THE OA.NA.DIAN HOBTIOOLTDBIST. 



8T 



STRAWBERRY NOTES. 

 Mr. Editor, — My few notes on the 

 strawberry at this time are for those 

 like myself who love this, the best (to 

 my mind) of all the small fruits, and 

 to those who are engaged in its culti- 

 vation aa a source of revenue I would 

 oflfer a few remarks. 



The cultivation of this valuable fruit 

 is yearly increasing and with the vari- 

 eties best suited to the locality and 

 market the grower lives in, even if 

 l»y bringing only a moderate price he 

 may reap a fair recompense for his toil. 

 A well-kept strawberry bed is an orna- 

 ment to any garden, and a profitable 

 one, and the labor required to keep it 

 in order is a pleasant pastime. 



Any ordinary soil will grow straw- 

 berries, only have it free from weeds 

 and as rich as you can afford to make 

 it, especially the surface. Last spring, 

 in raising plants for setting, I found 

 the roots running across the alleys six 

 teen inches apart ; no mulching, no 

 heaving, no root-breaking, owing to the 

 fact that the roots found what they 

 needed for plant-growth and fruit near 

 the surface. This bed was fertilized 

 with ashes from hardwood. Bone dust 

 and ashes are the best fertilizers for 

 the strawberry. 



Some people advise planting the 

 strawberry in July, August, and Sep- 

 tember. I regard spring as the better 

 time ; the objections to fall setting ap- 

 ply more to market than garden cul- 

 ture. It is often said that in setting 

 plants in August we may secure half a 

 crop the next season. In our experi- 

 ence we have never succeeded in this. 

 The berries produced the following 

 year from fall-set plants have always 

 been few in number, and have gener- 

 ally averaged small in size. The plants 

 rarely become sufficiently rooted before 

 winter to yield any amount of fruit the 

 next season. 



By setting tha plants in spring we 



give them a whole year to prepare for 

 a crop. The soil will be in the best 

 condition, and the weeds are easily 

 kept under control: We cultivate the 

 plants one season and receive a bounti- 

 ful crop of fruit to repay the cost, 

 whereas if set in the fall we must cul- 

 tivate a year and a half before we re- 

 ceive a full crop. 



The growing demand for small fruits 

 has more than kept pace with the pro- 

 duction, and large crops are now mar- 

 keted at satisfactory prices, where a 

 few years since a few quarts amply sup- 

 plied the want. I would say to all 

 engaged in growing small fruit, either 

 for home use or market, whatever 

 variety does best in your section hold 

 on to it till you find a better. At 

 the same time the quality of the straw- 

 berry depends mainly on the culti- 

 vation, on a rich soil, clean culture,, 

 and in not letting a weed appear. 



In closing I will mention a few vari- 

 eties that do pretty well in all sections 

 of the country, viz. : Early — Crescent, 

 Old Ironclad, May King, and Parry. 

 The two last named are pretty new and 

 well worthy of trial. Medium — Cum- 

 berland, Triumph, Ontario, Daniel 

 Boon, Jewel, Manchester. Late — 

 Mount Vernon, Vineland, Cornelia, 

 Kentucky. These varieties, with a few 

 more I might mention, are the cream 

 of the strawberry family. 



Granton. JoHN LITTLE. 



BARK-LOUSE REMEDY. 



Mr. D. Young in his Bark-louse 

 Remedy did not say how many bags 

 we put into a tree. Is it one to a 

 tree, or one to each branch ? 



A. C. McDonald. 



Dunlop, Huron Co. 



[Will Mr. Young have the kindness 

 to reply to the above inquiry ] — Ed. 

 Can. Hort.] 



