8 THE W. F. ALLEN CO., SALISBURY, MD. 
irrigating systems to increase their crop and yield 
can’t go wrong by using our plants. For the average 
grower who does not have irrigation our plants are 
much better than those grown under irrigation. 
5. True-to-name has become a byword in speak- 
ing of Allen’s plants. When a berry-grower places 
an order, he wants just what he orders, and when he 
orders here, he gets it. When the selection is left 
to us, as it often is by those who are not sure of 
varieties, we select the very best varieties for their 
soil and climate. When orders are late, we are often 
asked to substitute if we are out of varieties ordered. 
We are glad to do this in these cases and select some- 
thing as near the same as possible. It is our rule in 
such cases never to substitute a lower-priced variety, 
unless it is expressed as.a second choice. 
All the above is to show that you know what you 
get in ordering from us. Each bunch is labeled, as 
shown in the picture on the front cover. (Note fine 
large plants, properly cleaned, great root-system, 
and strong, light shipping-crate. ) 
The greatest care is exercised in keeping plants 
straight in planting. Our plants are labeled in the 
field when dug and the label is never taken away 
until planted in our fields or the fields and gardens 
of our customers. The task of keeping plants true 
to name is made surer by the fact that Mr. W. F. 
Allen and his three sons are on the job every minute 
and all are directly interested in maintaining the 
reputation of The W. F. Allen Company for sending 
out the best and purest Strawberry plants in the 
country. 
6. Packing System. Our plants are dug fresh for 
shipment each day. As stated before, the roots of 
all our plants are moistened before packing. They 
are packed in light, strong crates. The tops of plants 
are packed outside to give air and prevent possible 
heating. The roots inside are well packed with light, 
moist sphagnum moss, to keep the roots and plants 
fresh and moist. As we pack them, plants will go 
anywhere in this country (and several other countries) 
in ideal condition. Those who have used or seen 
our plants know this. 
7. Service. After all, the thing that makes a 
successful business is plenty of satisfied customers. 
By good service we mean supplying the best of 
plants, such as we havé just been describing. But, 
more than this, we mean also, courteous treatment, 
fair dealing, promptness, and a willingness and 
desire to help in any way we can. We like to please 
ous customers and we appreciate a good word from 
them. 
‘‘Pedigree”’ 
The word “‘pedigree’’ as generally used in refer- 
ence to Strawberry plants is an attempt to make 
growers believe that plants with this word attached 
will withstand more unfavorable conditions, give 
a larger yield of better berries, and hence have an 
added value over plants claiming no pedigree. We 
maintain that such plants produced by mere selec- 
tion, even if they really are selected, do not actually 
have a pedigree, and, even if they do, it gives them 
no added value. We all know that many standard 
varieties of Strawberries, as the Chesapeake, Glen 
Mary, etc,, are chance seedlings of unknown parent- 
age, and hence cannot possibly be pedigreed in any 
sense of the word. However, these varieties can be 
found offered for sale by those who claim to sell 
only pedigreed plants. 
Assuming that it is possible to pedigree Strawberry 
plants, the fact that a plant is pedigreed would 
mean nothing in itself. A poor, weakly producing 
plant could have as much of a pedigree as a strong, 
| vigorous one. It is performance and not ‘“‘pedigree”’ 
that is important. If plants not claimed to be pedi- 
greed show up better, or even as well in experiments 
and test plots as plants claimed to be ‘‘pedigreed,”’ 
of what value is the pedigree? This has been true 
at the experiment stations and with many Straw- 
berry-growers. S. W. Fletcher, in his new book, 
“Strawberry Growing,” says: ‘‘The so-called ‘pedi- 
gree’ Strawberry plants, those that are said to have 
been propagated for a number of generations from 
the best mother plants, have not proved to be su- 
perior to ordinary, well-grown nursery stock.”’ 
Ohio, Missouri, and other agricultural experiment 
stations report that experiments have failed to 
prove the value of pedigreed plants. 
Circular No. 31 of the New York (Geneva) Agri- 
cultural Experiment Station says: ‘‘Pedigreed plants 
are supposed to inherit from their ancestors desir- 
able characters, which have become fixed and which 
are repeated without change year after year. This 
has not been proven to be true, however, and it is 
not advisable to invest in such plants.” 
Mr. John Erskine, of Hamilton County, Ohio, 
says: “‘One year I did not send for your plants, and 
I invested in pedigreed plants and got stung. I came 
to the conclusion there was no such thing as pedi- 
greed Strawberry plants. The parties I bought 
them from have written me twice for my patron- 
age, but I would rather buy your plants than have 
theirs free-gratis.”’ 
Mr. Henry T. Schmidt, of Jefferson County, 
Missouri, says: ‘‘My experience has been that the 
parentage or ‘pedigree’ has nothing to do with the 
crop, but I’d rather plant large, vigorous plants, as 
they must not be handled so carefully, or petted so 
much to makea goodstand. Years ago, whena boy of 
16 or so, I fell for the ‘pedigree’ yarn and ordered 
some Tennessee Prolific from and a check plot 
from you. Yours were the best plants, made best 
stand, and therefore best crop. That convinced me.” 
We select our plants when planting in our nursery 
and also before shipping to a customer. We dis- 
card all weak, poorly rooted, and immature plants 
and plant and ship only those that are strong, 
healthy, vigorous, and well rooted, which will 
grow well and produce large crops of fruit if given 
proper care. This is the only kind of selection of 
Strawberry plants that experiments, carefully con- 
ducted by experiment stations and by practical 
growers, have justified. Even if Strawberry plants 
could be pedigreed, why buy them, if they are not 
as good as plants, true to name, strong, well rooted, 
healthy, and vigorous, grown by some reliable, up- 
to-date nurseryman? We have no doubt that the 
so-called ‘“‘pedigreed” plants, if grown under favor- 
able conditions and handled properly, will produce 
a good crop of berries, but it would be due to the 
fact that they were good healthy Strawberry plants 
and not to the fact that they had any such a name 
as ‘“‘pedigree’’ or ‘‘thoroughbred”’ attached to them. 
We are sure that, with the same variety, properly 
planted at the right season, under identical condi- 
tions, and given the same care and attention, any 
of our varieties of strong, healthy, vigorous, true- 
to-name plants will show up as well as any so-called 
“bedigreed” plants. All who have bought plants 
from us are convinced that they are as good as, or 
better than any so-called ‘‘pedigreed” plants that 
you can buy. If you have never used our plants, 
give us a trial order this year and be convinced. 
