STRAWBERRY 



STRAWBERRY 



1739 



These receipts are by no means the only ones from the 

 land for the two years. For many years past the writer 

 has been in the habit of planting other early crops be- 

 tween the rows of Strawberries after they are set. For 

 instance, in the spring a plot of five acres is set with 

 Strawberries. As soon as the Strawberries are set plant 

 between the rows (which are two feet apart) a large 

 lot of onion sets and lettuce. One may sow part of the 

 land with radish seed and another part with cabbage 

 seed for late cabbage, and thus till the ground with 

 quick-growing plants that will be off before the runners 

 need the ground. 



Marketing. — A home market is the best if one can 

 have it, although it is a well-known fact that but few 

 Strawberries are eaten in the neighborhood where they 

 are grown. Along the Gulf coast, Strawberries begin to 

 ripen in February and are at once shipped north, and the 

 consumption continues until 46°north latitude i s reached ; 

 hence the necessity of a variety that will bear shipping. 

 If we all had cooling-houses for berries, and refrigera- 

 tor cars to ship the fruit in, almost any variety would 

 bear more or less transportation; but as most growers 

 have neither, the berries must be picked as soon as 

 colored, and some varieties before they are 

 fully colored. Before the writer had a cool- 

 ing-house, he placed the cases in rows on 

 the floor of a general packing house, and 

 then placed ice along upon the floor between 

 the cases. This did fairly well, but not as 

 well as the present cooling-house, which 

 is a very plain cheap building 12 x 14 ft. 

 and about 12 ft. high. The sides are covered 

 with common sheathing paper and boards, 

 with an air chamber of four inches. The 

 floor overhead is covered with zinc to pre- 

 vent its leaking, and is a little sloping to 

 one corner, where a pipe catches the water 

 as the ice melts, and carries it from the 

 building. It has an open space of nearly 

 12 inches all around the building, which 

 lets the cold air pass below, where 

 the fruit is. There are six tiers 

 of shelves, one above the other all 

 around the room below. Upon the 

 floor above the ice is placed, and 

 on the shelves below are the cases 

 of fruit. About 50° is the best 

 temperature to keep the fruit; if 

 much lower than this, it is found 

 that the fruit will not keep so long 

 after being removed 



tending planting and cultivation; the enormous yields 

 possible from well-selected soils properly treated; and 

 the fact that, aside from being the first fruit to ripen, 

 it seldom, if ever, fails to 

 reward the painstaking 

 grower with an ample har- 

 vest to cover all cost for 

 attention bestowed. 



While good results are 

 had from settings made at 

 almost any time of the 

 year, November and Feb- 

 ruary are the months dur- 

 ing which plantings may 

 ally be made with the 

 least risk. In some sec- 

 tions, especially near 

 the Gulf, plantings 

 are frequently made 

 during rainy spells 

 in late summer and 



from the cooler. It is 

 best not to throw fruit 

 on the market, but to 

 try to have it so good 

 that it recommends it- 

 self. Endeavor to have 

 it engaged to the retail 

 grocers in advance. 

 Then there is but one 

 profit between the con- 

 sumer and the grower. 

 J. 31. Smith. 

 S trawberry Cul - 

 ture in the South. - 

 If any fruit is at home 

 in the South it is surely 

 the Strawberry. It 

 heads the list of small 

 fruits, and, admitting 

 as competitors tree and 

 vine fruits, it easily 

 holds the place of first 

 importance. Among 

 the many things that 

 commend the Straw- 

 berry favorably to 

 southern land -owners 

 who would grow fruit 

 for home use or for market are the following: its com- 

 parative freedom from disease and insect enemies; 

 the ease with which it adapts itself to different soils 

 and varied conditions of climate; the small cost at- 



2423. Bomba Strawberry. Nearly natural 



2424. Belmont Strawberry. 



Natural size. 



early fall At such times it 

 is neither a difficult nor a 

 very expensive process to 

 shift plants with earth adher- 

 ing to the roots to nicely pre- 

 pared soil near the old beds. 

 From good stands on newly 

 prepared beds secured as 

 early in the season as August 

 or September, and with a long fall 

 and mild spells during winter favor- 

 ing vigorous plant growth and de- 

 velopment of fruit-buds, the grower 

 may reasonably expect the following 

 spring one-half to two-thirds of a 

 crop. 



Being a water-loving plant and a 

 liberal feeder, especially during fruit- 

 ing season, the Strawberry accom- 

 plishes its best work in a soil capa- 

 ble of taking in the largest quantity 

 of water and of holding during pro- 

 tracted drought the greatest amount 

 of moisture within easy reach of the 

 plant. This ideal Strawberry soil is 

 found in the rather compact deep 

 clay loams over the well-drained clay 

 subsoils so abundant in most of the South Atlantic and 

 the Gulf states. 



As to fertilizers, much depends on the kind of soil 

 and treatment. Where the cereals are benefited by the 



