STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 377 



From persoual exporiencti and observation I have come to- 

 the following conclusions: 



1st. That the strawberry is a natural production of our prairie. 

 They growing in a wild state among grass and weeds, and rapidly 

 taking possession of land that has been broken and allowed to go 

 back to a state of nature. 



2d. That properly cared for, the best kinds of strawberries 

 are as sure a crc>p as corn or wheat. That the land should be 

 plowed in the fall, and although plants may be set up to Junfr 

 first, the safest and best plan is to set as early as the ground is 

 in good condition. That they should be set two by four feet in 

 straight roM\s, and kept free of weeds. That more plants are lost 

 by not pressing the earth firmly about the crown than by any- 

 other cause. 



3d. That it is useless for a lazy man, or a man that thinks 

 raising berries and garden truck a small business, to go into fruit - 

 raising. The result will be weeds instead of berries. That horti- 

 culturalists as a class are not friends of tobacco and whisky. 



4th. That it pays to put up fruit in a neat and tasty manner, 

 and give good measure. That to be successful, the grower should 

 be a good salesman. 



5th. That the Crescent, if properly fertilized, is the most' 

 productive and profitable berry grown on the prairies of the West. 

 It is also the earliest, the latest and hardiest grown in this vicinity, 

 being the first to ripen and producing berries after even the 

 Glendales are all gone. 



6th. That the greatest pleasure and reward a horticulturalist^ 

 with a family of children, receives is to see their sparkling eyes- 

 and smiling faces as they grasp the luscious fruit, and their better 

 health by the use thereof. 



In conclusion, I will say that I received the request to prepare 

 this paper but four days ago, and in the interim a young horti- 

 culturalist has arrived in the family; which facts account for the 

 crude and incomplete condition of this paper and my absence 

 from your meeting. 



FOSTER THE BIRDS. 



BY A. W. SIAS. 



Webster says foster means to feed, to nourish, to support, ta 

 bring up. And that is just what I mean when I say foster the 

 birds. Set for them the June-berry, so as to have something. 

 48 



