386 ANNUAL REPORT. 



in the season, but as the season advances more care is required 

 and a larger percentage is apt to die out. Tlie earlier they are set 

 the stronger they will be after they commence to grow. They heat 

 very quickly if tied in bunches or packed in bunches, and cannot be 

 sent any distance. The grain of wisdom contained in the last 

 sentence cost me money, and I am always going to remember it. 

 Another thing I am not going to forget is that grass kills more 

 strawberry plants than frost and worms. It will even run out 

 Crescent seedling if given half a chance. Look out for it and 

 shoot it on the spot whenever it appears, for if you don't it is 

 bound to capture the strawberry bed. 



One man has succeeded in raising fine crops of "Wilson's year 

 after year by covering the ground with straw about three inches 

 deep. Then he just parts the straw sufficient to set the plants. 

 When the runners begin to put out he digs through the straw, 

 covers the tips until he has the plants as thick as desired, then 

 allows them to run on top of the straw, where they soon dry up, 

 and the strength goes to the rooted plants. This is repeated 

 year after year, the straw being renewed as needed and the old 

 plants thinned out. 



My conclusions from experience and observation are that the 

 best method for field culture is the matted row system, mulching 

 with cornstalks or marsh grass or straw. For a small garden, 

 the hill culture or the straw method is undoubtedly the best. 

 To produce good fruit the plants must have air, light and an 

 abundance of moisture, the ground must be kept free from weeds 

 or grass, and the plants must not be too thick, and the pistilate 

 varieties must be fertilized. 



The strawberry leaf roller is a formidable enemy, but one that 

 can be conquered at a iDrofit of about $12 per acre. My inven- 

 tion is this: Early in the spring procure about six hens for each 

 acre of strawberries, the meanest, cheapest, scrubbiest you can 

 find; they will keep off all strawberry worms, eat up their eggs, 

 and in fact clear the ground of all insects, and your chicken coop 

 will pay you a handsome profit. 



President Pearce then stated that he had hastily prepared a 

 few suggestions on strawberry culture. His essay was substan- 

 tially as follows: 



MR. pearce' S PAPER. 



Since the introducton of the Wilson strawberry, hundreds of 

 varieties have made their appearance, all claiming some special 



