THE STRAWBERRY AND OTHER BERRIES. 207 



berries in the open air, but one, or at most two, cold spells 

 every year spoil the crop. No other variety will fruit early 

 and out of season, like the Michel, which makes it an ideal 

 plant for this purpose. I know of no crop that will pay like 

 it, if treated as suggested, and I predict that in a few years 

 every enterprising grower will have one or more beds thus 

 treated, for success then is absolutely certain and good prices 

 assured. A crop thus grown must of necessity be limited, 

 and with two markets like Houston and Galveston at hand, 

 an over-production of fine, ripe fruit would be impossible. 

 But the balance of the state would be ready to take any sur- 

 plus. Berries like the Michel, grown on rich ground and 

 with plenty of room, and protection from cold and beating 

 rains, would color up handsomely, and always bring a fine 

 price. The people who buy at that season have the money, 

 and will pay well for a first-class article. Of course, a con- 

 tingency of dry weather must be provided against for best 

 results, and if unable to afford a small windmill, a good hand 

 force-pump, with ordinary well, will furnish abundant water. 

 Our wells are always full in winter. It would be well to 

 water entirely from below, to prevent wetting the fruit. 



When preparing the bed, lay a row of common one-inch 

 drain tiles, one foot long, the full length of it and about eight 

 inches beneath the surface. Cover the tiles with an inch of 

 shell, gravel, sawdust or hay, in order to keep the soil from 

 finding its way between the joints and into the tiles. Or, in- 

 stead of tiles, two pieces of i x 3 heart pine, nailed together 

 like a gutter, and the edges notched at intervals of six inches, 

 to allow a free .escape of the water. This should be inverted, 

 and laid upon a six-inch plank, at the depth named, and the 

 end next the well, whether tiles or plank, connected by hose 

 to the pump. The fruit when ripe need never be wet, which 

 would greatly improve its appearance and shipping qualities. 

 The plants should be set not less than fifteen inches apart 

 each way, and the bed evenly mulched before putting them 

 out. A strawberry bed of Michel thus treated would be ab- 

 solutely sure for a paying crop, and the yield from November 

 to March alone would be something wonderful. The cover- 



