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MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



became a meml)er. I wanted some fruit on my farm — and 1 may 

 say right here, and I say it as a deservea compHment — I get more 

 benefit out of this society than out of any other organization I 

 have ever l)een connected with in the state. Now, knowing so 

 little about strawberries, I might tell some of you here who are 

 not engaged in the business, who depend upon salt pork, po- 

 tatoes and wheat and such things for a farm existence, those 

 who never taste a strawberry except those they get in boxes at 

 the corner grocery, that it takes a professional to grow straw- 

 berries. But that is not my purpose. I came here with the 



PROF. WM. ROBERTSON. 



purpose of giving such people a pointer, not giving it in such 

 detail as to confuse the mind, or to mention a great many varie- 

 ties so that the suggestions could not be followed out, but to put 

 the whole matter in such a simple form that any one who has 

 never done anything of the sort might start and grow strawber- 

 ries — and instead of buying those little dried up things at the 

 corner grocery, which by courtesy are called strawberries, take 

 a good raush bowl, one of those large ones, fill it full of strawber- 

 ries ; then instead of taking a little skim milk to put on and cart- 

 ing all the rest to the creamery, keep out some good, rich cream 

 and pour it on the berries : and then have a good big sugar box 



