146 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Avell and have fine stems and leaves and the frnit looks like fancy 

 Oandy. It is called the Columbia, and it is all right for market or 

 shipping. 



One requisite of a commercial strawberry is firmness so that it can 

 stand shipment without getting soft. Of course in packing, proper con- 

 ditions must be observed. I had a little experience last year that I 

 will relate. During the forepart of the season, the weather was cool 

 and for a week after, I began picking. We had made arrangements with 

 a coujile of teams to be in readiness in the section where we could get 

 pickers with directions to bring them if the weather warmed up. Well, 

 all of a sudden the weather did warm up and the berries began to ripen. 

 The pickers came on and worked as hard as they could but the following 

 Monday it was so hot that a third of them were laying in the shade. The 

 berries were piling up on us. The pickers were not making headway. 

 We had a large number of plants that the fruit was a little soft and I 

 thought the thing to do was to plough these under. So I set the teams 

 to work. It was a hard thing to do and seemed like a great pity but 

 by tliis prompt action we were able to pick the rest of the berries and 

 the results proved the wisdom of the act. If we had hesitated a couple 

 of days the berries would have been spoiled so by sacrificing a few of 

 them we saved all the rest. I relate this to emphasize the fact that we 

 must be prepared for any emergency that may arise. The strawberry 

 business is not something that you can get started and then go away 

 on a visit and then expect everj'thing to go on smoothly. You must be 

 right on hand to attend to all the details and you cannot leave this 

 to someone else. 



We do not sort our berries only as the pickers sort them ; we do not 

 strive for a fancy berry; just a first class genuine article. We do not 

 attempt to grow by hill culture. 



CURRANTS. 



Now, as to currants. The currant has been very much neglected. You 

 will understand the fruit does not do well in the south. You take it 

 south of central part of Ohio and as a rule it does not succeed. It wants 

 a cool, moist climate and a rich moist soil. It is the greatest feeder of 

 any of the small fruits, so feed: them heavily. They can be grown in 

 an orchard. They are a very good financial fruit to grow and they can 

 Ite picked after tlie cherries have been harvested. 



1 set one-year plants, six to eight feet apart and I plant in an apple, 

 plum or pear orchard, but never- in a cherry or peach orchard, for peach 

 ground is not usually good currant ground. I have a plum orchard 

 set sixteen feet apart each way which has been planted for fifteen years. 

 At the time of planting, or rather the next year, I set it out to cur- 

 rants. These plum trees tops are just touching when well loaded. 

 Originally I planted currants in the tree row as well as in between the 

 rows but afterwards Ave took out the roAV between the trees and left 

 those in the tree roAV and Ave have always had magnificent crops. I 

 have been saying these last years. ''These currants must come out," but 

 when I would see Avhat fine crops we got and Avhat good prices the fruit 

 would bring, and when I saw that they were not hurting the plums, 

 I just simply said, ''We Avill leave them for another year." 



