FRUIT-CULTURE. 287 



Question. If you were raising strawberries for your own 

 table, should j^ou raise the Wilson ? 



Mr. Slade. I should. 



Question. Rather too acid, is it not? 



Mr. Slade. The Wilson strawberry is not ripe when it 

 turns red, nor even the next day, nor the day after ; but, if 

 you pick it three or four days after it has turned, you will 

 find that the flavor has changed : the acid has softened down, 

 and you get a most delicious berry. But you have judged of 

 the Wilson in an imperfect state of ripeness. 



Capt. Moore. Will it do to send to market in a ripe 

 condition ? 



Mr. Slade. The gentleman spoke of raising them for 

 3-our own table. No, sir. You have got to pick the Wilson 

 pretty soon after it turns in order to get it to market in good 

 shape. And, by the way, this is a great fault with a large 

 number of the berries that are offered to the grower, — they 

 are a soft, spongy fruit. You know they ripen in hot weather ; 

 and it is very difficult to get a variety of fair quality that 

 will do to carry to Boston, and then reship after it gets 

 there. There is where the difficulty is. What strawberry- 

 growers are now looking for, is a variety that will stand ship- 

 ment to Boston and reshipment ; because, if all the berries 

 that are sent to Boston are to be consumed there, Boston 

 market would be glutted at nine o'clock in the morning. 



Question. Do you advise raising them in hills? 



Mr. Slade. No, sir, I do not. I have tried them both 

 ways, and finally come to the conclusion, that, every thing 

 considered, it was better to raise them in matted beds. 



Question. Set them out in hills, and let them run? 



Mr. Slade. Yes, sir. 



Question. The rows what distance apart ? 



Mr. Slade. The rows about four feet apart ; the plants 

 sixteen or eis^hteen inches. 



Question. How many crops do you get before you dis- 

 card them ? 



Mr. Slade. I get from two to four. There is a little 

 insect known, where strawberries are raised, by the name of 

 the strawberry-flea, which eats the leaf after the crop is taken 

 off, perforates it so. that the leaf fails to perform its function, 

 and a great many of the plants die ; and he will find his way 



