78 Second Annual Report 



to 6,000 boxes., but we have actually gotten on a small area 

 about 30 feet in length, at the rate of 14,000 boxes to the acre. 

 If you have a small area and intense cultivation, it is possible to 

 make a lot of money out of it. The difficulty is in trying to 

 cover too large an area. We don't give time enough to one 

 crop. When we become strawberry specialists we are able to 

 increase the crop very much indeed. 



With regard to the best soil for strawberries. I may say 

 that in this country the strawberry succeeds best in warm, sandy 

 loam, as rich as you can obtain it. The strawberry is one of 

 those fruits which will not go to wood; there is no danger of 

 injuring it by giving it too much fertilizer. Some kinds of 

 fruits you have to avoid giving too much fertilizer, but with 

 the strawberry, the more fertilizer you can give it the better. I 

 have never found anyone who has complained about not getting 

 a good crop of strawberries where he has his plantation heavily 

 fertilized. The more fertilizer you put on the land the better 

 the crop will be. 



Moisture is one of the most important factors in successful 

 strawberry culture. You can understand how important this 

 is when one remembers that just when our strawberry is in 

 full bearing, or in full fruiting season and ripening well, we 

 have usually a very dry spell. If your strawberry plantation 

 ii on soil which bakes easily or dries out, the crop will be short- 

 ened very much. So, in planting your strawberry plantation, 

 take into consideratin that we have to look into the question of 

 the dry spell and the ripening time, and we want to know whether 

 it is possible to keep the moisture in the ground at that time to 

 prevent the soil from baking. It is only by having loose, rich, 

 moist soil that we can bring these things about. 



In regard to the preparation of the soil : unless the soil is in 

 fine condition, we are apt to lose a great many plants when they 

 are set. It is well before-hand to prepare the ground very 

 thoroughly, so as to get the soil into fine particles, so when we 

 set the plant in the ground the soil will come in close contact 

 with the roots. It frequently happens that when soil is not 

 properly prepared, and is lumpy when we set the plants out, 

 the soil does not come in contact with the roots, and when the 

 drouth comes it dries up and we lose our plant. It is important 

 to have the soil fine. And I may say that in manuring the soil 

 for strawberries, this must be taken into consideration and fresh 

 manure should not be ploughed into the soil in the spring when 

 you are about to set out the strawberry plants. It leaves the 

 soil too open and the plants are liable to dr}' out, just as I have 

 mentioned. We prefer rotting the manure well. We have a 

 large pile in the winter, which will now shortly be turned, and 



