140 Wisconsin State Horticultural Society. 



have bought and paid for some one or more worthless varieties, 

 cultivated them for years, and then given up in disgust and de- 

 spair, saying, " I cannot raise strawberries." I say to you, one and 

 all, that the Wilson is, in reality, the only variety now in general 

 cultivation that you can rely upon with any degree of certainty. 

 "With the ordinary cultivator, I do not believe there is one chance 

 in a hundred of his being fairly successful with any other; while 

 with the Wilson, a reasonable degree of success is almost a cer- 

 tainty. 



What, then, is to be done? My advice to the amateur every- 

 where is, to try the Wilson and let all other varieties alone, un- 

 til some professional grower about you, some one whose business 

 it is to keep himself posted, even if it does cost him time and 

 money, has demonstrated that some other variety will do well with 

 you. I think it is a duty that those of us who are growing berries 

 for market owe to those about us, to warn them against spending 

 either money or time with such varieties as we believe to be worth- 

 less. I have practiced this for at least fifteen years past, and have 

 steadily refused to advise any one to set anything but the Wilson, 

 without telling them plainly my belief that they would probable 

 lose both their time and money with anything else. I have some- 

 times gone further than this. Last summer a man came to Green 

 Bay with a magnificent plate of the Crescent Seedling. The stories 

 that he told about it would almost have put Baron Munchausen 

 at a discount. I wrote a short article for one of our papers warn- 

 ing our people against such stories; told them that I had it on trial, 

 and if it proved to be worthy of cultivation in our portion of the 

 state, I should certainly find it out, and would just as certainly let 

 them know it. I had the plants to sell, and if they really wanted 

 them regardless of their value, I would supply them at a cost not 

 to exceed twelve and a half cents per dozen, while the stranger 

 was asking them $1.50 per dozen. I heard nothing more 

 of him after that, neither have I had any calls for the 

 plants. Right here the question maybe asked: will this new can- 

 didate for honor that has been brought forward with such a blast of 

 trumpets, also prove a failure? I have not tried it for a sufficient 

 length of time to decide for myself; but I must say that my faith 

 has been much weakened in it within the last six months. I will 

 not condemn it yet, but will say to my friends, do not be in too much 



