Addresses — Strawberries. 143 



are supposed to be worthless, and yet it did grow big pine trees 

 originally; that is, before the sand covered up stumps and all. But 

 he composts his manures; he fills that land as completely full of 

 decomposing manure as it is possible to fill it. The soil is simply 

 a vehicle for certain purposes of his; he puts in everything. Now 

 you see what the conditions are. It is hot-bed culture, essen- 

 tially. He must have a variety like the Wilson, that -has tremen- 

 dous native vigor to stand it, to begin with. Others will fail for 

 various reasons. They have not the constitution to stand that kind 

 of treatment. In the next place, if he produces some of these 

 large growing, soft varieties, they are so large and so soft that they 

 will fairly rot on his ground, and they are worthless there. Now 

 change the conditions; give him an ordinary farmer's soil, we will 

 say a good stiff clay bank, a good potato or corn soil, such as 

 farmers generally grow their berries on, and he will find the condi- 

 tions vary exceedingly. He will find that the Wilson still stands 

 ahead; no doubt of that; but there are some of these other varie- 

 ties, that with him are practically worthless, that will then occupy 

 a very important position; the Green Prolific, for instance, will 

 yield more to the acre or square rod; will continue in fruit longer 

 and will bring more in the market, provided you get it to market 

 in good condition. 



Mr. Smith — But you cannot do it. 



Mr. Plumb — The growers at our place ship to Madison, 32 miles, 

 without any trouble. 



Mr. Smith — But I have got to ship 200 miles. 



Mr. Plumb — That is another thing. There is a good deal about 

 this strawberry question. I procured my first plants of the Cres- 

 cent Seedling last spring from O. B. Galusha. I planted them 

 two feet apart in the row, the rows four feet apart. If I had put 

 them, as he said, ten feet apart each way, they would have covered 

 the ground, and done it handsomely, such is their native vigor. 

 They are just about as bright and full leaved to-day, under the 

 straw that covers them, as they were the first day of September. 

 They promise to hold that foliage, which will almost insure them a 

 crop next spring; and I must say that I never had plants bear as 

 they did. I picked the fruit buds off from most of them, but a few 

 that were left bore fully equal to Wilsons that had stood a year. 

 The berries were not as large, but the plants bore as much in pro- 

 10 — Hort. So. 



