Success with Small Fruits Part 24

_Continental_.--Plant vigorous; leaf-stalk smooth; truss 5 to 7 inches, well branched, bearing 12 to 18 berries; berry dark crimson, obtusely conical; flesh firm, scarlet; flavor good; calyx recurving; season late; moderately productive, and, under hill culture, very prolific.

Originated with Mr. Oscar Felton. Staminate.

When visiting Mr. Felton, I saw several other seedlings of great promise, which I hope he will send out at an early date.

_Colonel Cheney_.--Plant low, spreading, vigorous, with light green foliage; leaf-stalk downy; truss 3 to 5 inches, low, branching; berry light scarlet, long, conical, necked; large ones very irregular; flesh pink, watery, soft; the core tends to pull out with the hull; flavor poor; calyx spreading; season medium to late; very productive, and Mr.

A. M. Purdy, editor "Small Fruit Recorder," writes to me that for near markets it is still grown with great profit in western New York.

Pistillate.

_Crimson Cone_.--(Scotch Runner or Pine-apple). About fourteen years ago, according to Mr. Fuller, there were more acres of this old-fas.h.i.+oned variety cultivated for the New York market than of all other kinds together. They were also called "Hackensacks," and were brought in the small, handled baskets already described, and were hulled as they were picked--their long neck making this an easy task.

They are small, regular, conical, firm, with a rich, sprightly, acid flavor. It is not a pistillate, as many claim, Mr. Fuller a.s.serts, but a spurious variety, largely mixed with it, is a pistillate. It is one of the historical strawberries, but it has had its day. In size and flavor it is a near approach to the wild berry.

_c.u.mberland Triumph_.--Plant vigorous, with dark green foliage; leaf-stalk smooth; truss 6 to 7 inches; well branched; berry round and very uniform in shape, pale scarlet; flesh light pink, soft; very large; size 3 to 6 inches; calyx close; season early to medium.

One of the best for family use. Under high culture, it is superb.

Originated with Mr. Amos Miller, of Carlisle, Pa. Staminate.

_Damask Beauty._--Foliage very dark green; leaf-stalk downy; truss low, 2 1/2 to 4 inches, berry very light scarlet obtusely conical; size 2 to 4 inches; flesh soft, juicy, pink; flavor fine; calyx close; season early.

A very distinct variety, and interesting to an amateur, but of no great value. Staminate.

_d.u.c.h.esse._--Plant vigorous, tall; leaves dark green; leaf-stalk and midrib very downy; truss 7 inches; rec.u.mbent, well branched, 6 to 8 berries that hold out well in size; berry round, bulky, very uniform, moderately firm; bright scarlet; flesh pink, juicy; flavor fine; size 3 to 4 inches; season very early, but continuing quite long. Inclined to stool, or make large plants from a single root; enormously productive; from 50 to 200 berries to a plant, in hill culture. I regard it as the best early standard berry, and have always found it one of the most profitable for market. Originated with Mr. D. H. Barnes, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y, Staminate.

_Duncan._--Plant vigorous; foliage light green; leaf-stalk downy; truss 5 to 7 inches; berry scarlet, round to oval, often decidedly conical; large ones irregular, and c.o.x-combed, flesh pink, not very firm; flavor very good; calyx close to spreading; a productive, fine variety, that, I am inclined to think, has not been appreciated. Originated by Mr. J.

G. Lucas, of Ulster Co., N. Y. Staminate.

_Doctor Nicaise._--A French variety; enormously large; soft; not productive; and on my grounds wretched in flavor.

_Downer's Prolific._--A light scarlet berry; medium to large; oval, roundish, soft; acid, but of good flavor, and perfumed like the wild berry. Plant very vigorous and capable of enduring much neglect; profitable for home use and near market. Originated with Mr. J. S.

Downer, of Kentucky. Staminate.

_Dr. Warder._--Plant tall, moderately vigorous; foliage light green; leaf-stalk downy; truss 7 to 9 inches, branched, full of different-sized berries; berry long, conical, well shouldered, crimson, firm; flesh pink; flavor good; size 4 to 6 inches; calyx close; season very late; burns badly, needs to be in shade. Staminate.

A superb variety if it did not lose its foliage.

_Early Hudson._--Plant very vigorous, with light green foliage; leaf-stalk downy; truss 4 to 5 inches, strong, well branched; berry crimson, flattish-round; when large, somewhat irregular; flesh crimson, juicy, soft; size 3 to 5 inches; season very early; very productive.

One of the best for family use, and very productive and fine, with runners cut. Pistillate.

_Eliza._--Plant moderately vigorous; dark green; leaf-stalk downy; truss 3 to 5 inches, stout, branched; berry light scarlet, round to conical, necked, large ones irregular and c.o.xcombed; flesh firm, white; flavor excellent; calyx close; season late; moderately productive. One of the best foreign varieties. Staminate.

_Early Adela._--Not worth growing on my grounds.

_French's Seedling._--Plant vigorous, with light green foliage; leaf-stalk downy; truss 5 to 7 inches; berry round, scarlet; size medium; seeds deep-pitted; flesh pink, soft; flavor good; calyx spreading; season early; moderately productive. Found growing wild in a meadow, near Morristown, N. J.

_Forest Rose._--Plant moderately vigorous; foliage light green; truss 3 to 5 inches, branching; berry bright scarlet, large, and the first somewhat irregular, 4 to 6 inches; flesh light pink; flavor very fine; calyx spreading and recurving; season early.

One of the best where it can be grown, but in some regions the foliage burns. Discovered growing in a vineyard, by Mr. Fetters, of Lancaster, Ohio. Staminate.

_Frontenac._--Foliage light green; plant moderately vigorous; leaf-stalk wiry; truss 5 inches, 6 to 8 berries; berry bright scarlet, roundish and slightly irregular; size 2 to 3 inches; flesh pink, solid; season late; moderately productive; the foliage is inclined to burn.

_ Glendale._--This variety is now greatly praised as a market berry.

Dr. Thurber and I examined it together, and agreed that its flavor was only second-rate; but, as we have already seen, the public does not discriminate very nicely on this point. It averages large, sometimes exceeding six inches in circ.u.mference. It is long, conical, uniform in shape, necked. The first berries are often ridged somewhat, but I have never seen it flat or c.o.xcombed. It has a very large calyx, is light scarlet in flesh and color, very firm, and therefore will probably keep and s.h.i.+p well, the large calyx aiding in this respect also. The plant is vigorous and makes a long runner before the new plant forms. Leaves large and dark green; leaf-stalk downy; truss 4 to 6 inches; season very late. Found, by Mr. W. B. Storer, growing wild in Glendale Cemetery, Akron, O., in 1871. Staminate. I think this berry has a future as a market variety.

_Green Prolific._---One of the late Mr. Seth Boyden's noted varieties, and a parent of far better berries than itself. I quote again from Mr.

Boyden's diary: "No. 5; a cross with Hovey's Seedling and Kitley's Goliath; a large plant, and seldom injured by summer heat; very luxuriant grower and bearer; berries above medium size and of good quality. A pistillate."

This berry was once very popular, but has been superseded. The fruit is very soft, and second-rate in flavor. The plant is so vigorous and hardy that, in combination with a fine staminate, it might be the parent of superior new varieties.

_General Sherman._--New. Described as "large, conical, regular, brilliant scarlet; quality good; productive; early."

_Great American._--Plant but moderately vigorous; foliage dark green; leaf-stalks downy; truss 4 to 7 inches; berry dark crimson, round to conical; under poor culture, 2 to 3 inches in size, but sometimes very large, 10 to 12 inches; flesh pink; flavor only fair; season late; unproductive, unless just suited in soil and treatment. In most localities, the foliage burns or scalds in the sun, and also seems just adapted to the taste of the flea-beetle and other insects. Originated with Mr. E. W. Durand, and under his exceedingly high culture and skilful management it yielded immense crops of enormous berries that sold as high as a dollar per quart; but throughout the country at large, with a few exceptions, it seems to have been a melancholy failure From this variety was produced a berry measuring over fourteen inches in circ.u.mference--probably the largest strawberry ever grown.

Staminate.

_Golden Defiance._--Plant tall, very vigorous, somewhat slender, light green; leaf-stalk moderately downy; truss 5 to 7 inches, 12 to 20 berries, well cl.u.s.tered--all the berries developing to a good size; berry dark scarlet, obtusely conical, smooth, sometimes necked, very uniform, 3 to 5 inches; flesh scarlet, quite firm, juicy; flavor very fine; calyx spreading and recurving; season late.

For three successive years this has been the best late berry on my place, and one of the most beautiful. Unless it changes its character, it will win its way to the front rank in popularity. If its runners are cut, it is exceedingly productive of fruit that is as fine-flavored as showy. Pistillate. Originated with Mr. Amos Miller, of Pennsylvania.

_Glossy Gone._--One of Mr. E. W. Durand's seedlings. A pretty berry, with a varnished appearance, but neither productive nor vigorous on my grounds, thus far. New.

_Helen._--New. Plant tall, vigorous, with dark green foliage, very downy; truss 5 to 7 inches, branched; berry light scarlet, flat, conical; flesh white, firm; flavor fine; calyx close; season late. I fear the foliage is inclined to burn badly. Staminate.

_Hervey Davis._-New Plant tall, rather vigorous, with light green foliage; leaf-stalk smooth, except when young; truss 5 to 6 inches; berry bright scarlet, shouldered, obtusely conical, glossy; flesh very light pink, firm; flavor good; calyx close; season medium; productive.

It has seemed to me the most promising of Mr. J. B. Moore's seedlings.

The berry resembles the Jucunda somewhat. Staminate.

_Hovey's Seedling._--One of the most famous of the historical berries, and still raised quite largely around Boston. It was originated by Mr.

C. M. Hovey, and was first fruited in 1835. Its introduction made a great sensation in the fruit world, and the fact of its being a pistillate gave rise to no end of discussion. Many who first bought it set it out by itself, and of course it bore no fruit; therefore they condemned it. When its need of fertilization was understood, many used wild plants from the woods for this purpose, and then found it to be the largest and most productive strawberry in cultivation at that period. Such large crops were often raised that the theory was advanced by many that pistillates as a cla.s.s would be more productive than staminates, and horticulturists became as controversial as the most zealous of theologians. The berry and the vexed questions that it raised have both ceased to occupy general attention, but many of the new varieties heralded to-day are not equal to this old-fas.h.i.+oned sort.

Mr. Downing thus describes it: "The vines are vigorous and hardy, producing moderately large crops, and the fruit is always of the largest size and finely flavored; the leaves are large, rather light green, and the fruit-stalks long and erect; fruit roundish-oval and slightly conical, deep s.h.i.+ning, scarlet, seeds slightly imbedded; flesh firm; season about medium."

_Huddleston's Favorite._--New. Thus described by E. Y. Teas, of Dunreith, Ind.: "A vigorous grower, with large, glossy foliage, that stands the sun well; berries of the largest size, round, with small calyx, of a bright, glossy, crimson color, ripening evenly, firm, with a rich, spicy flavor; late; very beautiful in appearance."

_Jucunda._--A slow rather than feeble grower, on heavy soils; light green foliage; leaf-stalk smooth; truss 5 to 7 inches; berry high-shouldered, conical, of a bright, glossy crimson, very showy; flesh scarlet, firm; flavor fair and good when fully ripe; calyx close; season late.

I am indebted to Dr. Hexamer for the following history: "The late Rev.

Mr. J. Knox, of Pittsburgh, told me that in a bed of what he received as Bonte de St. Julien, he found a number of plants that seemed to him a new variety. Supposing them to be a new and very desirable seedling, he separated them from the others and propagated them under the name of '700.' Before he offered them for sale he discovered that they were identical with the Jucunda, and when they were brought out, in 1865, it was under the true name, Jucunda (Knox's 700)." One authority states that it originated in England, with a Mr. Salter; another says that it was imported from Belgium. This is of little consequence compared with the fact that it is the finest foreign berry we have, on _heavy_ soils.

I do not recommend it for light land, unless the runners are cut and high culture is given. Mr. M. Crawford, of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, makes the interesting statement that Mr. Knox "sold over two hundred bushels of this variety in one day, at $16 per bushel." It has always been one of the most profitable on my heavy land. The young plants are small and feeble. Staminate.

_Kentucky Seedling._--Plant tall, vigorous, but slender and apt to fall; light green foliage; truss 8 to 10 inches, with 8 to 10 berries; berry scarlet, conical, high-shouldered, somewhat flattened at the tip, regular in shape and uniform in size, a little rough, k.n.o.bby, with seeds set in deep pits; flesh but moderately firm, and very white; flavor of the best; calyx spreading and recurving; season late and long-continued; very productive--one of the very best; size 3 to 4 1/2 inches. It succeeds well on light soils and under the Southern sun, and improves wonderfully under hill culture. Staminate. Originated by Mr.

J. S. Downer, of Kentucky.

_Lady of the Lake._--Plant tall, vigorous, dark green foliage; leaf-stalk downy; truss 7 to 8 inches; berry crimson, conical necked; flesh pink, firm; flavor good, but rather dry; size moderate; calyx spreading; season medium; productive. Staminate.

It has been, and is still, a favorite with the market-men around Boston. Originated by a Mr. Scott, in Brighton, Ma.s.s.

_La Constant._--One of the most beautiful of the foreign berries; flesh rosy white, sweet, juicy, very firm, and of exquisite flavor. The plants are dwarf and compact, and they require the highest culture.

Even then the crop is uncertain; for the variety, like high-born beauty, is very capricious; but its smiles, in the way of fruit, are such as to delight the most fastidious of amateurs. Originated by De Jonghe. Staminate. It is one of the favorite varieties abroad for forcing.

_Lady's Finger._--An old variety, now not often seen. Conical, and very elongated, and of a brilliant, dark scarlet color. It was once popular, but has been superseded.

_Lennig's White_ (White Pine-apple).--This is not strictly a white berry, for it has a delicate flush if exposed to the sun. The flesh is pure white, juicy, melting, sweet and delicious in flavor, and so aromatic that one berry will perfume a large apartment. The plant is vigorous and hardy, but a shy bearer. Hill culture and clipped runners are essential to fruit, but, for a connoisseur's table, a quart is worth a bushel of some varieties. It is the best white variety, and evidently a seedling of the _F. Chilensis._ It originated in the garden of Mr. Lennig, of Germantown, Pa. Staminate.