16 
EMPIRE ‘STRAWBERRY (“June Bearing’’ ) 
Empire is from the Geneva Experiment Station in New York. 
It is a new June Bearing strawberry that it is said will answer 
the- demand for a fancy, good sized, good keeping strawberry. 
Its light glossy red color and large size make it one of the 
most attractive of berries. You will find EMPIRE a vigorous 
grower of high quality — good shippers. EMPIRE ripens about one 
week after Premier. 
~’NORTHWE'ST STRAWBERRY (WASH. 220) 
The Northwest strawberry was developed at Western Washington Experi- 
ment Station and released for trial in districts where the Marshall can 
no longer be grown successfully because of the presence of the virus 
disease known as yellows. Northwest has shown strong resistance to this 
disease. It has in its ancestry some of the most outstanding varieties 
for yield, quality and disease resistance. Trial plots were established 
at four Washington experiment stations. In all these the plants made 
strong growth and produced good crops, exceeding the crops obtained from 
Marshall. 
Typical berries of Northwest are long conic in shape, except in the 
earliest pickings when many are broadly wedge-shaped. With normally 
vigorous plants berry size has been large to very large in early pick- 
ings, dropping off gradually to medium size at end of season. Small size 
has not been a problem at any time. Color of berries has shown some 
variation, being excellent at Puyallup and Centralia, somewhat darker 
at Vancouver and slightly lighter at Mt. Vernon. At Puyallup the color 
1s bright crimson with a high gloss which has distinct eye appeal. The 
flesh is firm, not hollow or only slightly so in the largest berries, 
and uniform light red throughout. The large green cap 1s easily removed 
in the field, leaving no stem, when being picked for quick freezing, a 
decided asset. It has typical strawberry flavor without the undesirable 
sourness or bitterness found in some varieties. 
The ripening season is late, beginning about a week after first pick- 
ing of Marshall. This characteristic may help it ‘to escape blossom 
damage by frost, and will extend the marketing season. Northwest is a 
single crop variety, showing no tendency to the everbearing habit. 
In experimental processing Northwest has been frozen, both whole and 
sliced, with sugar and with syrup added. In blind sampling it has been 
rated from slightly inferior to equal to Marshall in flavor. In almost 
all cases, sliced samples have been superior to Marshal] in appearance, 
the slices holding their shape better because of firmer texture. Frozen 
whole berries have been exceptionally good. Canned samples have been 
rated superior to the best canning varieties. 
The above information is taken from Mimeograph Circular No. 149, The 
Northwest Strawberry. You may be able to obtain this circular by writing 
to the Western Washington Experiment Station, Puyallup, Wash. 
