22 
W. F. Allen’s Plant and Seed Catalogue, Salisbury, Md. 
VIRGINIA .—This berry is a native of Accomac 
Co., Va., from which State it takes 
its name, and is one of the berries that captured my 
offer of $100.00 for the best dozen plants of any unin¬ 
troduced variety sent me in the spring of 1903. It 
fruited with me and captured the prize in the spring 
of 1904. In points of earliness it is three or four days 
behind Excelsior; in some tests it has proved equally 
as early, but is generally three or four days later. The 
Virginia is very productive of good size early berries. 
While it is not of the firmest, it is firm enough to make 
a good shipping berry, and being uniformly of good size 
and bright glossy red color, it can be depended on to 
bring good price in market. The Virginia is said to be 
a cross between the great shipping berry Hoffman and 
the old favorite Sharpless ; this is surely most excel¬ 
lent parentage, and the Virginia to a great degree 
combines the good qualities of both. The foliage, while 
distinct, is similar to the Hoffman, but is larger and 
stronger. The plants make a goqd growth, with plenty 
of runners, and never show any rust. A Kentucky cus¬ 
tomer writes : “The Virginia has healthy foliage and 
was very prolific; extra early and large for so early a 
berry.” Geo. F. Thayer, of Idaho, says : “The Vir¬ 
ginia produces a great crop, so much so that I set out 
this fail all the plants I had.” The proprietor of the 
New York Fruit Store at St. Johnsburg, Vermont, 
writes : “The Virginia and Marshall were the best of 
all for fancy prices.” Joseph C. Watson, of Accomac 
Co. z Va., writes : “I think the Virginia is the best of 
the five varieties that I have tested this year. It makes 
a fine lot of plants; beautiful, glossy ber¬ 
ries, and continues to bear longer than 
any of the others.” An Illinois customer 
says : “Your Virginia is a grand berry. 
I am delighted with it. We have an or¬ 
ganization of berry growers here of about 
seventy members, and I was the only one 
that had it, and I sometimes got tired 
telling the boys the name of it, as there 
was always someone asking the name 
and all kind of questions about it. Yon 
will get lots of orders from here.” A 
New Jersey customer says : “The berry 
crop \\c..< a complete failure, although 
some \ .i g.nia set in my garden did ex¬ 
ceptionally well.” We have many other 
letters saying good things of the Virginia. 
Mr. Custis, who received the $iuo.o0 
prize for the dozen plants, says that he 
picked 12,000 quarts per acre of the Vir¬ 
ginia, not estimated from a small plot, 
but from an actual acre. It is an all- 
around good berry and should be grown 
in thinly matted row's, and will do better 
on medium stiff or springy land than on 
a very light soil. 
NORWOOD. — This berry, which has 
been represented to 
be such a monster in size, was origin¬ 
ated by Mr. N. B. White, of Norwood, 
Mass., who describes it as follows: “The 
Norwood was named and given first prize 
by the Massachusetts Horticultural So¬ 
ciety at its exhibition in 1906. The 
strawberry is supposed to be a cross of 
Marshall and Corsican, as it came up 
w'here the Marshall had been grown, and 
near where Corsican was grown at the 
same time. The plant is strong and 
healthy, making a liberal number of 
strong runners, but not excessive. The 
berry is conic and regular in shape, not 
a coxcombed berry was found this sea¬ 
son. The quality is unsurpassed and the 
size unequaled, some attaining the enor¬ 
mous size of three inches in diameter. 
Four such berries w'ould fill a box and be 
crowded. Color, bright red all the way 
through, grow'ing darker w'ith age ; it is 
firm, a good keeper and will ship well; 
has a perfect blossom and holds its size 
well through the season and remains in 
bearing for a long time. I picked the 
first box June 18 and the last one July 
18. The largest berries were found in 
matted rows, although the plants had 
received no extra culture.” 1 bought 1QO 
plants of Norwood tw r o years ago, for 
which I paid $40.09. From the 100 I 
only made a little more than 500 plants, 
which were all dug and planted. I have, 
therefore, not fruited the berry yet. The 
foliage resembles the Marshall very much 
and the illustrations that have’been sent 
out I am quite sure have been very much 
overdrawn. I have several thousand plants that must 
be genuine, as they came direct from the originator, 
which we will supply to any who want them. It will 
be interesting for those who are interested In very 
large berries to plant a few', but I shall be surprised 
and pleased if it is half as good as has been claimed. 
I hope to be able another season to say more about it 
personally, and I shall be pleased if I can report that 
a portion of the fabulous claims made for it can be 
realized. 
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CHESAPEAKE FINE. WIFE ALLOWS 
NO ONE ELSE TO PICK THEM. 
Chester Co., Pa., Oct. 14, 1909. 
W. F. Allen, Salisbury, Md. 
Dear Sir—The spring of 1908 I bought 50 
Chesapeake strawberry plants of you and took 
no extra care of them, hut when they began to 
ripen, then I w r as sorry for my neglect. They 
w'ere certainly fine. My wife would allow no 
one to pick them but herself, and I think they 
will keep the much-boasted “Norwood,” of 
New York State, hustling to beat them in bear¬ 
ing quality and long season. I remain, yours 
truly, JAMES I. ESSICK. 
