STRAWBERRIES. 329 



any vineyard bear any more, and it continues to bear. The ex 

 hibitof Mr. Loudon, in the other room, is taken from that vine- 

 yard. The vines do not seem to be too near. The only dif- 

 ficulty is there is not earth enough to cover them. My latest ex- 

 perience is in planting them seven feet apart each way. A 

 vine seven feet long is also easier to handle. 



STRAWBERRIES. 



H. BOVEE, CAKLTON, MINN. 



I can remember when there was uo such thing- as growing berries 

 for market, but it has become a very profitable business in this 

 country. The first I remember was of people growing a few in their 

 gardens of the Early Scarlet berry, about like the wild berry, small 

 and soft. Then came Harvey's Seedling, a good berry, then the 

 grand old Wilson, which is the finest berry today that we have, then 

 the Crescent, the most productive we have now, and we have differ- 

 ent kinds by the thousand. I think the Warfield is the best market 

 berry we have; they are of a good sixe, of firm, dark, rich color 

 (crimson) and /ooi rre/i in the box. I shipped some to Livingston, 

 Mont., and they wrote me that they received them in good condition. 

 We have twentj' acres in bearing and are testing many varieties on 

 which I will report later. We are using the Warfield and think it 

 has come to stay; Wilson we use to fertilize the Warfield. 



This is the best location for the berry business I have ever seen. 

 The soil is a clay loam, half clay and half sand, a natural berry 

 soil. Our shipping facilities cannot be excelled— two roads, St. Paul & 

 Duluth and Northern Pacific. Our berries are on the market from one 

 to two hours after picking, selling from seventeen to twenty cents a 

 quart by the case. The reason of that is this: when our berries are 

 ripe there are no berries for sale anywhere, so we have full control 

 of the market. Dealers retail them at twent^'-five cents a quart. It 

 costs five cents a quart to grow, pick and market strawberries. They 

 can be grown as cheaply as potatoes and as many bushels to 

 the acre. Potatoes sell for lift}- cents a bushel and berries for 

 over five dollars per bushel. I think the prospect for berrj' cul- 

 ture here is big. We have St. Paul, Duluth and Minneapolis for 

 markets. This may surprise you, but I sent berries to Yerxa's in 

 St. Paul, and they gave me fifteen cents per quart and wanted all we 

 could send them. They had been selling berries from five to ten 

 cents during the berry season, for my daughter told me she had 

 bought strawberries of them for five cents per quart during the 

 berry season. 



It is astonishing that farmers do not have berries in plenty. If 

 they will set out one-quarter acre of Crescent plants and keep them 

 well hoed the first season, I will warrant them plenty of berries for 

 three seasons; I eay Crescents because they will stand more neglect 

 than any other berry and will grow a good crop uiuler any and all 

 conditions. 



