5i8 



THE WILSON STRAWBERRY. 



■would seem to afford ground for the suspicion that much 

 of such apparent failure is rather the ' running out ' of 

 the fertility of the soil, than of the original capacity or 

 vigor of the plant itself, a theory of which Thomas 

 Andrew Knight appears to have been at least the foster 

 father, but in the correctness of which we entertain but 

 a halting, doubtful faith." 



From Thomas Wilde, Ottawa Co., Mich. — "Thirty 

 years ago the Wilson grew large and bright under any 

 treatment. We planted close, in rows four feet apart, 

 and after planting, cut close, raked, and cultivated with 

 horse. At present, it is quite dark and about half its 

 former size, and stands the lowest on the list of com- 

 mercial berries. A fair crop can yet be grown by the 

 liberal use of ashes, but the Cumberland, Bubach, 

 Warfield, Crescent, and Sharpless supersede it. All 

 prominent growers in this part of the state believe that 

 it has 'run out' beyond hope of resurrection. The 

 Wilson berry was a God-send, but it is now eclipsed by 

 new varieties having health, vigor, productiveness and 

 beauty which far surpass its present condition." 



From ]V. A. Brown, Benton Harbor, Mich. — "The 

 first strawberries from St. Joseph, Mich., for the 

 Chicago market were grown in 1862. The Hovey, 

 Early Scarlet, Peabody and Wilson were planted. 

 The Wilson soon took the first place and held it firmly 

 against all the new varieties for nearly 25 years. In 

 Berrien county, since 1868, there have been from 2,000 

 to 4,000 acres planted in strawberries, nearly all being 

 of the Wilson. About five years ago the blight made 

 its appearance in the southern part of the county, and 

 in a year or two it extended northward, destroying all 

 the large strawberry plantations. These have generally 

 been replaced by the Crescent. A few still plant the 

 Wilson for the purpose of fertilizing the Crescent. 

 Last year less fungus than usual appeared, but this 

 season heavy rains before the fruiting caused its re-ap- 

 pearance. A great contrast in vigor is now manifest be- 

 tween the Wilson and Crescent, but the latter is proving 

 unsatisfactory as a shipping berry. It is evident that 

 both varieties must soon give place to some of the numer- 

 ous new varieties, several of which are very promising." 



From Alattliew Crawford, CiiyaJioga Falls, O. — "The 

 Wilson strawberry succeeds as well with me as it ever 

 did, except that it and many others receive more injury 

 from the rust now than formerly, not because they are 

 more susceptible to it, but it is more prevalent. I grow 

 it only in a small way in matted rows, always covering 

 it with straw in the winter. It is grown to a very 

 limited extent in this locality, having been displaced by 

 the Crescent, Cumberland and others that either yield 

 more with the same amount of labor or bring a better 

 price. I do not think it is running out, but our standard 

 is now too high to be satisfied with this variety." 



From IV. J. Green, F.xperiineut Station, Columbus, O. — 

 "The Wilson strawberry does not succeed here. We 

 have grown it in matted rows, giving thorough cultiva- 

 vation. The plants were mulched in the fall, and the 

 mulching was allowed to remain until after fruiting. 



In comparison with other varieties, it stands at the foot 

 of the list in this locality. The cause of its failure 

 here is the strawberry rust, which attacks the foliage. 

 The rust is more troublesome in this locality than in 

 many others, hence such varieties as Manchester, Capt. 

 Jack, Wilson, and many others cannot be grown here. 

 The Wilson is still grown with profit in more favored 

 parts of the state, and I have no direct evidence that it 

 is running out. The rust is probably more prevalent than 

 formerly, which may account for the fact that the 

 Wilson fails where it once was profitable. Various 

 other causes have operated to make it unpopular, such 

 as competition with improved varieties ; low prices, 

 which necessitated the growing of large berries ; the 

 efforts of plant dealers to magnify its faults in order to 

 show the virtues of their pets. Wherever the Wilson 

 succeeds and meets the demands of the market, it is 

 still largely grown." 



From C. A. Green, Rochester, N. V. — " The Wilson has 

 long been a favorite, owing partly to the great reputa- 

 tion it secured at an early day when it had but few 

 competitors, and partly to its productiveness and vigor. 

 Its peculiarity of turning red when hard and immature 

 enables it to bear shipment and hold its shape when 

 canned, and also adds to its popularity. Its 'great 

 defect here is a tendency to leaf blight, which often 

 appears suddenly and reduces the yield more than 

 one-half. Where the Wilson does not blight and re- 

 ceives good culture, it is yet a profitable variety, rivaled 

 only by the Crescent and the Warwick. With poor 

 culture, the size of the fruit dwindles after the first 

 picking. It has been somewhat difficult to get Wilson 

 plants unmixed ; owing to its having been used to fer- 

 tilize Crescents, Crescents have intermixed. In order 

 to secure absolute purity, and to improve the strain if 

 possible, I have propagated all from one plant, bearing 

 superior fruit. The results are not very encouraging as 

 regards superior fruit. The Wilson is not called for by 

 planters as often as formerly. This may be partly 

 owing to the fact that it is'not pushed in catalogues, 

 but I conclude, on the whole, that it is superseded by 

 varieties possessing better color, better quality and 

 larger size. " 



From E. Williams, Montclair, N. J. — "\ tried the 

 Wilson when it was first introduced. It proved un- 

 adapted to my soil, taste, or idea of what a strawberry 

 ought to be, a concentration of acidity in the appear- 

 ance only of a strawberry that sugar seemed powerless 

 to neutralize. If allowed to hang until crimson, to get 

 ripe, it was invariably rotten. Years afterward I was 

 induced to give it another trial from its success in Mon- 

 mouth county, procuring pure stock plants from there, 

 which, though proving to be more vigorous, were not 

 the true Wilson. I do not know of any Wilsons being 

 grown in this vicinity or county now. The Downing 

 superseded it years ago, and is still retained by many, 

 though it has failed to a large degree from rust. 

 Finally, the Wilson has no standing in this locality. It 

 was run out years ago." 



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