Berry breeder, 92, tells how to grow, grow old
GLENN DALE, Md. - At 92,
famed strawberry breeder George
M. Darrow is slow to give you the
usual tips on how to grow “old.” He
promises to talk about that after
he’s had time to learn.
Mention berries, though, and the
native Vermonter stretches his
tall, lean frame nearly to his full
height. That’s a subject he knows
well.
“When I first went to work for
the U.S. Department of
Agriculture in 1911,” he said with a
twinkle m his eyes, "they took one
look at me and figured I was too
green to keep in Washington So
they shipped me off to Oregon to
study the better handling of
cherries and berries. Then 1 made
similar studies with citrus fruits in
Florida.'
Darrow recalls that the next
assignment of his 46-year USDA
career involved surveying the fruit
crops of Kentucky, Tennessee and
West Virginia to determine the
best fruits grown there and why.
For this assignment, he visisted
home gardeners and commercial
growers who grew cherries, ap
ples, pears, peaches, plums,
strawberries, blackberries and
raspberries.
From Harrow’s point of view, he
was broadening his education His
‘teachers” lived on the sloping
hills and up the hollows.
What these people taught
Harrow, he said, was as helpful to
his scientific work as his hor
ticulture degree from Cornell
University, his Ph.D. From Johns
Hopkins University, or his ad
vanced studies in plant physiology
and genetics.
From the start, Darrow recalls,
he got along well with the moun
tain people who had grown wise in
the ways ot plants while
propagating wild fruits.
In the Kentucky mountains, a
young man with a mule met me at
the tram station. The mule was to
carry me and my luggage,” he
said.
We went over a mountain and
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down into a valley, where 1 met a
big man at the crossroads. It was
said that when there was trouble in
those parts, he administered
justice. He would even go into
court with people in disputes.
Then he would take the people
home. He settled things rightly.
"After about two years in those
mountains, I was directed by the
USDA to write a farmer’s bulletin
on each fruit. I did the most on
strawberries. I told about the
strong and weak points of each
variety.
"I also wrote about strawberries
on the Pacific coast..everbearing
strawberries, .all different kinds.
These bulletins came out m 1918-19
and have been revised from time to
time over the years.”
With the adVent of World War 1,
Darrow joined the Army in June,
1918, and went to camp in Georgia,
where he still found time to ex
periment with plants. In August,
1919 he left the Army and got
married a few days later.
By this time, Darrow was a
recognized authority on small
fruits. His writings covered
raspberries, blackberries and
dewberries, currants and
gooseberries.
"1 surveyed cranberries that
first fall after 1 got married,’ he
remembers. "I had been m Oregon
and Washington State My cran
berry travels also took me to
Massachusetts, New Jersey and
Wisconsin, the mam areas where
cranberries were grown
Then the prolific scientist began
the work that was to make his
name virtually synonomous with
the word ‘strawberry Following
his military years in Georgia, he
borrowed part of the greenhouse of
an associate m 1919 and began
breeding in quest of superior
market and garden strawberries.
Harrow’s long and patient ef
forts literally bore fruit on USDA
grounds-first in Glenn Dale and
later at USDA’s agricultural
research center in Beltsville
1 could take you to the spot
disease
tlupiirwOu s u'
early strawberry in
about 1921 or 1922,” he said. “It’s
where the Glenn Dale golf course is
now We bred bigger, better
tasting, disease-resistant
strawberries there These were
especially needed by the preser
ving industry, which was havmg
trouble using berries available at
that time.
"One of the first crosses we ever
made struck it good. It was ex
cellent for making strawberry
jam. We named it the Blakemore
after one of the most outstanding
people m the strawberry preser
ving business. He was in
strumental m cleaning up the
industry.”
"For about 30 years, the
Blakemore was the leading
strawberry variety in the country,
mostly m the South,' he said.
Since surpassed in some areas
by bigger-fruited types, the
Blakemore still is a major variety
m Arkansas and Oklahoma. As the
tastes and needs for strawberries
changed, Darrow and his
associates originated new plants
USD A moved its fruit research,
including strawberry breeding, to
Beltsville, Md., m 1932 The first
strawberry plots were on heavy
soil" and many plants died from a
disease which later was found to be
widespread throughout the nor
thern half of the Umted States
Darrow and his co-workers
devised screening techniques for
the disease, which involved
growing the seedlings in a cool
greenhouse in beds of wet, disease
infested soil. This procedure
proved very successful as a means
of eliminating susceptible
seedlings and become a routine
part of the breeding program
In the 1940’s the importance of
virus diseases in strawberries
became widely recognized.
Transmitted mainly by aphids, the
disease infected many plants even
before they produced runners. The
battle against the disease and
aphids began.
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Under the leadership of Darrow
and others, strawberry growers
propogated “clean” plants, grew
them m isolation and controlled
aphids by systematic spraying.
The result: plants with stronger
vigor and higher productivity as
well as more berries at the grocery
store.
Describing all of the honors that
have come to Darrow for his
scholarly achievements would fill
many pages.
Recognition has tome to Darrow
irom mgn places m government
and education as well as from the
small fruit industry. Before he
retired in 1957, former Agriculture
Secretary Henry Wallace termed
Darrow "one of the great
strawberry experts of the world.”
North Carolina State University
honored him with an honorary
Doctor of Science degree for his
contributions to agriculture m the
South.
Darrow was in the first class of
•Fellows of the American Society
for Horticultural Science ’ and has
been awarded the Wilder Medal,
given each year by the American
Penological Society to an out
standing contributor to American
fruit varieties. In recent years, the
North American Blueberry
Council named him a "Pioneer of
American Blueberry Develop-
FFA launches bologna project
LEBANON The semi-annual steer by the chapter in the high
project of the Annville-Cleona school vo-ag shop. Sales totaled 300
Little Dutchman FFA Chapter - pounds the first year - just one
the production and sale of Lebanon tenth of the presentlevel of sales,
sweet bologna - has been launched Following the adoption of meat
for this year. inspection requirements by the
Production of the bologna took state, the Little Dutchmen Chapter
place on Tuesday at Bomberger’s project was moved to Burkholder’s
Bologna, Inc., Lebanon. Bologna, Inc. When this plant was
It is expected that sales from this closed, it was moved to Bom
year’s production will top the 3000' berger’s.
pounds sold last fall and this The Chapter’s Bologna Corn
spring. mittee mdudes Steve Hostetter,
The bologna project was started
-in 1964 with the slaughtering of a
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Lancaster Fannins, Saturday, March 28,1981—€21
ment.”
Each year, the American
Society for Horticultural Science
honors the author of the best paper
written about small fruits culture.
The honor is called the “George M.
Harrow Award.”
People sometimes see Harrow in
different ways. When an exhibit on
his work with strawberries opened
at the National Agricultural
Library of the USHA’s Science and
Education Administration, a
friend commented that Harrow
should be cited for his work with
dayhhes rather for his strawberry
research.
“No,” said another. “Bamboo
growing is what he does best. His
home in Glenn Hale is known as
‘Harrow’s Grove.’ The first
bamboo he planted came from
China. Most of his bamboo grows
30 feet tali and is good for
decorating a home or business,
inside and out.”
chairman, Jeff Reigel, Tim Theal
and Henry Martin.
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“Not so,” said a third “The new
types of cranberries and
blueberries he developed while
with the USDA are the greatest.”
Perhaps a more vivid unage of
the total man is mirrored in a
dozen or so pairs of shoes in
Darrow’s bedroom. None are
styled for black tie events. All were
made for walking in the fields
where food plants grow.
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