FRUIT ON THE FARM 145 



fruit per day, how many quarts would be required to supply them a 

 year? How much are these berries worth at 10c. per quart? 



3. If a man spends 5 hours per week for 12 weeks caring for fruit, 

 to produce enough fruit for a family of six as given in example 2, how 

 many hours would he spend? What is his time worth at 15c. per hour? 



STRAWBERRIES 



Adaptability. — The strawberry may be grown in almost 

 any locality, from the far north to the extreme south. It 

 is the most widely distributed of the cultivated fruits, and 

 perhaps the most universally popular. 



Varieties. — There are several hundred varieties of straw- 

 berries listed. Some varieties are particularly adapted 

 to the cooler summers and to the soil conditions of the 

 northern districts, while others are adapted more partic- 

 ularly to the southern conditions. At least one or more 

 varieties may be selected for any district. 



There are varieties of strawberries that have imper- 

 fect or pistillate flowers, and varieties that have perfect 

 flowers, or flowers containing both stamens and pistils. 

 The perfect may be distinguished from the imperfect only 

 by the flower. When buying plants, one must depend 

 upon the knowledge and honesty of the dealer to secure 

 either plants with perfect flowers or a sufficient number of 

 them to properly fertilize the pistillate flowers. The pis- 

 tillate varieties are often the best bearers, and are not ob- 

 jectionable when planted with staminate varieties, but are 

 fruitless when planted alone. However, to simplify matters 

 it is wise for the amateur to select the perfect varieties. 



Soil. — It is generally conceded that strawberries are 

 most successfully raised on sandy or gravelly loam. New 

 clover sod makes a desirable soil, but it is not safe to use 

 old sod land, on account of the larvae of many injurious 

 insects which are likely to be in the soil and feed upon the 

 young plants. To guard against such, it is well to have the 

 strawberry crop follow some cultivated crop, as potatoes, 

 beans or corn, for the cultivation is quite likely to kill the 

 larvae. 



Preparation of the Soil. — The land should be well fer- 

 tilized. For four rows one hundred feet long, about what 

 vould supply the ordinary family, a load of well decomposed 



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