Early Strawberry
Apple
USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection
Origin & History
Early Strawberry is an American apple said to have originated in the vicinity of New York. The Herefordshire Pomona (1885) notes it is "supposed to be a seedling from the Margaret from which it is very distinct." It was formerly known to some under the name Red Juneating or American Red Juneating; the name Red Juneating has also been applied to the Margaret, causing confusion between the two varieties. Writing in 1846, Downing published the following observations distinguishing them: "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 (1900) further notes it is "quite distinct from the Early Red Margaret, which has no fragrance, and a short stem."
Early Strawberry was extensively disseminated and was generally catalogued by nurserymen throughout the apple-growing regions of America (Beach). Elliott (1865) and Thomas (1903) both note it as successful and good in all localities. The Herefordshire Pomona notes it had "not very long been introduced into England" by 1885.
Tree
The tree is medium in size (Beach) to small (Herefordshire Pomona), a moderate grower, very upright and erect when young, but eventually becoming roundish and somewhat spreading when older. It is hardy, healthy, and thrifty. It comes into bearing young and yields moderate to good crops biennially or almost annually (Beach). Warder and Elliott both describe the wood and shoots as dark colored. Foliage is abundant, with numerous erect leaves on long footstalks (petioles), bright green and almost shining, rather narrow and long (Warder). Thomas describes the leaves as finely crenate. The Herefordshire Pomona notes that grafted on the paradise stock it makes a good pyramid, and when grown in an orchard house forms a very attractive object.
Fruit
Size: Small to medium. Warder describes it as small to medium; the Herefordshire Pomona gives dimensions of two and a quarter inches broad by two inches high; Beach says below medium to medium, pretty uniform in shape and size; Elliott and Thomas describe it as small to rather small. Beach notes that a relatively high percentage of the apples are undersized.
Form: Roundish conic or roundish, regular or somewhat ribbed, with sides often unequal (Beach). Warder describes it as round-conic, regular or rarely angular. The Herefordshire Pomona says broad at the base and narrowing towards the eye, where it becomes angular. Downing says roundish, narrowing towards the eye. Elliott describes it as roundish, varying to angular and conical. Thomas says roundish, varying to round-ovate, and sometimes quite conical.
Stem: Long and rather slender, often clubbed (Beach). Warder says long, rather slender, sometimes short and knobby. The Herefordshire Pomona gives a length of one to two inches, thin. Downing says an inch and a half long, rather slender and uneven, inserted in a deep cavity. Thomas gives three-quarters to an inch and a half long, slender. Elliott describes it as varying from long, straight, and slender to medium and curved.
Cavity: Acute or approaching acuminate, deep, broad, symmetrical, sometimes with faint radiating rays of russet (Beach). The Herefordshire Pomona and Downing describe it as deep and narrow. Warder says medium and regular.
Calyx: Rather small, closed or sometimes open; lobes long and narrow (Beach). Warder describes the eye as medium, long, with reflexed segments. The Herefordshire Pomona says small, with converging segments. Calyx tube short, moderately wide, conical or approaching funnel-shape, with fleshy pistil point projecting into the base; stamens median (Beach).
Basin: Small, shallow to moderately deep, narrow, obtuse, slightly furrowed (Beach). Warder says shallow, folded or plaited. Other sources agree it is shallow and narrow.
Skin: Rather thick, tough, smooth, waxy (Beach). The ground color is yellow to yellowish white, nearly or entirely covered with a rich dark red, mottled and irregularly striped and splashed with deeper red. The Herefordshire Pomona specifies the color as "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." Thomas describes the striping as indistinct and fine, with bright and deep red tinging faintly the flesh. Warder notes the surface is smooth, often shining, and becomes sticky or "greasy" when house-ripened. Dots are minute — Warder says rare and very minute; Beach says minute and grayish. The fruit is universally described as very attractive and bright in appearance.
Flesh & Flavor: Whitish-yellow to white, often with streaks or tinging of red near the skin. Tender, juicy, subacid, aromatic, sprightly. Downing describes the flavor as "very sprightly and brisk in flavor, with an agreeable aroma." The Herefordshire Pomona says "tender, with a pleasant sub-acid flavour and an agreeable aroma." Thomas describes it as "sub-acid, rather brisk, pleasant, not very rich." Regarding texture, Warder says "breaking, fine grained," while Beach says "moderately coarse, crisp, moderately tender" — a point of disagreement. Quality is rated very good by Beach, Downing, and Warder (good to very good). Elliott, however, notes it is "not best in quality, yet generally esteemed," and Thomas calls it "not very rich."
Core & Seeds: Beach describes the core as large, axile or somewhat abaxile; cells usually open, sometimes partly closed; core lines nearly meeting. Carpels broadly roundish to elliptical, much concave, emarginate. Warder, by contrast, describes the core as regular, closed, and not meeting the eye. Elliott says core medium. Seeds are medium or above, wide, plump, obtuse, dark brown (Beach). Warder says seeds are numerous, broad, and plump. Elliott says seeds are small.
Season
An early summer apple. Warder gives July and August. Downing says it appears in markets from July till September. Beach gives August. Elliott says July. Thomas says it ripens one to three weeks later than Yellow Harvest. The Herefordshire Pomona notes that "like all early apples does not keep long." Beach confirms the fruit does not keep well.
Uses
Dessert and market (Warder). Beach describes it as very desirable for dessert and good also for culinary uses. The Herefordshire Pomona calls it "a very favourite early dessert apple in America" and "very attractive in appearance and excellent in flavour." Beach notes it is not a very satisfactory variety for commercial planting because 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 it is a desirable variety for the home orchard.
Subtypes/Variants
Not described in source.
Other
The Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture (1914) lists Early Strawberry in a variety-characteristic table only:
Description absent; variety present in variety-characteristic table.
Early Strawberry (4) ... S rob rs VG f S S* 11* 5*
Book Sources
Described in 7 period pomological works
- Beach, The Apples of New York Vol. 2 (1905)
- Warder, American Pomology: Apples (1867)
- Downing, Fruits and Fruit Trees of America (1900)
- Elliott, The Western Fruit Book (1865)
- Lowther (ed.), Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture (1914)
- The Herefordshire Pomona (1876–1885)
- Thomas, The American Fruit Culturist (1903)
Nursery Catalog Sources
Found in 30 catalogs (1845–1921) from California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington
- Winship's Nursery (Brighton Nurseries , operated by the Winship family), Brighton (Boston) , Massachusetts — 1845
- Hovey & Co. , Cambridge , Massachusetts — 1849
- Azell Bowditch (Nursery / Fruit Catalog) , Boston , Massachusetts — 1850
- Joseph Breck & Co. , Boston , Massachusetts — 1855
- St. Helena Nursery , Howell's Prairie, Marion County , Oregon — 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
- Washington Nursery Co. , Toppenish , Washington — 1901
- Brown Brothers Co. , Continental Nurseries, Rochester, NY (also operated from Toronto, Canada) — 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
- 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 (7)
— 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.
— 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.
— Granville Lowther (ed.), Encyclopedia of Practical Horticulture (1914)Early Strawberry (4) ... S rob rs VG f S S* 11* 5*
— 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 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.