GROWING STRAWBERRIES WITHOUT IRRIGATION. lOfj 



slanting. I laid it down with a board over it, and had to take 

 a 2x12 to lay it down with; I had to bend it over slowly and then 

 work it down with chains, and I kept it covered with straw. 



Mrs. A. A. Kennedy: One of our neighbors had a peach tree 

 growing eight to ten feet high, and they wrapped it with straw 

 and bound it round with blankets, but last winter it froze to 

 death. 



Mrs. J. Stager: I thought they needed a little air? 



GROWING STRAWBERRIES WITHOUT IRRIGATION. 



M. I'KAKCIi, CHOWliN. 



Those who have been engaged in agriculture or horticulture in 

 Minnesota duriijg the past thirty-five or forty years know all about 

 the climate, its long- and cold winters, and short, hot and dry sum- 

 mers. Cold and drouth are two great obstacles in the way of fruit 

 growing, both of which can be bridged over to some extent bj' cov- 

 ering, mulching and irrigation. Irrigation is of two kinds, one bj' 

 direct application of water, the other to plant intelligently and by 

 proper cultivation draw moisture from below. 



In the brief paper that follows, we shall confine ourselves to grow- 

 ing the strawberry without the application of water. Close obser- 

 vation of your own work and that of your neighbors who are in the 

 same line of business is of the utmost importance to all progressive 

 fruit growing. Watch the results where different treatment has been 

 given. It is often the case that where one fails another will make a 

 great success by correcting a few errors. A failure, in the place of 

 discouragement, should be a means of future success. We are in the 

 habit of inviting progressive fruit growers to visit our grounds 

 in September. Those gatherings are of unusual interest, and each 

 one returns home with new ideas to put in practice. We also make 

 it a special business to visit the fruit larms in our neighborhood at 

 the close of the growing season. At that time a correct conclusion 

 can be arrived at what the future crop will be. When we visit a 

 plantation at the stated time and find the plants well grown, heavily 

 rooted and evenly distributed over the ground and not hilled up, we 

 we say in our mind, "If the season is favorable, here will be a heav}- 

 crop of fine strawberries, and even if the season is very dry there 

 will still be a good paying crop. A failure will be almost impossi- 

 ble." The reverse of this, if the runners are thick, small and matted 

 together, leaves and plants small, poorly rooted or matted rows badly 

 hilled up. Our verdict in a case like this is, "little fruit and that 

 inferior, let the season be the best." So much from observation, fiom 

 which we draw valuable information. (3n our own ground, we are 

 using our best judgment and that of others in preparing the ground, 

 setting out the plants, their cultivation and mulching, that we may 

 be able to avoid the heavy losses in time, labor and money which 

 have greatly discouraged strawberry growing for years in the North- 



