I08 SUCCESS WITH SMALL FRUITS. 



This does not apply to the first preparation of the ground. 

 In this direction I propose to experiment. I have hereto- 

 fore applied fertilizers early in spring by hand, distributing 

 it along the rows." 



Records of varying experiences, and the discussion of 

 commercial fertilizers, might be continued indefinitely, but 

 enough has been said, I think, to suggest to each cultivator 

 unacquainted with the subject in what directions he should 

 seek success. If I v/ere asked what is the one special ma- 

 nure in which the strawberry especially delights, I should 

 answer unhesitatingly, the well decayed and composted pro- 

 duction of the cow-stable, and if the reader had seen Mr. 

 Durand's beds of the Great American variety in bearing, 

 after being enriched with this material, he would be well 

 satisfied to use it when it could be obtained. The vines of 

 even this fastidious berry, that falters and fails in most soils, 

 averaged one foot in height, and were loaded with enor- 

 mous fruit. The subject may be summed up by an extract 

 from a letter of Mr. Alexander Hyde to the " New York 

 Times " : — 



"Nitrates, phosphates, and ammonia are good fertilizers, and 

 just the chemicals which most lands need, but plants require a 

 good bed as well as good food. The physical condition of the 

 soil, as well as the chemical, must receive attention; and we 

 know of nothing superior to a well-made compost for furnishing 

 both the chemical and physical conditions necessary for the de- 

 velopment of our crops." 



