W. S. Todd, Greenwood, Delaware 
5 
BLAKEMORE. (Per.) 
This variety has been grown in this state seven years and each year has 
made a splendid showing. I have fruited it five times and am much pleased 
with it. I have fruited it on low, black soil, where the beds were very thick, 
also on lighter soils and it has never failed to produce a good crop of large firm 
berries that sold well. While the berries are rather tart they are excellent for 
canning or preserving. It is a favorite early variety with fruit brokers here, and 
even at the end of the season when the berries become small they pay a good 
price for them on account of their firmness and excellent keeping qualities. It is 
so popular in this state that almost every berry grower who raises early berries 
planted some Blakemore last spring. From some of the Northern states I have 
reports that it has not proved very satisfactory, but in the Southern states it is 
largely planted, and in Ky., Ohio, Ind., Ill., Mo., Kan. and Ark., I sold large 
quantities of the plants last season and have excellent reports, in fact Blakemore 
was my second best seller in number of plants sold last year. 
About the only criticism I have of the Blakemore is that some of the plants 
have yellow leaves and this occurs in all sections, and all plantings of this, and 
it seems to be a characteristic of this variety. Here the growers who grow it for 
the fruit pay very little attention to it, as they say it does not seem to injure or 
lessen the crop of fruit. We have gone over our plantings of Blakemore and 
removed all plants showing yellow leaves, so they are as free from this as it is 
possible to grow them. 
Blakemore was sent out by the U. S. Department of Agriculture and is a 
cross of the Missionary and Howard 17 in 1923. The berries are bluntly conic, 
not long like berries of the Missionary in North Carolina. The berries are a 
bright, light red which does not change on holding as does the Missionary and 
Klondike colors. Because of its firm flesh and relatively tough skin the Blake¬ 
more has proven considerably superior as a market variety. Under conditions so 
far tested the berries are larger than those of the Missionary, the Klondike, and 
