STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 389 



Mr. Gilpatrick. I should not think it a very large crop to 

 raise four hundred bushels. I should not expect to get less than 

 that. I had a patch last year that averaged more than six hun- 

 dred bushels per acre. The president of the State society said 

 that it was the best piece of ground he ever saw in strawberries. 

 I think you are all ndstaken about what it costs to keep straw- 

 berries in the hill. And that's not all. If you keep strawber- 

 ries in the hill you can have a crop every year. As soon as the 

 crop is ripe you can have a crop started between, and they will 

 bear a good crop the next year. The old plants can be pulled 

 out. I raised berries on the same ground ten successive years, 

 and then lost a crop by grubworms. My experience would 

 teach me to plant eighteen inches, between the hills and two and 

 one-half feet between the rows. Prepare the ground just as for 

 corn. I wish to say that my experience -is very limited except 

 with the Wilson. If you have the strawberries mulched you 

 won't hear about their drying up. Put only one plant in a hill; 

 if more than one are jjlanted in a hill, they will injure each 

 other. Eaising Wilsons in the hill is new to me. Mulch with 

 anything, straw manure, or even with shingle shavings. I should 

 prefer straw manure. This don't apply to wet land, only to 

 sandy loam. I mulch as soon as I set out the plants. Set the 

 plants early in the spring — in April. 



In answer to the question whether the runners will take root 

 from the mulch, Mr. Gilpatrick said they would not if it was 

 good straw. 



On being asked what kind of berries he would recommend as 

 best for keeping late in the season, Mr. Gilpatrick said the James 

 Vick was the best he had. They lasted about three days after 

 they were ripe. The Glendale is very good for that also. 



Mr. Pearce inquired if Mr. Gilpatrick did not think that 

 where persons were raising small quantities it would be a good 

 plan to use potted plants Mr. Gilpatrick said he thought so. 

 Mr. Pearce said he had seen Mr. Gilpatrick' s strawberries, and 

 he was positive that nothing like them had been produced in the 

 State. 



Mr. Gilpatrick said strawberries are not half as liable to win- 

 ter-kill if well mulched: He never lost plants that were mulched. 



A member said that he did not think it necessary to have pot- 

 ted plants at all when they are set out late in the season. 



Mr. Pearce. There is just this in potted plants: As soon as 

 the plants begin to run in the spring you can set the potted 



