48 REPOET OF THE SECRETARY OF THE 



THE POOR man's fruit. 



The strawberry is emphatically the poor man's fruit. It 

 does not require the new beginner in fruit culture to wait five, 

 ten, or fifteen years for a croj) that shall repay him for his out- 

 lay and labor. While the apple, peach, pear, and other promi- 

 nent fruits are coming into bearing, the strawberry, with its 

 rapid growth and early maturity, is furnishing the support 

 necessary for a beginner with no other capital. Plants put 

 into the ground this year become productive next, and with 

 proper cultivation a large crop may be secured every season 

 with as much certainty as can a crop of corn. 



THE SOIL. 



The soil for strawberries should be rich and well drained. 

 Bottom lands, where the water can be got rid of quickly, 

 answer well for the strawberry. Under-drainage is undoubt- 

 edly the best, but where this cannot be readily attained, the 

 land should be laid as nearly as possible like a well graded 

 street, highest in the centre, and very gradually sloping oS to 

 a ditch or gutter on each side. Summer fallow with repeated 

 plowing is a good preparation of the soil. It should be thor- 

 oughly mixed and pulverized by cultivators or drags, and the 

 condition known as " mellow " should be attained. All the 

 weeds should, if possible, be destroyed. If fall planting be 

 adopted, as is most convenient after a summer fallow, cool, 

 moist days should, if possible, be secured for putting out the 

 plants. Eather than wait too long, however, for such weather, 

 where a large amount of planting is to be done, artificial water- 

 ing should be resorted to. The roots of the plants should be 

 kept moist, in thick mud, and sufficient water poured into the 

 hole before putting in the j)lant to secure a firm hold in press- 

 ing the earth around the root. 



PROCESS OF planting. 



I have sometimes seen elaborate instructions for spreading 

 out the roots of the strawberry plant and placing it on a con- 



