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BLAKEMORE 



EARLY 



SOLID -PR< 



A Great Shi 



BLAKEMORE is a U. S. Dept. Agr. cross of Missionary and Premier. Throughout the middle 

 and southern states probably no other new variety has ever been adopted so quickly by leading 

 commercial growers. Large acreages have been planted throughout the South in the territory 

 where Klondyke and Missionary has been the leaders. In a few places north of the Mason and 

 Dixon line Blakemore has done very well. It is thought that if proper spacing were practiced it 

 would do well more generally in Pennsylvania and states of similar latitude. Some of the reasons 

 for the tremendous increase in popularity of the Blakemore are listed below. 



Growth. Blakemore makes a vigorous, healthy 

 growth. In fact it will make more plants than 

 any leading- variety on our list, except possibly 

 Dorsett, under a wide variety of soil conditions. 

 The foliage is healthy and stands up well 

 throughout the fruiting season. 



Productiveness. Blakemore is sufficiently pro- 

 ductive. There are a few varieties which are 

 slightly more productive, but Blakemore ranks 

 very high in this respect. In 1933 our trial plots 

 yielded at the rate of over 10,000 quarts per acre. 



Firmness. The berries are very firm and will 

 stand shipping long distances and go into market 

 in excellent condition. This factor is important 

 when shortage of help or unusually wet weather 

 delays picking. In dry years especially, Blake- 

 more berries will hang on the vines several days 

 in good condition. Even in wet years they stand 

 up better than most of the others. 



Size and Quality. In average size, Blakemore 

 berries are somewhat smaller than Premier and 

 considerably smaller than Dorsett and Fairfax. 

 The eating quality of the fresh fruit is rather 

 tart, but it is very well liked by the cold pack 

 men and for canning and preserving. 



Color and Attractiveness. Blakemore berries 

 are very light in color and rank 100 in attractive- 

 ness. They are very pretty and usually sell well. 



Cautions 



On good soil Blakemore makes far too many 

 plants. They must be thinned severely for best 

 results. In dry years especially the small thickly 

 set plants will produce berries disappointingly 

 small if thinning has not been done. As noted 

 on Page 14, four to six plants per square foot of 

 matted row is plenty. All over that are weeds 

 which detract from the total yield, average size 

 and market value. 



yellows 



The biggest criticism of Blakemore is on ac- 

 count of the yellow leaves, areas of which occur 

 in all Blakemore plantings. It has not been 

 serious enough to materially reduce the plant- 

 ings but it is a problem. The originators are not 

 yet sure whether it can be selected out or 

 whether it is inherent with the variety. Our 

 plant fields of Blakemore have been gone over 

 carefully and all plants showing yellow or 

 mottled leaves have been dug and removed from 

 the field. We do not claim that yellow areas 

 will not appear in fields set from our stock, but 

 we do believe they will have less of it than 

 plants of this variety from most other sources. 

 Blakemore in the South, like Premier and Dunlap 

 in the North, can take a lot of punishment and 

 still come through with profitable crops. Price 

 list, page 33. 



Bl I Bellmar is a cross of Premier and 



a m a r Missionary originated by the 

 C I l ill a I u. S. Department of Agriculture. 

 We have grown Bellmar for several years. Bell- 

 mar makes a plant growth somewhat larger and 

 stronger than Premier, though under unfavorable 

 conditions it perhaps does not hold up quite as 

 well. The plants are quite productive in most of 

 the area to which it is adapted and under some 

 conditions it produces very heavily. "Very high 

 yields have been obtained in Connecticut, New 

 York and in some parts of the middle West. The 

 berries themselves are rather long and conical in 

 shape with a very large green cap. This makes 

 them very attractive. The berries are a bright 

 red color when picked at the proper time, becom- 

 ing fairly dark red a little quicker than Premier. 

 The berries are better in quality, firmer, hold their 

 size about as well and usually sell about with 

 Premier. It is worth trying in most of the 

 Premier territory and possibly slightly farther 

 South. Bellmar is a worthwhile new variety and 

 ■would become more prominent if Blakemore, 

 Dorsett and Fairfax, all early, had not come out 

 so soon following Bellmar. Except under special 

 local conditions we believe they will all prove 

 more profitable than Bellmar. We have some 

 nice plants of this variety for those who know 

 and like it or who want to give it a trial. Price 

 list, page 33. 



A J^ew York Station seedling 

 erf Marshall and Premier. It 

 has been highly praised in 

 some sections of the North. In New York state 

 it bears a heavy crop of large, smooth, bright 



Clermont 



glossy red berries with an attractive green calyx. 

 With us it makes a strong vigorous fruiting 

 bed but the foliage does not stand up, nor do 

 the caps remain green. Well worth trying in 

 the North but not recommended for regions 

 further South than Pennsylvania. Culver is bet- 

 ter and Catskill far better in this latitude than 

 any others of the New York Station seedlings, 

 most of which rust badlv this far South. Price 

 list, page 33. 



This variety 

 i s identical 

 with Pre- 

 mier and the same description applies. Many 

 growers feel that Mr. Howard, who originated 

 this variety, has not received the credit due him 

 for it, but the facts are that it was introduced as 

 Premier and advertised extensively under that 

 name, so that most growers, except in New Eng- 

 land, know it and buy it as Premier. For full 

 description see Premier, page 21. Price list, 

 page 33. 



Howard 17 (Premier) 



Klondyke 



The leading market berry 

 in many sections of the 

 South. Uniform in shape, 

 medium size, light in color, and an excellent ship- 

 ping berry. Plant growth is vigorous but only 

 medium in productiveness. Berries ripen evenly 

 all over and this, with the uniform shape and 

 firm texture, has made Klondyke a favorite with 

 canners and preservers. We believe Blakemore 

 to be superior to Klondyke in every particular. 

 However, if you want Klondyke plants we have 

 some good ones. Price list, page 33. 



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