STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 411 



fail one year in twenty of liaving a good crop. I have myself 

 failed but once in twenty-five years of having at least a good 

 paying crop. Good sense and good judgment is all that is re- 

 quired in order to grow strawberries. 



ABOUT VARIETIES. 



A good deal depends upon using good plants. I wish to re- 

 peat what I said in part yesterday, don't be in a hurry to get 

 these new varieties that come out and are being recommended 

 by this man or that; wait till good reliable growers in your 

 vicinitj;, or some men that you know are reliable, have tried 

 them. You can grow varieties that will answer your purpose 

 from those kinds now in use. If you have plenty of time and 

 plenty of money, and like to experiment with new varieties that 

 come along, you will find plenty of use for your time and monej^, 

 and by the way, get very little in return for either ! [Laughter]. 



Mr. Allen. Do you find any difference in using leached or 

 unleached ashes? 



Mr. Smith. Yes, sir; the leached ashes have the potash taken 

 from them and that is an element that is very abundant in ashes 

 and is beneficial to the plants. 



RUST AND INSECTS. 



Mr. Bunnell. Have you ever had any experience in burning 

 over ! 



Mr. Smith. ]N"o, sir; I never could see any particular advan- 

 tage to be gained by it. I wish to say to farmers don't plant 

 strawberries twice upon the same ground, and don't allow your 

 beds to get too old, as the insects are apt to get in and destroy 

 the bed. 



One of the most damaging things in strawberry culture in the 

 United States is the practice of leaving the beds too long on the 

 same ground, or if they are plowed uj) the ground is re-set to 

 plants. In southern Illinois it has become a very serious ques- 

 tion how to prevent damage from rust and from insects of one 

 kind and another, until it is almost impossible to get a good crop 

 there, or such as we in the North call a good, fair crop. 



In my own exiDerience I would say that I never reset the same 

 ground uutil it has been cultivated a year or so in other crops, 

 and I don't try to get more than one good crop from a bed. I 

 raise the Wilson, because all things considered they have suceed- 



