48 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



strawberry-growers that with the advice of the gentlemen must be 

 taken into consideration the locality. It is true that Mr. Gilbert's 

 home may have a month to six weeks, some times two months, longer 

 season than we have on top of the mountains, and no doubt he will be 

 troubled with an excess of runners, but I am satisfied that the best 

 way to do in Greene county is to let the old runners stay. Last year 

 was my first year to grow for fruit, and my advice was to cut off the 

 first runners, but I did not obey that, and I don't believe there is a 

 grower in Greene county that will claim they had a better plant patch 

 than I have. As to varieties, I have just spent a month in the market 

 in the northwest, in St. Paul, and while I am very sorry that I have 

 not got any of my own, I am forced to say that the Warfield is the 

 shipping berry. I have no Warfields planted and am very sorry. The 

 Warfield is one of the best carriers, and while not the largest is one 

 of the best colored and is the first berry they ask for when you go on 

 the market — have you got any Warfield ? The Gandy is the best late 

 berry and best late carrier. Of course the Orescent is a good carrier 

 but is too small as a rule. Our Sarcoxie friends are in the berry busi- 

 ness and in the market and have largely Warfields. and that is why 

 they beat us. The Bubach grown in Greene county is the finest 1 

 think grown in any market, the finest I saw from any section of the 

 country. It is not a good carrier; it is all right for sale on the home 

 market, but it does not ship well ; it bleaches in some way and assumes 

 an appearance of softness. 



When we have solved the problem of the best fruit to grow, the 

 best way to grow it and the best manner of shipping it, we are hardly 

 half way through. When we have done all this we are not half way 

 over the bridge, the matter of distribution and marketing are ques- 

 tions yet to be solved, and we shall have to make a wonderful advance- 

 ment in the matter of distribution between now and next year in view 

 of the fact of the increased acreage. Southern Missouri, Arkansas^ 

 the Hood river country and the Illinois section next year will overrun 

 itself in view of the fact that the acreage in these sections will be 

 nearly double ; something will have to be done or our berries might as 

 well rot in the field. It will be necessary to establish a grade ; we 

 will be forced to establish a grade for our strawberries and strawber- 

 ries under a certain size must not be shipped ; just to illustrate the 

 way sections of country come in different — ^just as one section is go- 

 ing out of the market another section comes in. This section is going 

 out, the last picking runs very small, yet they ship by car-load lots, 

 that overruns the market just as the choice berries of another section 

 are coming in, that ruins the prices of those berries and destroys the 



