216 A B CROP STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 



put them into that stamped bed. They all did wonderfully 

 well, especially the Darling. In watching the new plants I fear 

 I forgot somewhat the stamped bed, and gave the credit to the 

 new varieties At the same time I began experimenting with 

 plants potted in jadoo fiber, and a great number of them were 

 sent as premiums to our subscribers. The next spring these 

 six Darling plants gave a nice lot of beautiful berries, away 

 ahead of any thing else unless it was the Earliest ; and without 

 thinking much about it I helped to boom the Darling, which 

 the originator held at a very high price. Now, I have been 

 greatly disappointed because we have not had more favorable 

 reports of the Darling. In fact, on that account I have drop- 

 ped it from our list of strawberries. Margaret and Nick Oh- 

 mer were also set in a pounded bed, and they both made an im- 

 mense growth, and produced wonderful berries. I have been 

 putting all of my new varieties in pounded beds, because, when 

 one is anxious to get as many plants as he can, as soon as pos- 

 sible, he must furnish the best of conditions ; and not all plants 

 will pay him so much better in highly fertilized and compact 

 beds than they do in the open field. After I put the Darling 

 and Earliest in the open field and gave them the same chance 

 as the other varieties they have been very disappointing in our 

 locality. I learn from others, though, further south, that in 

 some places they do well. 



From this I have been learning a lesson : We should be 

 careful, each and all of us, about recommending a new plant 

 before we have given it field culture right along with the 

 others. 



SEIZING STRAWBERRY-PLANTS. 

 From Gleanings in Bee Culture, May /, 1899. 



Now, a happy surprise conies along in the line of selling 

 strawberry-plants. You know I talked to you last year about 

 my handsome plantation of strawberries with the plants only 

 two feet apart from center to center. These were cultivated 

 three different ways with the wheel-hoe; and the original idea 

 was to keep the runners cut off. There was about half an acre 

 of the patch. It was well manured before the plants were put 

 out in the fall of 1897. Then old well- composted manure, brok- 

 en up fine, was scattered all through the patch with wheelbar- 



