SUMMER MEETING. 47 



From the experience I have had I believe if I confine myself to about 

 three varieties I will make more money out of them ; the berries that 

 have made me the most mone^' are the Houston Gem, Greenville 

 fertilized with the Comet. The Comet is a berry originated by Mr. 

 Speakman, of Carthage. I think the Greenville is the best for an all 

 around berry. The Houston Gem is earlier, almost as early as the 

 Mitchell's Early, I don't think there is more than four or five days dif- 

 ference between them, and the Houston Gem will bear about twenty 

 times as many berries as the Mitchell's Early and will ship just as well. 

 They are not a very smooth berry, especially the first ones are a little 

 rough, and have the appearance of being quite rough, but that may be 

 caused by not having a fertilizer with them that blooms when the first 

 blooms of the Houston Gems come out. 



What is the matter with your Parker Earle ? Mr. G. I cannot get 

 any berries ; I have plants this year with from three to four hundred 

 blooms on a single plant and I wouldn't get a dish of good berries from 

 the plant. Some years the Parker Earle does splendid but it is an 

 uncertain plant to grow in South Missouri, at least on my place. The 

 Jessie will give some fine berries but not enough of them. I have 

 tested in the last five or six years I suppose a hundred or more dif- 

 ferent varieties. Our friend Williams in his paper advocates not set- 

 ting the plants in the spring until after the bloom appears, and to pinch 

 the bloom buds out before you set the plants. My experience has been 

 that early planting gives the best results. If we have a little dry spell 

 about the time the berries are blooming and the plants are set out then, 

 you are apt to lose a good many plants, and if they are set early in the 

 season there is very little danger of losing any of them. 



If we were to undertake in Southern Missouri — and I did under- 

 take it for two years — to let the first runners remain and form plants 

 and make those plants 6 inches apart, set them out in rows and then 

 keep all the late runners off, I don't think that work can be done for 

 less than $100 to $125 per acre, and at the present low price of straw- 

 berries I do not think it would pay commercially. I shall in the future 

 keep all the runners off until quite late in the season, say the latter 

 part of July, and then let the plants make runners and form a matted 

 row. In treating them in this way and setting the rows 2? feet apart, 

 and when the soil becomes hard or beaten to use a cultivator to loosen 

 the soil, I believe we can raise the berries cheaper than any other way 

 I ever tried. The Charles Downing and Captain Jack are neither of 

 any value to use in Southern Missouri. 



By Mr. Tippin — To take the papers as they come I want to refer 

 especially to the matter of runners, and wish to call attention of all 



