Origin: in Beltsville, Md., by D.H. Scott and George M. Darrow, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. Introd. in 1956. Midland × Tennessee Shipper; raised in 1947; selected in 1948; tested as US3939. Tree: vigorous; hardy; produces fewer runners than most other varieties except Midland; very productive, especially in wide matted rows, with yields above those of most other varieties; shown no yellow variegation; resistant to leaf spot and leaf scorch; susceptible to red stele root-rot and verticillium wilt; adapted in New England, from Pennsylvania to North Carolina and westward to Indiana; most promising in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania; succeeded by Earliglow. Fruit: large, maintaining large average size throughout the picking season; short conic, fairly uniform shape; skin attractive, vivid red, somewhat deeper than that of Blakemore, glossy, moderately tough; flesh bright red, medium firm, firmer than that of Howard 17, Catskill, and Sparkle, about as firm as Pocahontas and less firm than Blakemore; flavor tart, good; dessert quality good; when frozen, rated high for color, texture, flavor; achenes slightly sunken; matures very early, about 5 days before Blakemore and Howard 17, escaping frost even better than Howard 17 because its short flower sterns with flowers are well covered by leaves.
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