98 .9^^/^ Horticultural Socictv. 



SECOND CROP STRAWBERRIES. 



St. Joseph, a French variety, comes nearer being perptual bearing 

 than any variety we have tried, but does not succeed well here under 

 ordinary culture. 



Of our American varieties, Cumberland Triumph comes nearest be- 

 ing a double cropper. Two-year old beds are almost sure to produce 

 a good strawberry in the fall. This fall fruiting can be encouraged by 

 barring the rows off with a one-horse plow as soon as the June crop is 

 over, and cultivating several times between rows. A neighbor of mine 

 is, and has for some weeks, been gathering from two to six quarts of that 

 variety daily from an acre. The bed is two years old and was barred 

 off and cultivated in the manner stated. — Colman's Rural World. 



INTERESTING TALK ON SOILS. 



Prof. E. M. Shepard, of Drury College, addressed the Greene County 

 Horticultural Society at the March meeting on "The Soils of Greene 

 county. Mo." The following are some of the thoughts advanced as re- 

 ported for The P. F. G. by the Secretary, Miss Emma J. Park : 



Soil is the unconsolidated surface material of the- earth. It is 

 divided into two kinds : First, soil proper, which is a few inches deep, 

 and, second, sub-soil, which is from a few inches to many feet in thick- 

 ness. Soil proper is composed mostly of sand, clay, iron and humus. 

 There is less of lime and magnesia and an extremely small amount of 

 phosphoric acid and potash. 



Erosion has been a powerful agent in the breaking down of rocks. 

 When we realize that 30 miles of the Alleghany mountains have eroded 

 away as they rose and that 3,000 feet of this country has washed away, 

 some idea of the length of time taken to build this earth is formed. 



Of soils proper there are two kinds — those of disintegration and 

 those of transportation. The soils in the northern portion of our country 

 are largely made up of soils of transportation, that being the glacial 

 district. Here, except in the river bottoms, we have the soils of disin- 

 tegration. One of the things we need on this limestone soil is lime, as 

 lime is easily dissolved out of the soil. With a sandstone soil, however, 

 the sand is insoluble. In soil derived from the wash of limestone we will 

 find lime more abundant. It. is the upland where lime is needed. If 

 you have a sandy soil it is important to know your sub-soil. If clay 



