A MODEL ACRE OF STRAWBERRIES. 



517 



unless it has a better keeping habit, whilst 

 the KeifFer is very much improved in quali- 

 ty, color, and most especially in style. Cer- 

 tainly the Duchess was much cleaner and 

 smoother, with a tougher skipi , Follow- 

 ing along these lines we can so plant our 

 orchards so as to materially alter the form 

 and texture of our fruits, and if so we are 



only beginning a process the result and end 

 of which is hard to see. Surely it is an 

 error the old notion that the effect of cross 

 pollination was only shown in our fruit 

 grown from the seedlings of the parent 

 fruit thus pollinated and not in the fruit 

 itself.. 



Winona. \. Keep. 



A MODEL ACRE OF STRAWBERRIES. 



SEND you a statement of my method of 

 growing fancy berries for market. The 

 varieties used are Marshall, Wm. Belt 

 ^^ and Brandywine, principally Marshall. 

 The plot herewith described contains two 

 acres. 



The land of clay-sand loam containing 

 more or less stone, in good condition, was 

 plowed and thoroughly fitted, finished up by 

 rolling. 



It was then marked very accurately 30x36 

 inches by markers made of ^xio inch strips 

 with runners on the under side and a pair ot 

 handles like thills. A line was stretched 

 along one side and across one end as a guide 

 for the marker, after that one runner of the 

 marker was run in the last mark made. 

 With a little care almost perfect marking is 

 the result. 



The plants, 5800 per acre, were set with 

 spades, the spademan carrying the plants, 

 straightened and very wet in a basket strap 

 ped upon his back, the setter, generally a 

 boy, taking a few plants from the basket at 

 a time in his hand while the spademan with 

 a moveable wooden sole or sandal upon his 

 shoes thrusts the spade well down into the 

 soil, then forward when the setter with a 

 quick snapping movement snaps the plant 

 behind the spade, being sure to have the 

 roots straight down and well spread. The 

 spademan then removes the spade in such a 

 manner that the earth falls back upon the 



roots, he stepping close beside the plant thus 

 firming it. 



When setting was finished, the Breed 

 Horse Weeder was used, and continued 

 until the crowns became so large that it be- 

 gan to break them off, when the 13 tooth 

 Iron Age cultivator going both ways was 

 substituted. By the frequent use of the 

 above tools and a very little hand hoeing the 

 field was kept free from weeds and showed 

 great vigor. 



Up to August I St all runners were kept 

 off, then are allowed to make plants for 

 about ten days when they were bedded in as 

 follows : two runners or plants from each 

 side of the old plant were stretched out in 

 the 36 inch way covered in or fastened down 

 with earth or stones, all other runners pinch- 

 ed off. When finished the beds consisted of 

 rows zYn, feet apart in the rows, the hills of 

 old plants 36 inches apart with two clumps 

 of two new plants each, twelve inches from 

 each other and also twelve inches from par- 

 ent hill or plant. Afterward all runners 

 were kept off. The final result is the bed 

 now contains per acre 5800 hills of from 4 to 

 10 crowns each and 23000 immensely strong 

 new plants capable of producing strictly 

 fancy fruit in large quantities. 



The fertilizer applications were as follows 

 within ten days after planting, 5000 pounds 

 high grade compost per acre which was at 

 the rate of an ordinarv handful about each 



