6i 



best growers have been telling you of their methods. Like- 

 the frog, I can keep on agitating, trusting some good may 

 come from it. 



The strawberry is the first fresh fruit of our climate, and, 

 none is more welcome. Modern transportation facilities 

 have made its season in our markets a long- one, but I no- 

 tice that no matter how many berries have been shipped in 

 or how cheaply they have sold, the first natives are just as- 

 welcome as ever. 



The strawberry lends itself to such a variety of soils 

 that every farmer can raise his own berries at least. As a 

 rule, the early varieties do best on light soils and the late 

 varieties do best on the heavy soils. 



The soil should be thoroughly prepared. Never use an 

 old sod if it can be avoided. Better cultivate, some other - 

 crop the first year. We have improved wonderfully in the 

 preparation of the soil for all crops in the last few years, 

 and modern machinery makes this comparatively easy. I 

 do not, however, remember that I ever fitted a piece of land 

 so well that I did not think I could have improved it if I 

 had had unlimited time, teams, men and fertilizers. Proper 

 fitting is of the utmost importance and if we fail here we can 

 never fully make up for it by cultivation. 



Spring is the only time for me to plant the strawberry, 

 and the earlier after the land can be properly fitted the bet- 

 ter. Of the various modifications of the hill and malted row- 

 system, I prefer the narrow matted row for general market 

 and the placed runners for choicest fruit. 



Three years ago I planted two plots of strawberries and. 

 kept exact account of the cost of each from the time of plant- 

 ing until cultivation ceased. This did not take into account 

 the cost of mulching, the cost of fitting the land, or the ma- 

 nure and fertilizers. 



One plot was composed of nine beds of four rows each, 

 rows one foot apart, plants one foot apart in the rows, and' 

 beds two feet apart. This system is commonly known as the 

 Kivet system. This made 4,500 feet of land and took 3.600- 

 plants. The cost of planting, cultivating and keeping all 

 runners cut off was $25.10, or at the rate of $243 per acre 

 for labor of planting and growing. I charged nothing for 

 the plants, simply the cost of digging, trimming, and plant- 

 ing, which I found was about 15 cents per hundred. If I 

 had purchased the plants at $3 per thousand it would have- 



