FORTY-FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT. 39 



could make pancakes to the queen's taste. I suggested to Mrs. Beattv 

 tliat she learn liow to make that kind of pancakes. When she con- 

 sulted the colored cook she learned that all she lacked in making 

 the pancakes to perfection was that she did not thoroughly stir the 

 batter, and she also failed to add a small pinch of baking powder. 

 After she added these to what she already knew, her pancakes equalled 

 the pancakes made by the colored woman— yes, according to my taste, 

 they were much better. 



I give this illustration to show that by leaving out the least detail 

 may mean failure, and by doing everything just as it should be done 

 makes success sure. And if I fail to impress any other thing upon your 

 minds, I do hope that I may make it clear that it is absolutely neces- 

 sary thoroughly to incorporate manures and vegetable matter and com- 

 mercial fertilizers in the soil before planting any crop. 



MATING OR POLLENIZING. 



I am a very firm believer in the congenial mating of all kinds of 

 plants. It is a well understood fact that plants are male and female 

 just as is. true in the animal kingdom, and that there must be a per- 

 fect union of the male and female organisms in order to secure perfect 

 developed fruit. 



AVhen I began growing strawberries 25 years ago, I knew but very 

 little about the business. I loved the work, but I knew little about the 

 principal features of it. 1 was raised upon a farm and knew quite well 

 that a thorough preparation of the soil was necessary, and I always 

 endeavored to have my soil in the best possible condition before setting 

 plants. I was getting very good results, but not what I felt I should 

 get, considering the care my plants received. I felt that I was getting 

 a larger percentage of knotty berries than was necessary, and I noticed 

 nmny of the berries had green, hard tips, and so I began a series 

 of experiments, with the hope of determining the cause of the knotty 

 and green-tipped berries. 



My experiment began with the Warfleld, which is a mid-season 

 pistillate. I mated this variety on one side with Michel's Early, which 

 at that time w^as the earliest bisexual we had. The Warfleld was 

 mated on the other side by the Lovett, which is considered to be a 

 strong mid-season pollenizer. When the fruit began to ripen, T found 

 a very small percentage of knotty and green-tipped berries. The result 

 of this experience was not only in favor of the Warfleld, which was a 

 pistillate, but I noticed that both of the bisexuals were greatly im- 

 proved. This set me to thinking that possibly the bisexuals would do 

 better if difterent varieties were mated together, and so I began an 

 experiment along that line, setting a large number of difl'erent bisexuals 

 in rows side by side. The result of this experiment proved conclusively 

 that the bisexual varieties were beneflted by this interchange of pollen. 



There is no question in my mind but the interchanging of pollen 

 does to a certain degree, change the characteristics of the fruit, and 

 so 1 wish to impress upon your minds the necessity of mating the 

 different varieties of strawberries or small fruits which you may set, 

 and that you mate them in a manner that will be congenial to the 

 difl'erent varieties. I am led to believe that some of the flowers of 



