192 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



blossoms. They knew nothing about the difference in the blos- 

 soms. I picked a blossom from one of the rows and one from 

 another. Then I asked them, "Do you see those little clubs in 

 this blossom, and do you see any in this one?" I talked to them 

 two or three minutes and told them what they meant, and ever 

 since then there has not been a time but what they could pick 

 off a blossom of the strawberry and determine the two features 

 of the blossom. They wanted to know about this matter and 

 ever since that they have known about it. You can get some- 

 thing at the same time in this line by reading it in books, and 

 I know you will be interested. If you go into your garden and 

 study the blossoms you will soon find out something about 

 them you did not know before, and you will find that not all 

 the pleasure is in the eating. If two little boys six or seven years 

 old can grasp such a thing, why can't the average farmer grasp 

 it? I will tell you as I began, I don't know anything about it. I 

 agree with these gentlemen that perhaps I don't do the thing 

 right. I think, however, they will find out soon that the deep 

 covering is begun too early in the season. I believe the time to 

 ])ut on a thick cover is when the ground is frozen solid in the 

 fall. It is not the freezing of the ground that hurts the plant, 

 but it is the alternate freezing and thawing. If the plants are 

 covered with a thick bed of straw after the ground is frozen 

 solid it will prevent the variation of temperature in the winter 

 and spring. I have found that you can retard the growth of 

 the plants longer when covered deep than you can with a shallow 

 covering. 



Mr. McCulley: What would you do if you had five or ten 

 acres if you advocate covering them so deeply? 



Prof. Robertson: This subject was strawberries for the 

 farmer, for the farmer who never had an^^ I don't know any- 

 thing about the five or ten acres. 



Mr. H. F. Busse : Three years ago this fall I covered some- 

 what later than this time of the year, the ground was frozen 

 solid, and I think I put on about a foot of straw. In January 

 we had a severe thaw. I don't think the ground was frozen 

 anywhere. When I was ready to uncover my strawberry patch 

 my neighbors told me they would all be smothered. I know 

 there was frost there, and I left the straw on until the 15th of 

 May and then I took part of it off, and the plants were in the best 

 condition, and we got good big berries. I got high prices for 

 those berries. I think if any smothering is done by reason of 

 deep covering it is done during the early winter and fall. Let the 

 ground freeze before you put on your covering, then there is 

 no danger of smothering the plants, because the frost will stay 

 in the ground. You will get more berries if you cover late. 



Mr. H. Simmons : I followed out this gentleman's theory in 

 growing strawberries, having less than half an acre, from which 

 I took two thousand quarts. Mr. Taylor can tell you what suc- 

 cess I had with strawberries by following this gentleman's plan. 

 Mr. Wm. Lyons: This professor says he does not know 



