Early Strawberry
Apple
USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection
Early Strawberry
Origin / History
An American apple, said to have originated in the neighborhood of New York. Hedrick says it was first known in what is now the City of New York, where it probably originated about 1800 or a little later. The Herefordshire Pomona says it is supposed to be a seedling from the Margaret, from which it is very distinct.
Manning described it in 1838 as American Red Juneating (Beach, Thomas). Beach says it was formerly known to some as Red Juneating or American Red Juneating, and that the name Red Juneating has been applied also to the Margaret. In 1846 Downing separated the two: "The Early Strawberry has a long stalk, and is a high colored fruit, striped with dark red. The Early Red Margaret has a short stalk and is a dull colored fruit, with faint red stripes. We have had both fruits in bearing this year, and have compared them for several years past. The Early Red Margaret is correctly shown in the beautiful colored plates of Ronald's Pyrus Malus Brentfordiensis, and in the Pomological Magazine. Our Early Strawberry apple is not described in any European work that we have seen. It is greatly superior to the Early Red Margaret in productiveness, and especially in long keeping and ripening gradually, qualities that are rare in early apples and for which the market dealers in New York rate the Strawberry very highly." Downing later added that the Early Red Margaret has no fragrance. He records that Early Strawberry appears in the New York markets from July till September.
A beautiful, bright, very attractive apple. Elliott calls it "successful in all localities, and, although not best in quality, yet generally esteemed," and Thomas calls it good in all localities. The Herefordshire Pomona (1885) calls it "a very favourite early dessert apple in America" that has "not very long been introduced into England." Beach says it has been extensively disseminated and is generally catalogued by nurserymen throughout the apple-growing regions of America. Hedrick calls it a favorite August apple, now widely distributed in eastern America. In his words it "merits the esteem bestowed on it by virtue of fruits with crisp, tender, sprightly, aromatic flesh; and hardy, healthy, early-bearing, fruitful trees."
Lowther's station table, entry (4), gives "Northern Division S*". It reports the variety from 11 stations in the Central Division and 5 in the Southern Division, each marked as reported in more than one division. Two trees were entered at the Central Experimental Farm, Agassiz, British Columbia, both planted in spring 1894.
Tree
Very erect in growth, very upright while young, becoming spreading with age. Beach says it eventually becomes roundish and somewhat spreading.
Small to large, moderate to vigorous. Beach gives a tree medium in size and a moderate grower, and the Herefordshire Pomona calls it small. Warder calls it thrifty and large when older, and the Agassiz trees were vigorous, strong growers.
Wood and shoots dark. Foliage abundant, the leaves numerous and erect on long footstalks. Warder describes them as bright green, almost shining, rather narrow, and long; Thomas calls them finely crenate.
Hardy and healthy, very hardy in the Herefordshire account; Stark calls it "Not quite hardy." Comes into bearing young. Productive, bearing abundantly; Beach gives moderate to good crops, biennially or almost annually. The Herefordshire Pomona says that grafted on the paradise stock it makes a good pyramid, and grown in an orchard house it forms a very attractive object.
Fruit
Size: Small to medium, most authors placing it at small, rather small, or below medium to medium. The Herefordshire Pomona and one Agassiz entry call it medium (middle sized), and Stark alone calls it rather large. The Herefordshire fruit measured two inches and a quarter broad by two inches high. Beach calls it pretty uniform in shape and size, but says a relatively high percentage of the apples are undersized or otherwise unmarketable. Hedrick says a high percentage are undersized and malformed.
Form: Roundish to round-conic, broad at the base and narrowing or tapering toward the eye. Varies to round-ovate and sometimes quite conical. Regular or somewhat ribbed, varying to angular, the angularity at the eye in the Herefordshire account; Warder says rarely angular. Sides often unequal (Beach). Lowther gives roundish (oblate), and one Agassiz entry round, flat. Stark alone calls it oblong.
Stem: Long and rather slender or thin, three-quarters of an inch to two inches; Downing gives an inch and a half. Uneven, often clubbed or knobbed. Elliott gives a range from long, straight, and slender to medium and curved, and Warder says sometimes short.
Cavity: Deep and regular; Warder calls it medium. Beach describes it as acute or approaching acuminate, broad, and symmetrical, sometimes with faint radiating rays of russet. The Herefordshire Pomona calls it narrow.
Calyx: Small to rather small; Warder calls the eye medium and long. Closed or sometimes open, the lobes long and narrow (Beach). Segments reflexed or divergent (Warder, Budd and Hansen), converging in the Herefordshire account. Beach describes the calyx tube as short, moderately wide, and conical or approaching funnel-shape, with a fleshy pistil point projecting into the base. He gives the stamens as median.
Basin: Small, narrow, and shallow, extending to moderately deep in Beach, who calls it obtuse. Folded or plaited (Warder), slightly furrowed (Beach).
Skin: Smooth and fair, often shining, polished, or waxy. Rather thick and tough (Beach). Sticky or "greasy" when house-ripened (Warder).
Ground yellow to yellowish white, light yellow in Stark, greenish yellow in one Agassiz entry. Entirely red, or mostly to nearly covered with mixed bright and dark red, a very attractive bright deep red and rich dark red in Beach. The red is finely striped, stained, mottled, and splashed with deeper red or crimson, the striping indistinct in Thomas. In the Herefordshire account the fruit is almost covered with clear bright red, the yellow ground showing on the shaded side, and finely striped with deeper red on the sunny side. One Agassiz entry adds a reddish russet cheek.
Dots: Very few or rare, minute, grayish, obscure (Budd and Hansen). One Agassiz entry describes the skin as sprinkled with whitish dots.
Flesh and flavor: White to whitish yellow, tinged, stained, or streaked with red next to the skin; Thomas says the skin color tinges the flesh faintly. Tender and juicy, crisp, moderately tender in Beach. The grain is breaking and fine grained according to Warder, moderately coarse according to Beach.
Subacid, sprightly, and brisk, pleasant, with an agreeable aroma. Downing calls it "very sprightly and brisk in flavor." Thomas calls it "rather brisk, pleasant, not very rich." One Agassiz entry calls it acid. Stark notes a "Slight strawberry flavor."
Quality very good in most accounts. Warder gives "good to very good" and one Agassiz entry "good." Elliott calls it "not best in quality," and the Herefordshire Pomona "excellent in flavour."
Core and seeds: Core medium (Elliott) to large (Beach). Warder gives it as regular, closed, and not meeting the eye. Beach gives it as axile or somewhat abaxile, with cells usually open and sometimes partly closed, and core lines nearly meeting. Carpels broadly roundish to elliptical, much concave, emarginate (Beach). Seeds numerous, wide or broad, plump, obtuse, dark brown. Beach gives them as medium or above in size; Elliott calls them small.
Season
Summer, from the last of July into early September. Most authors give July and August, and the New York market season ran from July till September. Thomas says it ripens one to three weeks later than Yellow Harvest. The two Agassiz trees ripened the last of July and early September respectively.
The Herefordshire Pomona says that, "like all early apples," it does not keep long. Beach says it does not keep well, and Stark that it does not ripen evenly. Downing in 1846 credited it with long keeping and gradual ripening, rare in an early apple, as against the Early Red Margaret.
Uses
Above all an early dessert apple. Beach calls it very desirable for dessert and good also for culinary uses. Lowther classes it as a family apple, and Warder lists it for dessert and market. Downing records that New York market dealers rated it very highly. Stark says it sells well on account of its beauty but is easily bruised and must be handled very carefully, and judges other early varieties more valuable.
Beach judges it not a very satisfactory variety for commercial planting. Demand is mostly limited to local markets, a relatively high percentage of the apples are undersized or otherwise unmarketable, and the fruit does not keep well. On account of its productiveness and high quality he considers it desirable for the home orchard. Hedrick calls the apples too delicate to ship and the variety not a good general market sort.
Subtypes / Variants
Not described in source.
Other
Thomas figures it (Fig. 361). The Herefordshire Pomona figures it on a plate beside the Margaret, where "the comparison is seen at once." Stark's entry closes with the notation "CS."
Book Sources
Described in 9 period pomological works
- Beach, The Apples of New York Vol. 2 (1905)
- Warder, American Pomology: Apples (1867)
- Budd & Hansen, Systematic Pomology (1914)
- Downing, Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)
- Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865)
- Lowther (ed.), Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture (1914)
- Hedrick, Cyclopedia of Hardy Fruits (1922)
- The Herefordshire Pomona (1876–1885)
- Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 30 catalogs (1850–1921) from California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington
- Azell Bowditch (Nursery / Fruit Catalog) , Boston , Massachusetts — 1850
- St. Helena Nursery , Howell Prairie, Marion County, OR (Marion Co., Ogn.) — 1864
- California Nursery Co. , Niles , California — 1889
- William H. Moon Co. , Morrisville, Bucks County , Pennsylvania — 1890
- Rogers Nursery Co. , Moorestown , New Jersey — 1893
- Sherwood Hall Nursery Co. , Timothy Hopkins (Menlo Park Nurseries), San Francisco / Menlo Park , California — 1893
- The Vineland Nurseries (Kelsey & Co. , Proprietors), St. Joseph, Missouri (Office: 13th and Atchison Sts., 2 Blocks East of the Citizens St. Car Line) — 1894
- Reading Nursery , Jacob W. Manning, Proprietor, Reading , Massachusetts — 1898
- Brown Brothers Co. , Continental Nurseries, Rochester, NY (also operated from Toronto, Canada) — 1899
- Central Experimental Farm , Dominion Department of Agriculture, Agassiz, British Columbia (under test; Bulletin No. 3, Second Series) — 1900
- Washington Nursery Co. , Toppenish , Washington — 1901
- Brown Brothers Co. , Continental Nurseries, Rochester, NY (also operated from Toronto, Canada) — 1901
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1901
- Carlton Nursery Co. , Carlton , Oregon — 1909
- Wm. J. Corse (successor to Robert Sinclair / Sinclair Nurseries) , Baltimore , Maryland — 1909
- Washington Nursery Company , Toppenish , Washington — 1909
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon (Vashon Island) , Washington — 1911
- Pacific Nursery Company , Portland , Oregon — 1912
- Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co. , Louisiana , Missouri — 1912
- Washington Nursery Company , Toppenish , Washington — 1912
- Benjamin Buckman (personal inventory) , Farmingdale , Illinois — 1913
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon (Vashon Island) , Washington — 1914
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon (Vashon Island) , Washington — 1915
- Union Nurseries , J.B. Weaver & Sons, Union , Oregon — 1915
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon (Vashon Island) , Washington — 1916
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon (Vashon Island) , Washington — 1917
- Oregon Nursery Co. , Orenco , Oregon — 1920
- Benedict Nursery Co. , Portland , Oregon — 1921
- Island Nurseries & Fruit Farm , Vashon , Washington — 1921
- North-Western Nurseries , Walla Walla , Washington
View original book sources (11)
— F.R. Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865)Early Strawberry. American Red Juneating. | Red Juneating. American. Tree, very erect in growth, dark wood, numerous leaves erect, with long footstalks ; productive, and successful in all localities, and, although not best in quality, yet generally esteemed. Size, small ; form, roundish, varying to angular and conical ; color, yellowish white, striped and stained over with bright and dark red ; stem, varying from long straight and slender, to medium, curved ; calyx, small ; basin, narrow and shallow ; flesh, yellowish white, tinged with red, sub-acid, sprightly, tender ; core, medium ; seeds, small. July.
— John A. Warder, American Pomology: Apples (1867)Early Strawberry. AMERICAN RED JUNEATING.
Origin New York; Tree thrifty, very upright, while young, spreading and large when older; Shoots dark colored; Foliage abundant on long stems, bright green, almost shining, rather narrow, long, erect.
Fruit small to medium, round-conic, regular or rarely angular; Surface smooth, often shining, yellow, mostly covered with mixed red, striped crimson; Dots rare, very minute; Surface sticky or "greasy" when house-ripened.
Basin shallow, folded or plaited; Eye medium, long; Segments reflexed.
Cavity medium, regular; Stem long, rather slender, sometimes short, knobby.
Core regular, closed, not meeting the eye; Seeds numerous, broad, plump; Flesh whitish-yellow, breaking, fine grained, juicy; Flavor sub-acid, aromatic; Quality good to very good; Use, dessert, market; Season, July and August.
— Woolhope Naturalists Field Club, The Herefordshire Pomona (1885)4 EARLY STRAWBERRY. [Syn : American Red Juneating.]
This bright beautiful apple is said to have originated near New York ; and is supposed to be a seedling from the Margaret from which it is very distinct. The comparison is seen at once on the plate.
Description.—Fruit : middle sized, broad at the base and narrowing towards the eye, where it becomes angular, two inches and a quarter broad by two inches high. Skin : smooth, almost covered with a clear bright red colour on a yellow ground as seen on the shaded side, but finely striped with a deeper red on the sunny side. Eye : small, with converging segments, and set in a shallow basin. Stalk : thin, from one to two inches in length, and inserted in a deep narrow cavity. Flesh : white, or stained with red near the skin ; tender, with a pleasant sub-acid flavour and an agreeable aroma.
This apple is a very favourite early dessert apple in America, and has not very long been introduced into England. It is very attractive in appearance and excellent in flavour, but like all early apples does not keep long.
The tree is small, but very hardy and bears abundantly. Grafted on the paradise stock it makes a good pyramid, and when grown in an Orchard house forms a very attractive object.
— A.J. Downing, The Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)Early Strawberry.
American Red Juneating. Red Juneating.
A beautiful variety, which is said to have originated in the neighborhood of New York, and appears in the markets there from July till September. It is quite distinct from the Early Red Margaret, which has no fragrance, and a short stem.
Fruit roundish, narrowing towards the eye. Skin smooth and fair, finely striped and stained with bright and dark red, on a yellowish white ground. Stalk an inch and a half long, rather slender and uneven, inserted in a deep cavity. Calyx rather small, in a shallow, narrow basin. Flesh white, slightly tinged with red next the skin, tender, subacid, and very sprightly and brisk in flavor, with an agreeable aroma. Very good.
— John J. Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)Early Strawberry.* (American Red Juneating, of Manning.) Rather small, roundish, varying to round-ovate, and sometimes quite conical; surface indistinctly and finely striped with bright and deep red, tinging faintly the flesh; stalk slender, three-quarters to an inch and a half long; basin small and narrow; flesh white, tender, sub-acid, rather brisk, pleasant, not very rich. Ripens one to three weeks later than Yellow Harvest. Growth, very erect; leaves erect, finely crenate. Productive. Good in all localities. New York. Fig. 361.
— S.A. Beach, The Apples of New York, Vol. 2 (1905)EARLY STRAWBERRY.
REFERENCES. 1. Manning, 1838:46. 2. Downing, 1845:73. fig. 3. Horticulturist, 1:145. 1846. 4. Mag. Hort., 14:488. 1848. fig. 5. Thomas, 1849:139. fig. 6. Cole, 1849:101. fig. 7. Barry, 1851:280. 8. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat., 1852. 9. Elliott, 1854:76. 10. Hooper, 1857:31, 106, 109. 11. Gregg, 1857:36. 12. Horticulturist, 14:425. 1859. 13. Warder, 1867:514. fig. 14. Downing, 1869:157. 15. Fitz, 1872:143, 151, 160. 16. Leroy, 1873:310. figs. 17. Downing, 1881:12 index, app. 18. Wickson, 1889:243. 19. Watts, Tenn. Sta. Bul., 5:78. 1890. 20. Lyon, Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt., 1890:290. 21. Bailey, An. Hort., 1892:238. 22. Budd-Hansen, 1903:75. fig.
SYNONYMS. AMERICAN RED JUNEATING (1). American Red Juneating (4, 5, 9, 13, 14, err. 5, ? 2). De La Madeleine Rouge (16). EARLY STRAWBERRY (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22). Early Strawberry (16). FRAISE (16). Louis XVIII (16). Red Juneating (3, 6, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, err. 4, err. of some American gardens, 2). St. John Strawberry (17). Striped Shropshire (17). Tennessee Early Red (17).
Fruit of a very attractive bright deep red color, very desirable for dessert and good also for culinary uses. The tree is medium in size, a moderate grower, upright when young, but eventually becoming roundish and somewhat spreading. It is hardy, healthy, comes into bearing young and yields moderate to good crops biennially or almost annually. It is not a very satisfactory variety for commercial planting because the demand for it is mostly limited to local markets, a relatively high percentage of the apples are undersized or otherwise unmarketable and the fruit does not keep well. On account of its productiveness and high quality it is a desirable variety for the home orchard.
Historical. Early Strawberry is an American fruit which is said to have originated in the vicinity of New York (2, 3). It was formerly known to some under the name Red Juneating or American Red Juneating. The name Red Juneating has been applied also to the Margaret. In 1846 Downing published the following observations concerning these two varieties (3). "The Early Strawberry has a long stalk, and is a high colored fruit, striped with dark red. The Early Red Margaret has a short stalk and is a dull colored fruit, with faint red stripes. We have had both fruits in bearing this year, and have compared them for several years past. The Early Red Margaret is correctly shown in the beautiful colored plates of Ronald's Pyrus Malus Brentfordiensis, and in the Pomological Magazine. Our Early Strawberry apple is not described in any European work that we have seen. It is greatly superior to the Early Red Margaret in productiveness, and especially in long keeping and ripening gradually, qualities that are rare in early apples and for which the market dealers in New York rate the Strawberry very highly."
Early Strawberry has been extensively disseminated and is generally catalogued by nurserymen throughout the apple-growing regions of America (21).
FRUIT.
Fruit below medium to medium, pretty uniform in shape and size. Form roundish conic or roundish, regular or somewhat ribbed; sides often unequal. Stem long and rather slender, often clubbed. Cavity acute or approaching acuminate, deep, broad, symmetrical, sometimes with faint radiating rays of russet. Calyx rather small, closed or sometimes open; lobes long, narrow. Basin small, shallow to moderately deep, narrow, obtuse, slightly furrowed. Skin rather thick, tough, smooth, waxy, entirely red or yellow nearly covered with a rich dark red, mottled and irregularly striped and splashed with deeper red. Dots minute, grayish. Calyx tube short, moderately wide, conical or approaching funnel-shape, with fleshy pistil point projecting into the base. Stamens median. Core large, axile or somewhat abaxile; cells usually open, sometimes partly closed; core lines nearly meeting. Carpels broadly roundish to elliptical, much concave, emarginate. Seeds medium or above, wide, plump, obtuse, dark brown. Flesh whitish-yellow often with streaks of red, moderately coarse, crisp, moderately tender, juicy, subacid, aromatic, sprightly, very good.
Season August.
— J.L. Budd & N.E. Hansen, American Horticultural Manual, Part II: Systematic Pomology (1914)Early Strawberry.—Origin, New York; tree thrifty, very upright while young, spreading and large with age, quite distinct from the Early Red Margaret, which has no fragrance, and a short stem.
Fruit small, roundish, conical, rarely angular; surface smooth and fair, often polished, yellow, mostly covered with mixed red with bright and dark crimson stripes; dots very few, minute, obscure; cavity deep, regular; stem long, rather slender, sometimes knobbed and uneven; basin narrow, shallow, folded or plaited; calyx rather small; segments divergent. Core regular, closed, not meeting; seeds many, plump; flesh whitish yellow, slightly tinged with red next to the skin, tender, sprightly, brisk, agreeable aromatic subacid, very good. July, September.
— Granville Lowther (ed.), Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture (1914)Early Strawberry (4): size small; form roundish (oblate); color striped or splashed (red); quality very good; use family; season summer; Northern Division S*; Central Division 11 reporting stations (reported in more than one division); Southern Division 5 reporting stations (reported in more than one division).
— U.P. Hedrick, Cyclopedia of Hardy Fruits (1922)EARLY STRAWBERRY. Red Juneating. Early Strawberry is a favorite August apple. It merits the esteem bestowed on it by virtue of fruits with crisp, tender, sprightly, aromatic flesh; and hardy, healthy, early-bearing, fruitful trees. The apples are too delicate to ship, and a high percentage of them are undersized and malformed, so that the variety is not a good general market sort. Early Strawberry was first known in what is now the City of New York, where it probably originated about 1800 or a little later. It is now widely distributed in eastern America. Tree medium in size, moderately vigorous, upright-spreading, hardy, healthy, coming in bearing young, moderately productive biennially. Fruit medium, uniform in shape and size, round-conic or round, regular or somewhat ribbed, sides often unequal; stem long and slender, often clubbed; cavity acute, deep, broad, symmetrical, sometimes with faint radiating rays of russet; calyx small, closed or open; lobes long, narrow; basin small, shallow, narrow, obtuse, furrowed; skin thick, tough, smooth, waxy, yellow, covered with rich dark red, mottled and irregularly striped and splashed with deeper red; dots minute, grayish; calyx-tube short, wide, conical with fleshy pistil point projecting into the base; stamens median; core large, axile or abaxile; cells open, sometimes partly closed; core-lines meeting; carpels elliptical, concave, emarginate; seeds wide, plump, obtuse, dark brown; flesh yellow often with streaks of red, coarse, crisp, tender, juicy, subacid, aromatic, sprightly; very good; August.
— Central Experimental Farm, Central Experimental Farm, Agassiz BC — Catalogue of Fruit Trees under Test (Bulletin No. 3, 1900) (1900)Planted Spring 1894. Tree a vigorous grower. Fruit of medium size, round, flat. Skin yellow, with a reddish russet cheek, and red stripes over nearly the whole surface. Flesh white, with reddish tints next the skin, tender, sprightly, sub-acid, quality very good. Season early September.
Planted Spring 1894. Tree a strong grower. Fruit below medium size, roundish, tapering to the eye. Skin greenish yellow, nearly covered with red, and sprinkled with whitish dots. Flesh white, crisp, sprightly, acid, quality good. Season last of July.
— Stark Bros. Nurseries & Orchards Co., Stark Bros. Year Book (1910) (1910)Rather large and oblong, light yellow, splashed and mottled with crimson over most of the surface; very handsome. Slight strawberry flavor. Easily bruised, does not ripen evenly. Sells well on account of its beauty, but must be handled very carefully. Not quite hardy. Other early varieties more valuable. CS