OF LEADING VARIETIES 



Aberdeen Big Joe Beauty Lupton Aroma Big Late Chesapeake Wm. Belt Candy 



95 95 80 75 75 85 75 90 90 



80 



90 



70 



75 



80 



80 



90 



65 



70 



95 



95 



75 



80 



90 



85 



90 



75 



85 



95 85 



80 



iO 



85 80 70 



70 



85 



70 65 



75 65 60 



75 



60 40 



100 



85 



85 



8= 



95 



75 



95 



90 



80 



90 



95 



80 



95 



85 



75 



100 



90 



90 



75 



80 



80 



50 



70 



85 



85 



90 



60 



45 



75 



45 



80 



80 



70 



80 



60 



85 



85 ... 95 .... 90 85 95 100 100 85 85 



Very Medium Light Medium Medium Light Medium Medium Light 



Light 



to Light 



to Dark 



Points of Merit — Continued 



1. Health and Vigor of Foliage 



Not only should a variety produce foliage that 

 is immune or resistant to disease, but it should 

 have a sufficient vigor of growth to make a good, 

 fairly rank fruiting bed under average condi- 

 tions. In addition this foliage must remain 

 healthy and vigorous during the entire fruiting 

 season. In the past, not enough consideration 

 has been given to the importance of good foliage. 

 Lack of ability of the foliage to stand up is 

 largely responsible for the failure of varieties 

 like Washington. Harvest King, Red Gold and 

 others to be satisfactory, and for varieties like 

 William Belt. Glen Mary, Beauty and Big Late 

 to be of doubtful value south of the Mason-Dixon 

 line. It is generally true that foliage troubles 

 of a variety will decrease as it is planted in 

 latitudes farther north or on higher elevations. 



2. Productiveness 



This factor is most important, but in the past 

 too much emphasis has been placed on total pro- 

 duction, and not enough on the production of 

 fancy or marketable fruit. Most varieties which 



set tremendous numbers of berries are very 

 likely, especially in a dry season, to have a 

 large percentage of the berries too small and 

 unattractive to be salable at a profitable price. 

 Even Premier, wonderful berry that it is, is sub- 

 ject to criticism on this point. It is largely on 

 the ability of Dorsett and Fairfax to surpass 

 Premier in this respect that we fully expect them 

 to replace Premier to a very considerable extent 

 as fast as growers realize what they will do. 



3. Size 



tfmall berries are nearly always unprofitable. 

 Large berries, if they are of sufficient quality, 

 firmness and attractiveness, are nearly always 

 profitable. In judging a variety for size of the 

 berries, too much attention should not be paid 

 to a few fruits, but to the average size of the 

 bulk of the crop, and the ability of the variety 

 to size up the last end of the crop under average 

 or even unfavorable conditions. Chesapeake, 

 while it does not produce as many berries, or 

 even as many marketable berries as some of the 

 others, will come as near sizing up every berry 

 as any variety we have ever grown. Dorsett 



19 



