COMPARATIVE VALUES 



Points of Merit South- Blake- 



(For fuller explanation see below) Dorsett Fairfax Premier land Bellmar more 



Plant Growth : 



Vigor of plant growth 100 95 90 95 95 100 



Ability to hold up 



thru fruiting season 100 100 90 95 80 95 



Freedom from disease 100 100 100 100 95 100 



Productiveness : 



Under ample mois- 

 ture conditions 100 95 95 85 90 90 



Under very dry con- 

 ditions 100 95 85 85 65 75 



Ability to set fruit 

 under unfavorable 

 conditions 95 .... 100 ... . 100 85 85 100 



Size: Ability to size up 



bulk of crop 100 100 85 90 85 75 



Quality: (See page 20) 100 . .100. ... 75. ... 90. ...■ 80. ... .70 



Firmness: (Seepage20) 85 95 70 80 75 90 



Attractiveness: (See 



page 20) 100 95 90 90 90 100 



Color: (See page 20) Light Dark Medium Medium Dark Very 



Light 



Values Determined By Experience 



In January, 1933, at a farmers' meeting at Harrisburg, Pa., a strawberry grower told us that 

 he could not grow satisfactory crops of Big Joe and that it was not a profit maker for him. Within 

 an hour another grower from an adjoining county said to us, "Big Joe does tine for me. It is the 

 biggest money maker of any variety I have." These incidents are illustrations of the fact that 

 strawberry varieties are so much influenced by conditions of soil fertility and acidity, fertilizer and 

 manure applied, and weather conditions, as well as latitude and altitude, that it is impossible to be 

 100 per cent accurate in making variety comparisons. However, in variety descriptions, so much 

 emphasis has been laid on the good points only of various kinds that we felt it might be of some 

 value to strawberry growers to attempt to make some comparisons of the leading varieties in simple 

 form. These ratings have been determined on the basis of our own 48 years' experience in growing 

 and testing varieties of strawberries, as well as experience of hundreds of our customers from all 

 sections of the country. We would be interested in knowing how these ratings check with the 

 experience of others of our customers and also in having a frank expression as to whether such a 

 chart as we have attempted above is of any value to strawberry growers. 



Points of Merit 



In the accompanying chart a rating of 100 on 

 any particular point does not necessarily denote 

 perfection, but means that the variety is the 

 best, or equals the best, of any variety we know 

 in that particular. 



Any variety of strawberries, to be of real value, 

 must measure up fairly well in several different 



ways. In ouryears of experience in judging, select- 

 ing and discarding hundreds of new seedlings 

 and varieties, we have found that consideration 

 of the following points has enabled us to discover 

 more quickly the true value of any variety. These 

 points are not necessarily of equal value under 

 all conditions, but all are very important. 



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