IDEAL STEAWBERRIES VERSUS THOSE OF THE FIELD AND MARKET
There are certain strong, coarse-feeding vegetables, like corn and
potatoes, that can be grown on the half-subdued and comparatively poor
soil of the field; but no gardener would think of planting the finer
and more delicate sorts in such situations. There are but few who do
not know that they can raise cauliflowers and egg-plants only on deep,
rich land. The parallel holds good with this fruit. There are
strawberries that will grow almost anywhere, and under any
circumstances, and there is another class that demands the best ground
and culture. But from the soil of a good garden, with a little pains,
we can obtain the finest fruit in existence; and there is no occasion
to plant those kinds which are grown for market solely because they are
productive, and hard enough to endure carriage for a long distance. The
only transportation to be considered is from the garden to the table,
and therefore we can make table qualities our chief concern. If our
soil is light and sandy, we can raise successfully one class of choice,
high-flavored varieties; if heavy, another class. Many worry over a
forlorn, weedy bed of some inferior variety that scarcely gives a
week's supply, when, with no more trouble than is required to obtain a
crop of celery, large, delicious berries might be enjoyed daily, for
six weeks together, from twenty different kinds.
The strawberry of commerce is a much more difficult problem. The
present unsatisfactory condition of affairs was admirably expressed in
the following editorial in the "Evening Post" of June 12, 1876, from
the pen of the late William Cullen Bryant:--
STRAWBERRIES "In general, an improvement has been observed of late in
the quality of fruit. We have more and finer varieties of apple; the
pear is much better in general than it was ten years since; of the
grape there are many new and excellent varieties which the market knew
nothing of a few years ago, and there are some excellent varieties of
the raspberry lately introduced. But the strawberry has decidedly
deteriorated, and the result is owing to the general culture of
Wilson's Albany for the market. Wilson's Albany is a sour, crude berry,
which is not fully ripe when it is perfectly red, and even when
perfectly ripe is still too acid. When it first makes its appearance in
the market, it has an exceedingly harsh flavor and very little of the
agreeable aroma which distinguishes the finer kinds of the berry. If
not eaten very sparingly, it disagrees with the stomach, and you wake
with a colic the next morning. Before Wilson's strawberry came into
vogue there were many other kinds which were sweeter and of a more
agreeable flavor. But the Wilson is a hard berry, which bears
transportation well; it is exceedingly prolific and altogether
hardy,--qualities which give it great favor with the cultivator, but for
which the consumer suffers. The proper way of dealing in strawberries
is to fix the prices according to the quality of the sort. This is the
way they do in the markets of Paris. A poor sort, although the berry
may be large, is sold cheap; the more delicate kinds--the sweet, juicy,
and high-flavored--are disposed of at a higher price. Here the Wilson
should be sold the cheapest of all, while such as the Jucunda and the
President Wilder should bear a price corresponding to their excellence.
We hope, for our part, that the Wilsons will, as soon as their place
can be supplied by a better berry, be banished from the market. It can
surely be no difficult thing to obtain a sort by crossing, which shall
bear transportation equally well, and shall not deceive the purchaser
with the appearance of ripeness."
The reader will perceive that Mr. Bryant has portrayed both the evil
and the remedy. The public justly complains of the strawberry of
commerce, but it has not followed the suggestion in the editorial and
demanded a better article, even though it must be furnished at a higher
price.
In spite, however, of all that is said and written annually against the
Wilson, it still maintains its supremacy as the market berry. Those who
reside near the city and can make, to some extent, special arrangements
with enlightened customers, find other varieties more profitable, even
though the yield from them is less and some are lost from lack of
keeping qualities. But those who send from a considerable distance, and
must take their chances in the general market, persist in raising the
"sour, crude berry," which is red before it is ripe, and hard enough to
stand the rough usage which it is almost certain to receive from the
hands through which it passes. I do not expect to see the day when the
Wilson, or some berry like it, is not the staple supply of the market;
although I hope and think it will be improved upon. But let it be
understood generally that they are "Wilsons,"--the cheap vin ordinaire
of strawberries. Cities will ever be flooded with varieties that
anybody can grow under almost any kind of culture; and no doubt it is
better that there should be an abundance of such fruit rather than none
at all. But a delicately organized man, like Mr. Bryant, cannot eat
them; and those who have enjoyed the genuine strawberries of the garden
will not. The number of people, however, with the digestion of an
ostrich, is enormous, and in multitudes of homes Wilsons, even when
half-ripe, musty, and stale, are devoured with unalloyed delight, under
the illusion that they are strawberries.
If genuine strawberries are wanted, the purchaser must demand them, pay
for them, and refuse "sour, crude berries." The remedy is solely in the
hands of the consumers.
If people would pay no more for Seckel than for Choke pears, Choke
pears would be the only ones in market, for they can be furnished with
the least cost and trouble. It is the lack of discrimination that
leaves our markets so bare of fine-flavored fruit. What the grower and
the grocer are seeking is a hard berry, which, if not sold speedily,
will "keep over." Let citizens clearly recognize the truth,--that there
are superb, delicious berries, like the Triomphe, Monarch, Charles
Downing, Boyden, and many others, and insist on being supplied with
them, just as they insist on good butter and good meats, and the
problem is solved. The demand will create the supply; the fruit
merchant will write to his country correspondents: "You must send
fine-flavored berries. My trade will not take any others, and I can
return you more money for half the quantity of fruit if it is good."
The most stolid of growers would soon take such a hint. Moreover, let
the patrons of high-priced hotels and restaurants indignantly order
away "sour, crude berries," as they would any other inferior viand, and
caterers would then cease to palm off Wilsons for first-class
strawberries. If these suggestions were carried out generally, the
character of the New York strawberry market would speedily be changed.
It is my impression that, within a few years, only those who are able
to raise large, fine-flavored fruit will secure very profitable
returns. Moreover, we are in a transition state in respect to
varieties, and there are scores of new kinds just coming before the
public, of which wonderful things are claimed. I shall test nearly a
hundred of these during the coming season, but am satisfied in advance
that nine-tenths of them will be discarded within a brief period.
Indeed, I doubt whether the ideal strawberry, that shall concentrate
every excellence within its one juicy sphere, ever will be discovered
or originated. We shall always have to make a choice, as we do in
friends, for their several good qualities and their power to please our
individual tastes.
There is, however, one perfect strawberry in existence,--the strawberry
of memory,--the little wildlings that we gathered perhaps, with those
over whom the wild strawberry is now growing. We will admit no fault in
it, and although we may no longer seek for this favorite fruit of our
childhood, with the finest specimens of the garden before us we sigh
for those berries that grew on some far-off hillside in years still
farther away.