262 State Horticultural Society. 



expect it to bear for years, and the result is they soon have an old, 

 worn-out bed and no l^errics. and lose a couple of seasons in starting 

 over again. 



Plant some strawberries. Don't say, like some farmer customers 

 tell us, "Oh! I can buy them cheaper than raise them. It does not 

 pay me to fool with them." That may be true in a sense, f(3r when 

 they buy them, they buy a crate or two to preserve and some for the 

 table two or three times a season, while, if they had them growing in 

 their own garden, they could have them fresh-picked on their table 

 daily, and plenty to eat, can, and i)reserve. By all means, plant straw- 

 berries for home use and plant some every year. 



THE COMMERCIAL STRAWBERRY FOR NORTH MISSOURI 



—MOST PROFITABLE VARIETIES, CULTIVATION 



AND CARE FOR WINTER. 



(J. E. May, LaPIata, Mo.) 



Mr, President, Ladies and Gentlemen : 



In preparing a paper on the above subject I realize the fact that 

 what I may say will only apply to a small part of the north part of 

 our great State, as far as the best varieties are concerned, as I find 

 certain varieties in our own county doing well, that in 'other parts oc 

 the count}^, we have been obliged to discard. I am sure that the 

 same rule holds good as regards the planting of strawberries as for 

 the planting of an orchard for profit. Perhaps the loss might not be 

 as great where a mistake is made in varieties of strawberries as in 

 planting the wrong varieties in an orchard, as the mistake will be 

 sooner discovered in the first case and can be remedied in a couple of 

 \ears. The rule referred to is, plant only such varieties as are doing- 

 well for others in your own section, and if no one near you is growing 

 the strawberry then select only such varieties as succeed over a wide 

 range of territory. If you will take a number of the plant catalogues 

 of leading plant growers you will find several varieties they all agree 

 are profitable and that succeed over a large part of the country, such 

 as Warfield, Crescent, Biibach, etc. While these might not be the 

 very best varieties for your section, they would be almost sure to be 

 profitable, while some other varieties planted would only result in 

 failure. After seven years of experience in growing strawberries for 

 market and having tested some Lwentv varieties we find Bubach, 

 Ridgeway, Haverlancl, Lady Thompson and Gancly most profitable 

 and these varieties are enough for the commercial grower. Early Sun- 



