_in many ways the No. 103 was a wonder, espe- 
eially in productiveness, size, quality, color, and 
firmness. 
In fact it was too productive, and after a number 
of years trial it failed to hold its seedling vigor, and 
thus jt failed to carry out its immense loads of 
fruit. 
This seedling was never named or introduced. 
However the originators saw great possibilities in 
the variety for breeding purposes and as such it was 
largely used by them. 
The Howard 17 was also a seedling of the Crescent 
eres by another one of the Howard seedlings, the 
No. 
The Howard No. 1 was a berry of many desirable 
qualities, especially strong healthy foliage, beautiful 
in appearance and extra fine quality of berry. 
The No. 1 was produced by crossing still another 
one of the Howard seedlings, the No. 14, with pollen 
from the Clyde. 
The Clyde was a seedling of the Cyclone which in 
turn was a seedling of the Crescent. 
The No. 14 was a seedling of the Haverland cross- 
ed by the Belmont. 
The No. 14 was a berry that possessed many very 
desirable qualities, such as strong healthy foliage, 
fine quality berries of good size and color and withal 
productiveness. 
The Haverland was a seedling of the Crescent. 
The various seedling strawberries mentioned in 
the breeding of Howard Supreme should have been 
introduced, for they were berries that were well 
above the average of strawberry introductions, but 
the originators were looking for the Ideal Berry— 
a berry perfect in every sense of the word, some- 
thing far ahead of any in cultivation! 
The originators are proud of the fact that Howard 
Supreme carries blood of so many of the leading 
strawberries of America and Europe; that the pedi- 
gree of its ancestral breeding dates back to the first 
great American strawberry, the Hovey, in 1834, and 
to the British Queen in 1840! And also the fact that 
Crescent blood has entered so largely into the breed- 
ing of this seedling, for no less than four times was 
the famous Crescent used as a mother plant to help 
produce the royal lineage that has been brought 
down to date and united in the Howard Supreme. 
Thus the Howard Supreme carries 60 per cent of 
Crescent blood. 
“The Crescent has been grown more than any 
other variety except the Wilson. Between 1875 and 
1890 it dominated all markets.” 
“It is a very prepotent variety, a larger number of 
valuable varieties are descendants of the Cresent 
than any other sort.” 
(Signed) EVERETT C. HOWARD. 
THE WILLIAM SYRD PRESS. INC. 
HORTICULTURAL PRINTERS. 
RICHMOND. VA. 
