STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 107 



as follows, surface plowed ten inches and ever}^ stone within reach 

 removed. Now then we have in first cost of land $100, and in 

 addition $200 in drainage and manure. 



But with this we have the drainage and aeration three and a half 

 feet deep, with soil broken twenty inches deep and the two years' 

 clean cultivation ridding the land of many weeds and nearly all the 

 white grubs. This land thus made in readiness we plant to the straw- 

 be rr}^ 



Now what varieties shall we plant? Here we have two requisites 

 to look after, productiveness and quality. If quality alone were to 

 rule, the list would be about like this : Duncan, Black Defiance, 

 Gipsy, Hervy Davis, Gold. While for market according to our 

 own convictions, for early. Crescent; medium Sharpless. Lida ; 

 medium to late Belmont, Jersey Queen, and Jewell, and yet some 

 would widely dissent from this list, and while those varieties do 

 wonderfulh' in some places, they almost fail in others. On the 

 whole there is no better way than to consult experts in your own 

 neighborhood wlio give about the same soil and culture with your- 

 self. 



There is no use in tr3ing to shoot a seventy-four pound ball out 

 of a pistol neither can 30U raise a Lida and Jewell on drifting sand. 

 For a poor man's berry or a lazy man's try the Crescent fertilized 

 b)' Wilson or Charles Downing. 



With land prepared as we have indicated I would advise planting 

 as follows, adopting this principle, viz : let varieties alternate, be- 

 lieving that cross fertilization is better than close fertilization. With 

 bi-sexual varieties this has not been deemed necessary, and yet it is 

 a fairly debatable quesMon whether the Sharpless or Charles Down- 

 ing do not do better with rows of Belmont or Cumberland between 

 them than alone. 



We do not consider this point actually verified and 3^et it is strongly 

 probable. With pistillates, of course some good bi-sexual is needed. 

 One plan which has been highly successful is as follows : As we de- 

 pend largely upon the Jewell, a pistillate, as our market berry, upon 

 first row plant Sharpless ; two, three, four, Jewell ; five, Belmont ; 

 six, seven, eight, Jewell ; nine, Sharpless and so on. Thus the three 

 rows of pistillate whatever the}' be, have a choice between two some- 

 what diverse bi-sexual kinds ; and the laws of sexual affinity have 

 wider range than otherwise you may think ; it pays in dollars and 

 cents. 



