18 ALLEN'S BOOK OF BERRIES— 1927 



Extra Early Varieties 



PREMIER (HOWARD 17) 



Last year, and for several years, we have said all the good things about 

 Premier that can be said about any strawberry. Each year we become more firmly 

 convinced that Premier is the best early berry in existance. We are not only 

 quoting our own experience in saying this, but we have letters from our friends 

 all over the country, who have been growing Premier from our plants, who tell us 

 the same things. We have grown Premier on rich land and on poor, on high land 

 and on heavy land, in wet seasons and in dry in seasons of many late frosts and in 

 seasons of no late frosts, and at all times Premier has outclassed all other early 

 berries. In order to tell you more completely about the going points of Premier, 

 we are going to list them : 



1. Soil. Premier deserves good soil and good care, but it will do well on any 

 kind of soil and in any climate, outclassing other early berries whether given good 

 soil and good care or grown under unfavorable conditions. 



2. Productiveness. The plants are immensely productive, ripening early and 

 bearing through a long season. No variety yields more quarts per acre. This is 

 especially important where land is limited and a maximum quantity of fancy 

 berries desired. 



3. Growth. Premier makes an abundant plant growth for a good fruiting 

 bed, making a plentiful number of nice strong plants rather than great numbers 

 of small, weak ones which require extra labor in thinning and hoeing. 



4. Appearance. The berries are beautiful in appearance, having uniform 

 shape and a glossy, rich, red color, extending clear through the berry. 



5. Attractiveness. The berries have a bright green cap which stays green to 

 the end of the season even in dry weather. This is not oversize, but just right to 

 add the proper touch of beauty to the fruit. This added attractiveness makes for 

 a larger selling price. 



6. Quality. The berries are delicious in quality, equalled only by the very 

 best ones like Chesapeake, Wm. Belt, McAlpin and Big Late. 



7. Firmness. Premier berries are firm enough to stand shipment to distant 

 markets in good condition. We have heard buyers at local shipping stations con- 

 demn Premier as being a poor shipper, saying it did not ship like Klondyke, and 

 in a few minutes later, when a load of nice Klondyke and another of nice Premier 

 drove through the auction market, these same buyers would pay from 25c to 

 SI. 00 per crate more for the Premier. If kept picked up closely, Premier will come 

 through a wet season with flying colors. 



8. Picking. Premier is a fancy early berry which makes it easier for com- 

 mercial growers to get pickers at the first of the season and keep them for late 

 varieties, than if there were less desirable early berries, or none at all. 



9. Frost Proof. Premier is the nearest frost-proof of any variety we have ever 

 seen. On several occasions in this section all other varieties except Chesapeake 

 were severely damaged, while Premier came through with a full crop. Of course, 

 when many of the blossoms are open, a frost or a freeze will kill some of them, but 

 Premier seems to come right on with another crop of bloom, so, whatever the con- 

 ditions, you are sure to get a full crop. We have many letters from our customers 

 telling of this same experience with Premier, that is, other varieties being killed 

 and Premier producing a crop. We want you to read particularly the letter from 

 Mr. Sterling Hoffman, printed on page 5. In fact, growers in many sections 

 where frosts were so likely, have felt that it did not pay to try to grow early 

 varieties of strawberries, but with the coming of Premier this has been changed. 

 Not only can they grow a big crop of fancy early berries in spite of the frost, but 

 they can be more sure of a crop of early berries with Premier than they can of late 

 berries, with any variety except Chesapeake. 



