ABC OF STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 181 



and then 9. But the last which he sold for 9, he said the grocer 

 retailed out at 12 cts. for every quart of them before the boy 

 left the store. The fruit is shaped very much like the Sharp- 

 less. You rembember when I first commenced raising the 

 Sharpless I said the berries looked like " chunks of pudding." 

 Well, that describes the Great American exactly. In point of 

 flavor they are exactly like the Sharpless, as nearly as I can re- 

 member. 



I had been thinking I could not eat strawberries, especially 

 for supper. When Mrs Root placed the heaping saucer of 

 Great Americans close to my plate at suppertime I felt almost 

 sure, both from looks and taste, that they would not hurt me, 

 and they didn't. I suppose they are a very large per cent wa- 

 ter ; but when fully ripened they have a delicious pineapple 

 flavor that is most fascinating. Our Mr. Turner, you know, 

 has been for years at the Ohio Experiment Station, Columbus, 

 where they test every thing in this line. Said I : 



" Mr. Turner, you people, of course, tested the Great Amer- 

 ican with other strawberries ? Now, will you please tell me 

 why it has not made more of a stir in the world ? " 



He replied in just two words : 



"Too soft;" and that tells the story exactly. If fully 

 ripened they certainly would not stand shipping ; but for home 

 use, or for selling in the way we do, picking the berries between 

 4 and 6 o'clock, and selling to consumers before noon, I believe 

 I should call them the " best berry in the world " at least, the 

 best late berry. Very likely the berry does not ordinarily pro- 

 duce as many quarts per acre as the Haverland, Parker Earle, 

 Bubach, and some others ; but managed in the way I found 

 these, the yield was certainly very satisfactory ; and it does not 

 take any time at all to pick the fruit. 



By the way, why can't this berry be profitably grown and 

 let it cover the ground entirely, having no paths, no weeds, no 

 management at all ? Make the ground exceedingly rich ; keep 

 out every weed until the plants get complete possession, as in 

 the new celery culture, and then just let the whole thing take 

 care of itself. Grown in this way they do not need any mulch- 

 ing, and I do not believe the plant would ever be thrown out 

 by frost ; neither would a late frost injure the blossoms, for two 

 reasons the bloom is very late,* and the immense foliage 

 wo^ld protect it. But I tell you, you would need to have some 



* The blossoms are perfect, so no other variety is needed near them. 



