354 



IRRIGATION AGE. 



Springs, Col., also one to a friend in 

 Toronto, Canada, and two to Harrisburg, 

 Pa. all arriving in good shape, but when I 

 sent a shipment to Denver, Kansas City, 

 St. Jo, Mo., and Chicago, the commission 

 houses reported them as arriving in very 

 bad condition and unsalable. It does seem 

 as though any one of the cities named 

 above could use the entire product of these 

 forty acres of Muscats grown here and 

 when we know there is no opposition from 

 any quarter. It may be that the people are 

 paupers in these cities, still I have heard 

 there are a great many rich people in the 

 north and it n. ust be that they, the people, 

 are too stingy to buy grapes, but I don't 

 believe that either. When I ask who owns 

 the Rail Road, the Western Union Tele- 

 graph Stock, the Pullman Sleepers, the 

 Telephone, the Standard Oil, and every 

 other blood-sucking concern, the answer 

 comes, why the north and eastern people 

 to be sure I think the Commission 

 Houses North think we people are legiti- 

 mate prey. I remember once in a city 

 asking how do all these people make their 

 living. Why the answer came pat 

 "out of suckers to be sure," and the W. 

 U. Telegraph beat the tax and threw it 

 upon the dear people, but let me give you 

 a sample. Last winter I wanted to send a 

 message to Morterey, so down I went to 

 the Telegraph office and found it closed, 

 the day being Sunday, but out on theetreet 

 I met one of the operators who told me 

 that if I would cross the river into New 

 Truedo, Mexico, that I could send ihe dis- 

 patch for 40 cents Mexican money but that, 

 on this side I would have to pay the W. U. 

 70 cents American. Now the 40 cents 

 Mexican is only worth 20 cents of our 

 money, but the Mexican Government owns 

 and operates the Telegraph there and on 

 this side the W. U. operates the system. 

 The Lord deliver us from our friends should 

 be our pr,ayer. Still I dare not trust our 

 grapes across the state line. I feel that^I 

 would loose the whole outfit. 



With kind regards I remain yours truly. 

 T. C NYE. 



CULTIVATION OF STRAWBERRIES. 

 Strawberry growing is a pleasant and 

 profitable industry, suited to the modern 

 methods of intensive soil culture. Some 



experienced market gardeners get 1,000 bu. 

 from an acre, netting from $500 to $1,000 a 

 year. The plants are easily grown and 

 require less care than other farm crops, 

 producing one tenth the income. The 

 berries are healthful home necessities, 

 appreciated by the entire family, and no 

 farm is complete without a strawberry 

 bed. There are many good varieties. early 

 medium and late. A discription of each 

 may be found in nursery catalogues which 

 may be had for the asking. Among those 

 generally grown are the Wilson, James 

 Vick, Captain Jack, Gregg, Manchester, 

 Magoon and many more, varying with the 

 market demands and fancies of individuals. 



A deep, well drained soil containtaing 

 moisture holding qualities is preferable for 

 strawberries, as the plants demand con- 

 siderable water coming from the sub- 

 surface. The matted row or raised bed 

 system of planting usually gives the best 

 satisfaction where the beds are irrigated 

 by running water through the trenches, 

 and left to stand several hours to thor- 

 oughly soak from below the roots. If 

 planted on a slope, or over a gravelly 

 under surface the drainage carries away 

 the surplus water, preventing the soil 

 from getting loggy or foul from stagnant 

 pools. As the land must be clean of weeds 

 it is advisable to use some commercial 

 fertilizers rather than too much barnyard 

 manure. 



In planting by the ridge method the 

 land is laid out in beds about thirty inches 

 between furrows', leaving the ditches six 

 inches deep, and running with the 

 greatest slope of the field. Two rows of 

 plants are set on each bed, standing fifteen 

 inches apart, leaving the irrigating 

 ditches on either side. These trenches 

 act as waterways for carrying off the sur- 

 plus rainfall and for irrigating in the arid 

 sections. The plants may be set in the 

 fall, August being a very good time, or 

 any of the spring months will prove satis- 

 factory transplanting seasons. After 

 setting they must be kept moist for 

 several days to insure thorough rooting. 

 Top dressings of fertilizers containing 

 phosphoric acid, potash and nitrogen 

 should be applied very liberally. 



Strawberry plants are male and female, 

 and the grower must understand this 



