12 STATE FOMOLOGICAL SOCIKTY. 



nitrate of soda ; 400 pounds of muriate of potash ; 400 pounds of 

 fine ground bone ; 800 pounds of acid phosphate. 



Most people will say that it is an expensive fertilizer to make. 

 Our experience had been that a good grade of fertilizer put on 

 the ground is never lost. A little of the nitrogen may be washed 

 down and wasted but the minerals are always there ready for 

 business. 



During the days of slavery there was an old darkey who could 

 not help stealing chickens, it was a part of his nature. He stole 

 the chickens his master had fattened for his own use. His mas- 

 ter came to him and said, "the next time you steal a chicken I 

 shall bring you up before all the slaves of the plantation and have 

 you thrashed." The fellow went as long as he could go but one 

 night when coming home from church he went in and stole a 

 chicken, and his wife cooked it and he ate it. He was brought 

 up before the big house and stripped. There stood the overseer 

 with the master v/ho felt badly to think he was going to be 

 whipped. ''Can't we save you in some way ? What did you do 

 this thing for?" The darkey, said, "You just look at this, 

 Master, you owns this nigger and you owns this chicken. When 

 I ate that chicken you didn't lose anything, you may have less 

 chicken but you got more nigger." So when a man grows 

 strawberries for gain ?.nd does not want to put on so much fer- 

 tilizer, he must remember that while he may not have so much 

 fertilizer he has more strawberries. It is not possible for potash 

 and phosphoric acid to be lost out of the soil of a good straw- 

 berry bed. 



On a small farm v/here every acre must count, strawberries 

 may be started as follows : Plant potatoes in hills the first year. 

 Potatoes in hills may be cultivated both ways and kept free from 

 weeds even if hand pulling is needed. We can dig early pota- 

 toes in the latter part of July or early in August, after they are 

 dug work up the ground with a plow or cutaway harrow and 

 sow the southern cow pea in drills. When this is done and the 

 cow peas are carefully cultivated we obtain a good crop of 

 humus or vegetable matter and, if need be, at the last cultivation 

 we can sow rye or crim.son clover and thus secure a good full 

 crop. When we sow rye or clover directly after potatoes we are 

 troubled with the white grub and when we get a crop of white 

 grubs into the ground we cannot raise these big fine strawberries. 



