49 ANNUAL REPORT. 
Auditing Committee—Messrs. Gould, Eldridge and Emery. 
By request A. W. Sias was placed on committee on hardy orna- 
mental shrubs and trees. 
Mr. Harris inquired as to the Sharpless strawberry. 
Mr. Elliot’s experience showed that the plants potted late did 
better than those rooted in the soil. Wilson’s were killed. The 
Sharpless should not be called a tender plant. In good drainage 
Wilson’s did well. Sharpless promises well. 
TUESDAY EVENING. 
STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 
Mr. Mathew Crawford, of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, submitted a 
paper on “Strawberry Culture for Market,’ which was read by 
the secretary, as follows: 
Strawberry culture is an important industry, supplying a want felt by nearly 
every person in this broad country, and furnishing a delightful employment to 
thousands who might not otnerwise earn anything. When we cousider that 
forty years ago scarcely any cultivated strawberries were found in the market, 
and then see the magnitude of the business at the present time, we naturally in- 
quire why so many engage in it. 
This fruit possesses so many desirable qualities that it commends itself to ev- 
ery one, and at the same time is perfectly harmless. Until the advent of the 
Wilson, in °57, it was a luxury to be enjoyed by the few; now it is indispensable 
in nearly every family. While the market may sometimes be overstocked for a 
day or two, with the common kinds, the demand for first-class berries has never 
been supplied. When well grown, it is not only cheerfully bought and paid for 
but eagerly sought. 
Everything connected with its culture is pleasant. There is no hard work at- 
tending it. It occupies the ground but a short time, removes almost nothing 
from it and leaves it in good condition for the following crop. While all other 
fruits have their favorite localities, outside of which they cannot be grown at a 
profit, this flourishes on almost any soil and in any climate where one cares to 
live. It requires but little capital and its cultivation is easily learned. It has 
but few enemies and is one of the surest crops grown. I have cultivated it 
twenty-five years without a failure. It brings in a large amount from a small 
piece of ground, and may be grown in connection with other crops at very little 
cost. But yet, although its culture offers so many inducements, only those who 
have had some experience, and who live within a reasonable distance of a good 
market or raslroad station, should engage in it extensively. 
