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POPULAR GARDENING. 



May, 



Growing Strawberries for Marl<et. 

 Second Paper. 



L. J. FARMER, OSWEGO CO., N. Y. 



The success of Strawberry culture depends 

 largely on a proper selection of varieties, 

 and one should be guided somewhat by the 

 demands of his customers. If quality, large 

 size, or mere quantity, is the chief desidera- 

 tum, then a variety having that particular 

 characteristic developed to the highest de- 

 gree should be selected. If for a near market, 

 firmness is secondary; but when shipping 

 long distances, it is most important. Some 

 customers dislike to pay more for large ber- 

 ries, but, if all are offered at the same price, 

 most every body will take the large ones. 

 A few appreciate quality and are willing to 

 pay for it. This class is not always confined 

 to the rich. Some of our best paying cus- 

 tomers are among the mechanics and other 

 working people. 



Varieties. In order to catch all the trade, 

 and satisfy everybody, we grow several vari- 

 eties. Customers are supplied according to 

 their wants, and charged proportionately. 



Plant growers are often censured for re- 

 taining so many varieties on their lists, to 

 confuse the beginner. The fact is, nursery- 

 men would be pleased to discard many vari- 

 eties, but are unable to do so because of the 

 demands of their customers. Very few 

 varieties do well everywhere, while almost 

 everyone gains a local celebrity somewhere. 

 If a nurseryman plows up his patch of a 

 variety that proves unprofitable with him, 

 he may get an order from somewhere for 

 those plants the very next day. But for the 

 man who grows Strawberries for the fruit 

 alone, four or five varieties are sufficient. 

 We want early, medium and late berries, in 

 order to prolong the season, and get the 

 benefit of the best prices. As an American, 

 I believe in improvement, and therefore test 

 the new varieties as they come out. 



The old Crescent and Wilson will answer 

 the purpose till someone brings into market 

 some of the large and attractive varieties 

 like Bubach, Warfield or Jessie. Then 

 things are changed, and the man who neg- 

 lects to plant these improved varieties will 

 be left behind. 



Procuring Plants. The first cost of 

 plants, however great, is small compared to 

 the labors and expense that must be put 

 upon them afterwards. One should there- 

 fore procure the very best plants. Plants 

 taken up with dirt adhering to the roots and 

 Bet out the same day, cannot fall to live. 



If you can grow them yourself or procure 

 them from a neighbor, the results will be 

 better than when the plants are procured 

 from a distance. You had better pay the 

 neighbor $5 per thousand for new-bed plants 



STRAWBERRY SETTER. 



than to take plants as a gift from his old 

 bed. Plants from old beds are lacking in 

 vitality. They will not grow so well nor 

 produce so much fruit. If the practice of 

 setting plants from old beds is continued 

 from year to year, the variety will continue 

 to deteriorate and finally run out. Take, 

 •for instance, the Wilson; its productiveness 

 used to be a wonder. Being a slow runner, 

 the rows spreatl only wide enough for fruit- 

 ing. Most growers not liking to disturb the 

 new fruiting beds, have taken plants to set 

 new plantations from their old beds that 

 have fruited once. The Wilson is not what 



it used to be, although valuable in some 

 favorable locations where it has been less 

 abused. Had it been a more rampant grower 

 like the Crescent, plants from old beds 

 would have been set more rarely; and it 

 would have continued in popularity longer. 

 Some growers saw the error before too late, 

 and have avoided old plants. 



Plants from old beds are often badly 

 mixed. When Wilsons are set with Cres- 

 cents, the latter, being more vigorous, will 

 run into the Wilson rows, and finally crowd 

 them all out. 



An inexperienced person getting plants 

 from such a bed would be almost sure to get 

 only Crescents, and thus have only his labor 

 for his pains, as the Crescent produces only 

 " buttons " when planted alone. 



In sending to a nurseryman for plants, 



insist on getting strong, well-rooted plants, 



grown on beds that have been set the year 



before and never borne fruit. The plants 



should be taken up carefully with all the 



roots adhering, and tied in bunches of 35 or 



50, depending on the size, some varieties 



being twice as large as others. The smaller 



the bunches the better they keep when 



packed. Plants sent by mail should have 



their roots covered with damp moss, then 



wrapped in oiled paper and strong manilla. 



When packed in plenty of moss, leaving the 



leaves exposed to the air, plants often travel 



thousands of miles by mail, keeping fresh a 



week to ten days, according to the weather. 



As the postage on plants is now only eight 



cents a pound, nurserymen can be more 



liberal In the use of moss and in the size of 



plants they send. It is therefore one of the 



cheapest ways of procuring plants, especially 



in small quantities and where the distance 



is great. Plants by express should be packed 



in light crates, the bunches separated by 



layers of damp moss, with roots interlacing, 



and top exposed to the air. Packed thus 



they often keep fresh for several weeks. 



Early in spring or late in the autumn plants 



may be sent short distances by fast freight 



on direct lines, and at a great saving in 



transportation charges. But it is not safe 



to send long distances when they have to 



be transferred several times, as there is often 



great delay, and the railroad companies take 



no responsibility. 



Care of Plants on Receipt. As soon as 

 possible after taking plants from the office, 

 they should be opened and cared for. Dip 

 the roots in water and cover with wet moss. 

 If not ready to set, the plants may be heeled 

 in a shady place. Break open the bunches 

 and spread out so that the roots will come 

 in contact with the soil. Water occasionally 

 and keep from wind and sun. When plants 

 are received early in the spring from the 

 south, they may be kept till warm weather 

 by burying in a snow bank. Take out the 

 bunches and puddle the roots In mud of the 

 consistency of cream; repack them, and 

 placing them on the ground at the bottom 

 of a snow bank cover over with snow, and 

 on this place sawdust or straw to prevent 

 rapid melting. Treated thus they will keep 

 as long as the snow lasts. 



Time of Setting. Strawberry plants may 

 be set every month in the year, and a crop 

 secured the following season. The usual 

 time, however, at the north is during April 

 and May, on sandy soils, and at the south, 

 plantings are made in the autumn and thus 

 a better growth secured the following year. 

 The earlier plants are set in the spring, the 

 better the growth secured provided every- 

 thing is favorable. The Strawberry plant 

 has great vitality, and during favorable 

 weather I have known plants to strike root 

 and grow where the workmen had dropped 

 them by mistake. 



The most desirable time to set is when the 

 soil is moist (not muddy) and the sky cloudy. 

 I have known plants set in June, when the 



ground was moist and the weather favora- 

 ble, to do better than those set two months 

 earlier while the soil was dry. Plants set 

 late and the ground stirred soon afterwards 

 and frequently, will do better than those 

 planted early, but allowed to take care of 

 themselves for a month or till spring's work 

 is all done. 



Marking the Ground and Preparing 

 Plants. There are various modes of mark- 

 ing Strawberry ground; but any way is good 

 that brings about the desired result— straight 

 rows. ■ Some people plow a furrow and set 

 the plants up against the land side, others 

 use a line for marking. On our stony soil 

 we use a two-toothed peg marker with thills, 

 to be drawn by a horse. One man leads the 

 horse while another guides the marker. It 

 is very important where horse power is used 

 in cultivation to have the rows straight, as 

 then the cultivator may be run close to the 

 plants. The first row may be staked off 

 and marked with the foot. A space should 

 be left on the ends of the rows for turning 

 around on with the horse. Have the rows 

 run the longest way, and thus save time in 

 turning around. We make the rows 3i{ feet 

 apart for slow growers, and 5 feet apart for 

 rapid runners with plants one foot apart in 

 the row. 



Before setting out, the plants should have 

 all dead leaves and runners removed, and 

 the roots shortened to six inches. If late in 

 the spring it is better to remove a part of 

 the green leaves, as too much foliage draws 

 on the plants' vitality before the roots begin 

 to work. The runners bother in hoeing and 

 also in setting. The more trash on the 

 plants, the more bother. The plants packed 

 In a crate in damp moss may be brought to 

 the field and placed in the shade till wautefl. 

 If the weather is cloudy a boy may drop 

 the plants in advance of the man who sets 

 them, and much time be saved. But if it 

 be cold and windy, the plants should be 

 placed in a pan with water in the bottom, 

 and each plant taken out only as it is wanted. 

 If plants are exposed to the hot sun or cold 

 drivingiWinds, they lose their vitality in a 

 few moments and are worthless. 



Plants kept long in moss, like fruits in 

 cold storage, soon spoil, and if not used 

 quickly on being exposed, their value is 

 about gone. 



Setting Strawberries. For setting 

 plants we use a tool shaped somewhat like 

 an adz or grul) hoe. The blade is of steel 

 ten inches long and four inches wide. It is 

 made thin and curved inwards. At the top 

 is a hole for a handle, which is one toot long. 

 It may be made by the local blacksmith and 

 costs $1.00. We call this tool a "Strawberry 

 setter; " but it may be used in setting vege- 

 table plants or heeling in Ra.spberry plants. 

 Grasping the setter in the right hand the 

 workmen strike the blade into the soil about 

 seven inches and then withdraw it. As the 

 setter is withdrawn, and before the soil 

 rattles back into the hole, a plant is inserted 

 back of the setter. The soil is pushed up to 

 and around the plant by a forward move- 

 ment of the setter, and thus the work is ac- 

 complished. 



Plants put out this way have the roots set 

 a little obliquely, but seem to do as well as 

 when put down straight. The soil comes in 

 close contact with the roots, and there is no 

 cavity left around them. The earth is left 

 loose, and not packed hard as where a dibble 

 or trowel is used. One of these tools will 

 last a Ufe time, and we used to spoil two or 

 three trowels every year. The general ap- 

 pearance of this Strawberry setter is shown 

 in Illustration on this page. 



Care should be taken that the crown of 

 the plant be put even with the surface. If 

 below the surface the plants will rot in a 

 wet season; if above, they will dry up in a 

 dry season. 



