STRAWBERRIES FOR THE FARMERS. I93 



much about growing strawberries. I have been in the business 

 nearly fifty years, and I think he knows a great deal. (Laugh- 

 ter.) I think he knows about as much about the matter as I do. 

 The five varieties which he names for the farmer would be just 

 the varieties I would suggest. There are other varieties that are 

 bigger and better, but they are an excellent choice. After you 

 get the crop harvested you can run the cultivator through them 

 and they will not mix, and you can get pure plants every year 

 from the different rows. I plant a little different from what 

 Prof. Robertson does. I used to plant from half an acre to an 

 acre, and I used to plant them fourteen inches apart in the row, 

 but now I plant them three by four feet and put two plants in a 

 hill, and they are such good runniers they cover the ground 

 sufficiently before winter. By keeping them cultivated both ways 

 I save considerable labor. You can cultivate them both ways 

 for a long time, and when you can do that the ground is always 

 in better shape for the runners to catch than it is if you cultivate 

 only one way. 



Mr. Geo. J. Kellogg (Wisconsin) : I would suggest that 

 the Crescent come in between the Splendid and Lovett, then you 

 get them better divided. I would like to see Mrs. Robertson's 

 arms to see what they look like. They must be about ten feet 

 long to reach far enough to pick four quarts of berries in one row 

 without moving. (Great laughter.) 



Prof. Robertson : I simply said she reached over the same 

 row. If Mrs. Robertson is in good health she will be here before 

 this meeting closes, and you can see her arms, and you may have 

 her word for this matter. (Laughter.) 



The President : I imagine she must be a very industrious and 

 kind hearted woman to pick strawberries for her husband to eat 

 by the tub full. (Laughter and applause.) 



INFLUENCE OF THE GIRLS' DEPARTMENT AT THE 

 MINNESOTA SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE. 



MRS. VIRGINIA MEREDITH, PRECEPTRESS. 



Forty-five girls have been graduated from the school during 

 the past five years. You will be interested, I suppose,* to know what 

 those girls are doing. Almost all of them are farmers' daughters, 

 and they have gone back to their homes. A few are married, a few 

 are teaching country schools, and four have entered the college 

 of agriculture. Right here I wish to say that if our farmers' daugh- 

 ters would attend the school of agriculture and then enter the 

 college of agriculture it would be of the greatest advantage to them, 

 because that training will lead to a splendid career for women in 

 institutional positions. Scarcely a week goes by that we do not re- 



