Mated jjosi Siye, and Ptaduetii 
Very quickly after its introduction in 
1932 Catskill spread through all the Pre- 
mier territory (see page 8) becoming the 
most popular and widely planted midsea- 
son berry. Catskill has many fine qualities, 
but the productiveness of the plants and 
the size of the berries are the outstanding 
traits which have made Catskill so popular. 
It is difficult to say just which is the most 
productive of all strawberries, but certainly 
Catskill would have to be included in any 
list of the great producers, along with 
Premier, Midland, Sparkle and others. We 
have grown more quarts per acre (10,700) 
here in Maryland with Catskill than with 
any other variety, early, midseason or late. 
For years most if not all of the yield records 
were made with either Catskill or Premier. 
Some of the newer ones like Temple, 
Sparkle, Fairland, Tennessee Beauty and 
Midland, are now producing yields under 
satisfactory conditions which rival Catskill 
and Premier. 
Large Berries. Catskill not only pro- 
duces as many quarts per acre as other big 
producers but the average size of the 
berries is larger than any of the other 
heavy producers except Midland. The fine 
lot of medium size berries which Catskill 
bears are in addition to the big yield of big 
berries. 
High Quality. Catskill berries are very 
good in quality. They are somewhat better 
than Premier and when fully ripe have 
much of the delicious flavor of the old 
Marshall. They are really good. Catskill 
berries have been rated very satisfactory 
when frozen, in fact in one recent test they 
were rated next to Blakemore by a panel 
from the National Preservers Association 
and second out of a list of ten varieties by a 
panel from the Frozen Food Foundation. It 
is only fair to state that this list of varieties 
did not include either Sparkle or Tennes- 
see Beauty, both of which rate high as 
freezing berries. In recent years the value 
of strawberries as a source of vitamin C has 
been brought to the attention of the public 
very strongly. Also, less strongly, the varia- 
tion in varieties as sources of Vitamin C. 
In these Vitamin C values Catskill has 
stood at the very top, with Sparkle, Fairfax 
and Premier also rated high. 
Plant Growth, In northern areas the plant growth I 
leaf spot but rarely enough to affect the crop. Normally ; 
new runners for a satisfactory fruiting bed. On very rich t \ 
is done. During the past few years it has seemed that the i 
places, such as central New Jersey, many growers have n i 
fails to make satisfactory fruiting bed when weather a 4 
vigor is due to a virus disease. It is recommended that < > 
stocks that are free from or resistant to this trouble. If m i 
great berry that growers will be slow to give it up. Whei • 
Robinson, Fairland and Big Joe in various areas are the i 
we would like to recommend most strongly that Tennesse j 
the Premier territory. This would be in general that arei ; 
We hope you will not let our complete frankness in & 
from planting Catskill again. The "Champ" is still the I 
have been most diligent in selecting our planting stock of j 
are more vigorous this year than they were last year a I 
Attractiveness. Catskill berries have a fresh green cap and an attractive 
light red color which makes them very showy in the package. This light color 
darkens some but not excessively on holding. The very large first berries on 
the clusters are usually somewhat ridged, but the later ones are smooth and 
uniform. 
Firmness. Catskill berries are somewhat more firm than Premier, not as 
firm as Blakemore and Fairfax. They will stand shipments overnight by 
truck for two or three hundred miles, if they start in good condition. There 
is very little trouble in marketing Catskill locally or in nearby markets. In 
harvesting many fruit crops of Catskill we have found that it stands rain at 
picking fame very well, much better than other varieties which are actually 
firmer. In rainy seasons Catskill is much less susceptible to rotting than 
Premier, probably because the berries do not hug the ground so closely. 
