igO MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



through, and the berries will be larger and your plants will be 

 thriftier, and what is another important feature your berries will 

 be clean. 



Remember the mush bowl, remember to put on some good, 

 rich cream after filling the mush bowl with strawberries. Fill 

 it up two, three, four or five times a day. have the sugar box 

 close at hand, and I will guarantee you will have a good time 

 througli the strawberry season. (Applause.) 



Mr. H. F. Busse : I would like to have Prof. Robertson again 

 mention the five varieties he recommends. 



Prof. Robertson : I said I could mention a lot of varieties and 

 then some would wonder which varieties they should plant. 

 Those five I named have big berries and good ones, and they are 

 the Splendid, Bederwood. Warfield, Lovett and Crescent. We 

 plant five rows because they come in between the apple trees 

 in the orchard. 



Mr. Thos. Cash man : Whv do vou cover the plants so deep in 

 the fall? 



Prof. Robertson : As I said before, Mrs. Robertson will pick 

 more berries because the ground is nice and clean for her to sit 

 down on, and then I will have no hoeing to do next summer, 

 nothing except to eat berries. 



Mr. Cashman : I find by covering the ground too heavily in 

 the fall the plants are liable to smother out in the spring. And 

 another thing: If you rake off your straw early in the spring the 

 lafe frosts are liable to catch the blossoms, but if you give them 

 a light covering they will keep in good condition until spring — 

 and that will retard the growth of the plants and prevent the 

 plants from blossoming and being injured by the frost. 



Prof. Robertson : Why do you say they would have to be 

 uncovered earlier? 



Mr. Cashman : To keep them from being smothered out. 



Prof. Robertson : W^e uncover later than any one else in the 

 neighborhood. 



Mr. Wyman Elliot: What is the character of your soil? 



Prof. Robertson : A heavy clay soil ; the worst in the neigh- 

 borhood. 



Mr. W. L. Taylor: If you can't plant but two varieties, put 

 in Crescent and Bederjvood. I have tried them for thirty )^ears. 

 If you only plant two kinds, plant those. 



Prof. Robertson : I would still stick to the five. In heap- 

 ing up that mush bowl if you can mix the dark and the light it 

 adds to the fun of the thing. (Laughter.) 



Mr. G. W. Strand : In regard to this heavy coA-ering of straw- 

 berries, I agree with Mr. Cashman. A neighbor of mine last fall 

 had the finest patch of strawberries I ever laid eyes on. He was 

 growing them on the matted row system, and he covered his 

 patch about ten inches deep with straw, I should judge. This 

 spring, partly, I think, for the reason that he did not cover them 

 earlyenough, he got scarcely any berries, and this past season 



