EARLIDAWN 



Earliest of All 



Ripens five days before 



Blakemore and Premier 



Earlidawn will make plants under good conditions 



Earlidawn is a cross of Midland and Tennessee Shipper, recently released by the U.S.D.A. It has 

 probably created more excitement than any other variety introduced in recent years. This is partly 

 because it is so early, partly because many people were looking for a real early berry to replace 

 Premier and mostly because plants were hard to get. Not only is it a rather sparse plant maker but the 

 year 1957, which should have produced plants enough for all, was an extremely dry year which further 

 reduced the available supply. 



The outstanding characteristics of Earlidawn are its extreme earliness, the bright attractive color of 

 the berries which continues bright on holding for some time, the firmness and shipping quality of the 

 berries and the fact that they ripen a greater percentage of their crop in the first week of picking than 

 any other variety on which records have been kept. In 1955 at Beltsville, Md., 58% of the large total 

 crop of Earlidawn was harvested in the first week compared with 22% for Blakemore and 45% for Midland. 



Earlidawn berries are good but somewhat tart in quality. They bid fair to become popular with 

 processors. The first part of the crop is quite large but like many other heavy producers tend to run 

 down in size. Thinning of the rows where needed plus irrigation will help maintain a satisfactory size. 



Earlidawn is a heavy producer. Records of more than 8,000 quarts per acre in various tests are 

 frequent. One large grower in Michigan who was helping test it before introduction reports over 10,000 

 quarts per acre for three successive years. In places where Earlidawn yield was not heavy it was 

 generally because an insufficient number of plants had been produced. Earlidawn is a variety that 

 definitely demands some of your best strawberry ground and good treatment. The experiences so far 

 indicate that Earlidawn will reward the grower well for such treatment. 



First selected in 1947 Earlidawn has behaved 

 well, yielding heavy and very early crops of nice 

 berries consistently. Outstanding performance of 

 Earlidawn has been reported from tests in Mis- 

 souri, Michigan, Maryland and Indiana; good 

 reports from Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and 

 Massachusetts. We feel sure that wider trials will 

 show a general adaptability for Earlidawn in 

 most of the middle and northern states. As Pre- 

 mier fades in popularity and performance Earli- 

 dawn seems more likely than any other one 

 variety to take the place of Premier. Compared 

 with Premier the berries are equally as large on 

 the average, brighter in color, firmer, equal in 

 quality, much better shippers, probably much bet- 

 ter for processing and from tests to date almost 

 equally as hardy as the frost-proof Premier. 



Strawberry growers from Virginia and Ken- 

 tucky northward should not pass by Earlidawn 

 without trying it. We have this year a good 

 stock of plants but interest in Earlidawn has been 

 very great so we recommend that you get your 

 order in for this variety early. Price List page 32. 



8 



STELEMASTER 



Stelemaster is a very fine early variety in 

 addition to its ability to resist all three forms of 

 the red stele disease. A few rows fruited by us 

 in 1956 in a field with virus free Premier showed 

 Stelemaster more vigorous and equally produc- 

 tive. The average size of Stelemaster berries was 

 almost twice that of the Premier and our net 

 return was more than double. 



Stelemaster berries ripen about as early as 

 Blakemore. The average size is fairly large. The 

 berries are medium red in color with a glossy 

 surface and are generally uniform and smooth. 

 The flesh is light red, firm, juicy and with a 

 slightly tart flavor. It is not considered especially 

 desirable as a freezing berry. 



