VOL. XLVIII. NO. 2060. 
N£W a YORK, JULY.20, 1889. 
fEntered according to Act of Congress, In the Year 1889, by the Rural New-Yorker, In the Office 
of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.! 
PRICE FIVE CENTS, 
$2.00 PER„YEAR. 
fyoxtunltuxal. 
ote.si from the $uvat 
THE PARKER EARLE STRAWBERRY. 
Twelve or 15 years ago, there was some 
fun in looking out for all the new kinds of 
strawberries as they were announced, procur¬ 
ing a few plants, setting them out, each kind 
with a label bearing the date, etc., entering 
them in the Rural book of reference, watch¬ 
ing their growth and fruitage, and, later, eat¬ 
ing the berries and deciding upon their merits 
or demerits, and at length giving our readers 
the results. As many as 150 different varieties 
have thus been studied during a single season 
—never less than 75. When we tell our read¬ 
ers that scarcely more than a dozen of this 
great number of carefully-tested varieties 
are notably superior to the kinds which were 
favorites when we commenced this work, 
they will hardly be surprised that we find our¬ 
selves growing tired of the work. Still the 
work, during the past season, has been car¬ 
ried on with unabated diligence if with some¬ 
what less fun, and it is with a sense of real 
pleasure that we have to announce that one 
of the varieties under trial bids fair to fill a 
previously unoccupied place. It is the Park¬ 
er Earle, shown at Figs. 179 and 181. True, 
we have tried it but for a single season. 
True, the season has been one of unusual rain¬ 
fall, giving in great abundance the “ more 
water” and “ still more water,” which many 
suppose the strawberry plant must have to do 
its best. We have merely to inform our 
readers just how this new-comer has behaved 
itself during this first year of trial, and then 
leave them to judge whether it may be deem¬ 
ed worthy of trial in their own gardens. 
FROM THE R. N.-Y. RECORD. 
“June 1 , 1889.—Plants received in June of 
last year. The largest and strongest vines 
ever raised here the first year from summer- 
set plants. A foot high. Peduncles strong 
and upright, as many as 12 to a plant, each 
carrying from 20 to 30 berries. Its mag¬ 
nificent foliage may enable it to ripen all 
these. Suckers freely. None ripe. . . . 
June 5: Medium to late in season of ripening. 
A few ripening now. The berries usually 
turn to an ivory-white before coloring, as if 
they were white berries. . . June 8: Ber¬ 
ries medium to large, very often crinkled. 
Shape ovate, very often largest in the middle, 
tapering to both apex and stem. Neck prom¬ 
inent. Mild in quality; that is, neither acid 
nor as pronounced in the strawberry flavor 
as the Charles Downing, Henderson or Prince. 
. . . June 16: We have picked more ber¬ 
ries from the 24 plants of this variety than 
from any other 24 plants ever raised here. 
The quantity of berries in various stages of 
maturity is something surprising. Many are 
rotting from excessive rains. Rather sott at 
this time as are all other kinds. In the earlier 
part of the season the berries seemed firm 
enough for shipment. Color rather light red. 
Foliage continues perfectly healthy. . . . 
June 28: We are still picking a few from 
the Parker Earle. It holds out with the lat¬ 
est. Berries are now fairly firm and of me¬ 
dium size and good quality. It is a most 
promising variety.” 
Our engravings are the direct reproductions 
from photographs, the one showing the pro¬ 
ductiveness of an average plant; the other 
the average size of the berry. There is little 
need of exaggerating the good points of this 
berry in any way. 
THE ORIGINATOR OF THE PARSER EARLE. 
James Nimon, whose photo-engraving is 
herewith presented at Fig, 180, is of Scotch- 
Irish parentage and was born January 2, 
1849. He spent his boyhood days from the 
age of 10 until he was 21 years old, among the 
peach orchards, and nurseries near Middle- 
town, New Castle county, Delaware. In April 
1872 he concluded to take Horace Greeley’s ad¬ 
vice: “Go West, young man, go West and 
grow up with the country.” He spent two 
years in Carroll county, Illinois, where he 
made the acquaintance of Miss Nellie E. Rood, 
whom he married in October, 1873, and im¬ 
mediately moved to Leavenworth, Kansas. 
Here he engaged in the nursery and green¬ 
house business until December, 1879, when 
through the influence of friends and a desire 
to again engage in the peach business, he 
moved to his present home, Denison, Texas, 
where he is known among his horticultural 
friends as the “Silent Worker,” having taken 
an active part in the development of the 
horticultural interests of this section. 
He is well known among Texas agriculturists 
for the system in his work in horticultural 
exhibitions, and among fruit dealers for the 
excellence of his products and the perfection 
of handling and packing of the same. The 
production of the Parker Earle strawberry 
so stimulated him as an originator that in 
1888 he grew many other seedling strawber¬ 
ries, which fruited for the first time in 1889. 
Many of these are fine. One especially pro¬ 
duced a very fine crop of beautiful berries 
which ripened exceedingly early. This prom¬ 
ises to make a splendid companion for the 
Parker Earle. This season it was ripe and 
gone when the Parker Earle and Crescent be¬ 
gan ripening. 
HISTORY OF THE PARKER EARLE. 
Denison, Texas, June 8, 1889. 
Ed. R. N.-Y: In response to the Rural’s 
RESIDENCE OF JAMES NIMON, DENISON, TEXAS. From Nature. Fig. 178. 
