W. F. ALLEN’S PLANT AND SEED CATALOGUE. 
5 
plants putting it within the reach of all, and 
low enough, for our customers who are shippers 
to plant it£by the acre. 1 have a good stock 
of plants and expect to be able tcyfill all orders. 
The New Home has been test/d thoroughly, 
having teen grown on this farm for the past 
seven years. It has a record for great pro- 
CONAKT S BEAK. 
FOREION AND DOMBSTIO 
Fruit and Produce. 
IS FANEUIL HALL MARKET. 
duce a berry that would perceptibly lengthen the 
strawberry season. In the Commonwealth we have a 
berry that is as large as the largest, as productive as any 
of the largest, as fine flavor, as solid and as dark color as 
any. It is smooth and very juicy and has a strong stami- 
nate blossom. On the 17th day of July, 1902, as good ber¬ 
ries were picked as during its season; Marshall, Glen 
Mary and McKinley side by side with it being gone. The 
last berries were picked July 22d. The plant is a strong 
grower, not so rank as the Marshall and a fair plant mak¬ 
er. The Massachusetts Horticultural Society, always 
ready to recognize special merit awarded the 
Commonwealth first prize in competition July 5 
1902, and July 11,1903. 
The well-known seedsman of Marble¬ 
head, Mass., Mr. James J. H. Gregory, 
lias this to say : 
Mr.*.?.Allan, 
Salisbury,Hd. 
Dear sir:• 
Understanding that you are to offer your berry the ‘Heir Horae 0 to 
growers this season,we wish to give you our experience with it .also the 
opinion of those to whom we made sales. The first consignment we received 
were thought to be Gandys.only it was remarked by all that they were mob 
brighted and firmer than they had ever seen before,even for this variety. 
We sold this particular lot mostly to retailers and without exoeption, 
they pronounced it the best and most satisfactory berry they had ever handled 
Sinoe then we have sold to wholesale buyers from outsldo oltles and town* 
as for as Portland Me.and have heard nothing but good reports oopoerning it. 
Many retail dealers have told us that after keeping them in their 6torea 
two and three days,they were Just as bright and firm as -when they reoeived 
them Every thing considered,we think It is the best berry we know of for 
“I saw the Commonwealth on the grounds of the 
originator and a grand sight it was. The berry is 
tremendously large (14 of those I picked tilled a 
Quart basket) the berries are symmetrical in shape 
and have a rich glossy color, the flesh is red, nearly 
as dark as the Marshall. It is a great cropper 
and appears to be hard flesh enough to ship well. 
One of its most valuable characteristics is its late¬ 
ncy in maturing, for when I was there July 2d 
the large bed wnich had bushels of growing fruit 
had to be searched over very carefully to find a 
quart of ripe ber ries.” C. S. Pratt says* “It is a 
week later than Sample and a better berry; it will 
be sold as the Marshall and nine-tenths of the 
people will not know the difference.” Benjamin 
M. mith. of Beverly, Mass, well-known as a 
grower of fine berries and the introducr of the 
Beverly strawberry says: “that he has watched the 
Commonwealth carefully on the originator’s 
grounds by the side of all the leading varieties and 
for vigor and plant productiveness and quality of 
fruit it excels them all. He says it is very late and 
one of the best he ever saw.” (See cut page six.) 
10^ distAnoe. and am «uooe aB . y he Cardinal.— This new strawberry, 
«ry y yours, about which there has been so much 
,. i . i _ said ' is verv remarkable in many re¬ 
spects. It was originated in Ohio by 
dnetiveness, uniform large size and unsurpassed Mr. George J. Streator. It is the only 
keeping qualities, does not need to be picked variety of strawberries that is described 
oftener than three times a week and for market and illustrated with a color plate in the 
that can be ieached within twelve to twenty- Government Year Book of 1904. It is the 
four hours twice a week is sufficient. No trouble only variety of strawberry given a full page 
to get pickers. Grow the New 
Home and let your competitors 
do the worrying about getting 
their crop marketed. 
Commonwealth. —This new 
late berry has not fruited here 
except on a very few scattering 
plants; some nice berries of good 
size, good quality, and firm, 
were picked from these. I 
bought 1,000 plants in the spring 
of 1904, but it was late before I 
got them and a very poor stand 
was the result. What plants I 
had were re-set last spring and 
the result is that I have a splen¬ 
did growtli and a stock of per¬ 
haps 100,000 plants, equal I am 
sure to any in the country. For 
a description of this variety. 1 
shall have to be content with 
quoting other reliable grow r ers 
who have seen the berry in fruit. 
Mr. Win. H. Monroe, of Massa¬ 
chusetts, the originator, has this 
to say of it: 
“The Commonwealth is the outcome 
of the desire and an effort to pro- CARDINAL 
