STRAWBERRIES. l6/ 



New World, Columbus also discovered the true 

 strawberry, and died without the knowledge of 

 this result of his achievement. 



I can imagine the expression on the faces of 

 those who buy the " sour, crude, half-ripe Wil- 

 sons," against which the poet Bryant inveighed so 

 justly. The market is flooded with this fruit be- 

 cause it bears transportation about as well as would 

 marbles. Yes, they are strawberries ; choke-pears 

 and Seckels belong to the same species. There 

 is truth enough in my exaggeration to warrant the 

 assertion that if we would enjoy "the possible straw- 

 berry, we must raise it ourselves, and pick it when 

 fully matured, ready for the table, and not for 

 market. Then any man's garden can furnish 

 something better than was found in Eden. 



Having started a strawberry-patch without loss 

 of time wherever it is handiest, we can now give 

 our attention to the formation of an ideal bed. In 

 this instance we must shun the shade of trees above, 

 and their roots beneath. The land should be open 

 to the sky, and the sun free to practise his alchemy 

 on the fruit the greater part of the day. The most 

 favorable soil is a sandy loam, verging towards 

 clay; and it should have been under cultivation 

 sufficiently long to destroy all roots of grass and 

 perennial weeds. Put on the fertilizer with a free 

 hand. If it is barn-yard manure, the rate of sixty 



