AMONG THE STRAWBERRIES. 



NOTES AND OPINIONS OF THE SEASON. 



GENTRAL NEW YORK.— While the testing 

 of varieties of fruits and vegetables is 

 among the most difficult and unsatisfactory 

 work that can be done in the way of experimenta- 

 tion, owing to the multitude of elements which 

 affect conditions and results, and the difficulty of 

 forming correct judgments, it may be of interest to 

 note something of the behavior of new and old 

 strawberry friends which I saw at the Cornell Ex- 

 periment Station, the past season. The plants are 

 growing on very heavy stiff clay ground, which so 

 far as known had never been manured previous to 

 1889, and from which a commercial grower would 

 hardly feel like attempting to get a profitable crop. 

 Yet good opinions could be formed of all the sorts 

 under trial. 



Bontba. Habit low to medium ; foliage good but not 

 very abundant ; trusses weak ; berry large, round 

 conical, later ones quite round ; color dark ; in texture it 

 is hollow and rather too soft for shipment, being a poor 

 keeper ; its flavor is excellent ; season medium, produc- 

 tive. Holds out well, the later berries being of fair 

 size and attractive. Good for the home garden. The 

 figure on page 519 shows a cluster, natural size. 



Oliio. High ; foliage vigorous ; trusses long, good ; 

 berry of medium size, slightly necked ; color light ; firm 

 and solid in texture, sour. Late, fairly productive and 

 holds out well. Nothing in particular to recommend it 

 except lateness. Practically identical with Kentucky. 



Miner . Habit low to medium ; foliage firm ; trusses 

 short, mostly prostrate ; berry medium size, conical, 

 bright, a little soft but not hollow; flavor fairly good. 

 Season medium ; fairly productive. 



Haverland. High ; foliage vigorous and healthy, 

 leaves thin, light colored, comparatively exempt from 

 blight ; trusses long, weak, mostly prostrate in fruit : 

 berry large, long, conical, somewhat necked, bright scar- 

 let ; colors evenly throughout ; texture fairly firm, [solid ; 

 flavor deficient ; very productive. It is an early va- 

 riety, but continued to give good berries among the 

 latest, and held out its size and attractiveness better 

 than most sorts. Its shape is not pleasing in many 

 cases and its color is too light to be most attractive on 

 the vines, but would probably appear to better advan- 

 tage after being shipped or standing some time than a 

 darker colored berry, for it has not the whitish unripe 

 appearance often shown by Sharpless. From the indica- 

 tion here it seems to be one of the most promising as a 

 general market berry. It is not' sour like the Wilson, 

 but gives one the impression that even Dame Nature her- 

 self was surprised at the number of berries, and had not 



provided enough flavoring material, and consequently 

 was obliged to dilute it, as it is deficient in quality. The 

 accompanying figure, page 523, shows a couple of aver- 

 age clusters, natural size. 



Mittc'ola. Habit low to medium ; foliage tough, 

 leathery ; trusses rather stout ; berry medium to large, 

 short, inclined to doublfe points ; later ones obconical, 

 with a pronounced neck ; color dark, uneven ; moderate- 

 ly firm, flavor good. Season medium to late ; not over- 

 ly productive, but gave a fair number of large berries ; 

 crop soon gone, last berries very irregular. 



Wilson. Habit low ; foliage rather scanty, unhealthy; 

 trusses short, prostrate in fruit ; berry small to medium, 

 round, short conical, dark, firm, solid, sour. Not as 

 vigorous a grower as most other kinds, and very subject 



to leaf-blight. While this berry has done such excel- 

 lent service in advancing strawberry culture throughout 

 the country, it is very evident that there has been de- 

 cided progress in the production of better ^'arieties, 

 and that this must be left behind. While it is no doubt 

 much benefitted by good breeding and treatment, it does 



