A B C OF STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 187 



Brandywine is just beginning to attract considerable atten- 

 tion. It does not bear as many berries as the Bubach, perhaps, 

 but they are so firm they can be handled and shipped almost 

 like potatoes, even when they are well colored all over. This 

 is certainly a wonderful thing in its favor. The Marshall has 

 been grown to some extent, but I believe it does not produce 

 berries enough for field culture, as a general thing. 



One of the largest berry-farms in the neighborhood of 

 Barnesville is managed by the Cowan brothers, one of them 

 having over 100 acres devoted to small fruits, and, if I am cor- 

 rect, something like 40 acres entirely in strawberries. We were 

 a little surprised to find the proprietor a colored man ; and it 

 was a surprise indeed to see how he was making berries grow 

 on every foot of the land, hilltop and valley. Even in the ra- 

 vine back of his house, where it was about as steep as the roof 

 of a house, great rank luxuriant strawberries were growing and 

 bearing there. Mr. Cowan says the side of the hill is much 

 better for strawberries than the extreme top. He thinks this is 

 much owing to the cold winds that strike the summit, while 

 the berries part way down, especially where the hill slopes to 

 the southeast, are protected from the cold northwest winds. It 

 was indeed amusing to see the great clusters hanging over and 

 spread out on the straw mulching on the down-hill side of each 

 row. The Haverland, you know, is remarkable for its long 

 stems, and these were literally piled up in heaps. The day be- 

 fore our visit, they had picked and shipped 50 bushels. 



Mr. Cowan objects, like the rest, to stable manure for a 

 mulch, especially that which comes from the livery-stables in 

 town. I do not know just why manure from livery-stables 

 should contain so many weed seeds, but perhaps it is because 

 they have to purchase large quantities of hay from all sorts of 

 farmers. A man who has a horse and cow of his own, or who 

 grows the feed for his stock, would not be so likely to risk tak- 

 ing weeds on to his premises. Several men told me they had 

 got their ground filled with kinds of weeds they had never 

 seen on their premises until they brought them in by purchas- 

 ing stable manure for their berries. Now, this is indeed a se- 

 rious matter. Another source of weed seeds is the straw mulch- 

 ing put under the berries to keep them clean. The small quan- 

 tity of grain left in the straw makes trouble, but the trouble is 

 not as bad as with pernicious weeds. The prickly lettuce is one 

 of the worst, because it will mature seed, and send it flying 

 about even while the berries are fruiting. 



Permit me to mention here that Mr. Cowan was using very 



