Among the innumerable candidates for favor, here and there one will establish itself by persistent well-doing as a standard sort. We then learn that some of these strawberry princes, like the Jucunda, Triomphe de Gand, and President Wilder, flourish only in certain soils and latitudes, while others, like the Charles Downing, Monarch of the West, and Wilson, adapt themselves to almost every condition and locality. Varieties of this class are superseded very slowly; but it would seem, with the exception of Wilson's Albany, that the standards of one generation have not been the favorites of the next. The demand of our age is for large fruit The demand has created a supply, and the old standard varieties have given way to a new class, of which the Monarch and Seth Boyden are types. The latest of these new mammoth berries is the Sharpless, originated by Mr. J. K. Sharpless, of Catawissa, Pa.; which shows the progress made since horticulturists began to develop the wild F. Virginiana by crossing varieties and by cultivation.
The most accurate and extended list of varieties with which I am acquainted is to be found in Downing's "Encyclopedia of Fruits and Fruit Trees of America." It contains the names, with their synonymes, and the descriptions of over 250 kinds, and to this I refer the reader.
The important question to most minds is not how many varieties exist, but what kinds will give the best returns. If one possesses the deep, rich, moist loam that has been described, almost any good variety will yield a fair return, and the best can be made to give surprising results. For table use and general cultivation, North and South, East and West, I would recommend the Charles Downing, Monarch of the West, Seth Boyden, Kentucky Seedling, Duchess, and Golden Defiance. These varieties are all first-rate in quality, and they have shown a wonderful adaptation to varied soils and climates. They have been before the public a number of years, and have persistently proved their excellence. Therefore, they are worthy of a place in every garden. With these valuable varieties for our chief supply, we can try a score of other desirable kinds, retaining such as prove to be adapted to our taste and soil.
If our land is heavy, we can add to the above, in Northern latitudes,
Triomphe de Gand, Jucunda, President Wilder, Forest Rose, President
Lincoln, Sharpless, Pioneer, and Springdale.
If the soil is light, containing a large proportion of sand and gravel, the Charles Downing, Kentucky Seedling, Monarch of the West, Duchess, Cumberland Triumph, Miner's Prolific, Golden Defiance, and Sharpless will be almost certain to yield a fine supply of large and delicious berries, both North and South.
Let me here observe that varieties that do well on light soils also thrive equally well and often better on heavy land. But the converse is not true. The Jucunda, for instance, can scarcely be made to exist on light land. In the South, it should be the constant aim to find varieties whose foliage can endure the hot sun. I think that the Sharpless, which is now producing a great sensation as well as mammoth berries, will do well in most Southern localities. It maintained throughout the entire summer the greenest and most vigorous foliage I ever saw. Miner's Prolific, Golden Defiance, Early Hudson, and Cumberland Triumph also appear to me peculiarly adapted to Southern cultivation.
As we go north, the difficulties of choice are not so great. Coolness and moisture agree with the strawberry plant. There the question of hardiness is to be first considered. In regions, however, where the snow falls early and covers the ground all winter, the strawberry is not so exposed as with us, for our gardens are often bare in zero weather. Usually, it is not the temperature of the air that injures a dormant strawberry plant, but alternations of freezing and thawing. The deep and unmelting snows often enable the horticulturist to raise successfully in Canada tender fruits that would "winter-kill" much further south. If abundant protection is therefore provided, either by nature or by art, the people of the North can take their choice from among the best. In the high latitudes, early kinds will be in request, since the season of growth is brief. The best early berries are Duchess, Bidwell, Pioneer, Early Hudson, Black Defiance, Duncan, Durand's Beauty, and, earliest of all, Crystal City. The last-named ripened first on my place in the summer of 1879, and although the fruit is of medium size, and rather soft, I fear, the plant is so vigorous and easily grown that I think it is worth general trial North and South. I am informed that it promises to take the lead in Missouri.
MARKET STRAWBERRIES
Thus far I have named those kinds whose fine flavor and beauty entitle them to a place in the home garden. But with a large class, market qualities are more worthy of consideration; and this phase of the question introduces us to some exceedingly popular varieties not yet mentioned. The four great requirements of a market strawberry are productiveness, size, a good, bright color, and—that it may endure long carriage and rough handling—firmness. Because of the indifference of the consumer, as explained in an earlier chapter, that which should be the chief consideration—flavor—is scarcely taken into account. In the present unenlightened condition of the public, one of the oldest strawberries on the list—Wilson's Seedling—is more largely planted than all other kinds together. It is so enormously productive, it succeeds so well throughout the entire country, and is such an early berry, that, with the addition of its fine carrying qualities, it promises to be the great market berry for the next generation also. But this variety is not at all adapted to thin, poor land, and is very impatient of drought. In such conditions, the berries dwindle rapidly in size, and even dry up on the vines. Where abundant fertility and moisture can be maintained, the yield of a field of Wilsons is simply marvellous. On a dry hillside close by, the crop from the same variety may not pay for picking. Plantations of Wilsons should be renewed every two years, since the plant speedily exhausts itself, producing smaller berries with each successive season. The Wilson is perhaps the best berry for preserving, since it is hard and its acid is rich and not watery.
A rival of the Wilson has appeared within the last few years—the Crescent Seedling, also an early berry, originated by Mr. Parmelee, of New Haven, Conn. At first, it received unbounded praise; now, it gets too much censure. It is a very distinct and remarkable variety, and, like the Wilson, I think, will fill an important place in strawberry culture. Its average size does not much exceed that of the Wilson; its flavor, when fully ripe, is about equal in the estimation of those who do not like acid fruit. In productiveness, on many soils, it will far exceed any variety with which I am acquainted. It is just this capacity for growing on thin, poor soils—anywhere and under any circumstances—that gives to it its chief value. In hardiness and vitality it is almost equal to the Canada thistle. The young plants are small, and the foliage is slender and delicate; but they have the power to live and multiply beyond that of any other variety I have seen. It thrives under the suns of Georgia and Florida, and cares naught for the cold of Canada; it practically extends the domain of the strawberry over the continent, and renders the laziest man in the land, who has no strawberries, without excuse. One of my beds yielded at the rate of 346 bushels to the acre, and the bright, handsome scarlet of the berries caused them to sell for as much in the open market as varieties of far better flavor. It is too soft for long carriage by rail. Those to whom flavor and large size are the chief considerations will not plant it, but those who have a near and not very fastidious market, that simply demands quantity and fine appearance, will grow it both largely and profitably. The stamens of the Crescent are so imperfectly developed that every tenth row in the field should be Wilsons, or some other early and perfect-flowered variety.