Dearing, Charles.

Charles Dearing was born in Wichita, Kansas on March 28, 1888. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from the University of Missouri in 1909. Upon graduation, he worked as an Instructor of Horticulture at Missouri, where he remained for a year He subsequently accepted a position as a Scientific Assistant at the United States Department of Agriculture in 1910. He worked in this position until 1918 when he became an Horticulturalist. During those years, he was engaged in research work with muscadine variety grape production in the Southern states and spent much time supervising experimental projects at the Agricultural Experiment Station Coastal Plain Test Farm in Willard, North Carolina. In 1920, he became Assistant Director in charge of the farm.

Dearing came to North Carolina as a representative of the USDA, but he soon joined the State Department of Agriculture. He was a pioneer in developing improved varieties of muscadine grapes, strawberries, and blueberries. Under his administration, the Coastal Plain Test Farm grew in size from 232 to 411.5 acres and added new buildings and equipment. Dearing directed early experiments in muscadine grape breeding and introduced 15 new varieties. He also wrote a memorandum which led to the first research work in commercial blueberry production for eastern North Carolina. In addition, he assisted in strawberry research and contributed to the development of the Blakemore and Massey varieties. Dearing retired from this position after thirty years of service on June 30, 1951, replaced by Jesse E. Sumner. During his career he also wrote twelve books on the utilization of the muscadine grape.