104 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



Question — Have you used salt as a manure ? 



Answer — To a limited extent, but with no appreciable results? 



Question — How do you plant? 



Answer — A man opens a place for the plant with a spade and 

 a boy sets the plant. A man and a boy will set 4000 to 6000 per day. 

 I formerly planted with a dibble, but that is a slow way. We are 

 always successful. 



Question — How far apart do you plant? 



Answer — We make the rows three and a half feet apart; Wil- 

 son should be planted about a foot apart in the rows. We prefer to 

 plant some varieties three and a half feet apart each way, and culti- 

 vate both ways. 



Question — Have you used bone dust and phosphates ? 



Answer — Yes; but am not able to report satisfactory results 

 from the use of bone dust. Phosphates have done better for us, but 

 we prefer the castor bean pomace. 



Question — What is the cost of the pomace? 



Answer — $20 per ton. 



Question — Have you used coal ashes ? 

 Answer — No, and have no faith in them. 

 Question — When do you apply fertilizers? 

 Answer — In the spring -before plowing the ground. 



Question — Which is the earliest strawberry? 



Answer — Crystal City is earliest. I do not grow it. The dif- 

 ference between the ripening of this and Crescent is not more than 

 four or five days. 



Question — How often do you renew your plantations? 



Answer — We never take but two crops from the same planting, 

 and I have almost come to the conclusion that only one is better. 

 The tarnished plant bug is now the greatest enemy we have. That, 

 with other insect enemies, multiply rapidly with us, making fre- 

 quent renewals imperative. 



