The Portland daily press., 1874-10-05
Varieties of Strawberry.

Those who intend 10 plant strawberries
this month will read the following remarks
from correspondent of the american Agri-
calturist with interest:
If any one wishes to know how MANY
worthless Strawberries there are, let him set
out every kind he can get. did SO for INV
own instruction, but while this kind OF plant
ing is very edifyiDg, it makes poor show on
the table. at first thought that / would
keep up collection of all, good and bad, but
needing the land for other purposes, and con-
sidering that DR.. Hexamer was keeping M
standard collection-many thanks be to him
this spring large lot of my fancy sorts
went under. l thought we should be nearly
without Strawberries this year, as bed for
fruit, put out in another place, could yield
nothing until another year; but much
to my surprise, we have had all the ber-
ries we could eat. The main reliance
had been upon four rows of Charles
Downing, each thirty-fve feet long. A
row of the black defiance-most excellent Der.
ry-has helped, but the rest, a dozen or more
sorts, count for nothing. Two rows of Ken
lucky are coming on to prolong the picking,
and instead of scarcity we have had abund-
ance. If there is any berry upon light soil better
for family use, than Charles Downing,I am de-
sirous of knowing what it is. 1t IS good to
know that name so highly esteemed, is in
this case properly bestowed, and the fruit is q
precious legacy, left us by that excellent man,
the lamented S. S. Downer, of Kentucky.
Upon my soil varieties in high favor else
where are quite useless. In this class 1 am
sorry to be obliged to place berry that bears
SO high name as President Wilder, but we
can console him by saying that Napoleon III.
is no better. Kissena, prize-berry of few
years ago, is on my bed as small, sour, worth
less as fruit can be (; aud so 1 might 90 on
enumeratiDg long list of the kinds that are
not worth growing upon my light sandy soil,
no matter how well they are fertilized.
Last year DR.. Hexamer, of New Castle,
Westchester County, N, Y, sent us speci-
mems of the fruit of the Duchess, which
seemed to be Of excellent quality and early.
Our own plants being too small to allow of
fair judgment, we requested DR.. Hexamer to
state how the Duchess had done with him.
He replies: 'sIt has for three years ripened
earlier than any other of over 100 kinds. Its
berries are larger than those OF other very
early varieties, hold out well in size, and are
of uniform globular shape, without neck;
color, light crimson; flavor, good and
spiightly, without being acid like the Wilson;
texture, firm. Berries sent TO Virginia ar
rived there in good condition, three days
after being picked. Foliage hardy and Wig
orous, withstandiDg the severe drought of
last year exceedingly well. This variety has
not yet been disseminated, but will, il it sue
ceeds in other localities as well as in the vi
cinity of New York, form most valuable adj
dition to the list of early Strawberries
As DIR. Hexamer has soil quite different
from ours, we requested he would state how
some of the newer sorts have done with him,
and he adds the following notes:
Monarch of the West. A large, irregular,
globular berry, of dark crimson color, fair
flavor, and moderate firmness. On our soil
a light clay, it is not productive enough to
be profitable.
Champion. Reports from many localities
show that this variety is not excelled in size
and productiveness. Its quality is rather in
different, and it lacks the frmness necessary
to withstand long carriage, but for local
markets it will, no doubt, be much sought
for. W.
Black defiance continues to gain many
friends. 1t seems well adapted for many
varying localities and soils, and its large size,
excellent flavor, and great productiyeness
make it one of the most valuable varieties for
the family garden.