C Ij ;i p t K 1 vi xittn, 



THE STRAWBERRY. 



While many people produce annually large crops of strawberries 

 without difficulty, it is nevertheless true that a majority make la- 

 mentai le failures. There are various reasons for this difference, 

 chief among whicii are these three : 1. A want of knowledge; 2. Care- 

 lessness and neglect; and, 3. Unfavorable location or unproductive 

 varieties. 



To be successful as a strawberry grower, one must have a suffi- 

 cient love and taste for the business to induce him to take an inter- 

 est in it, and qualify himself for its requirements. It is often said 

 by writers on the subject, that strawberries can be as easily grown 

 as corn or potatoes. That is so — if one knows how. But it is not 

 as eas}- to L/iow hoiD, to prepare the ground, and to select and plant, 

 and c ultivate, and gather, and market strawberries as it is corn or 

 potatoes. Tlie veriest clod-hopper can go to the field and plow, and 

 prepare and plant corn, and cultivate and harvest a fair crop — even 

 an extraordinary one. But it requires a nicer discrimination, and a 

 closer knowledge of cause and effect, to properly conduct a straw- 

 berry plantation. 



To succeed well one must first acquire some knowledge of the 

 chaiacrei' and habits of the plant. A full acquaintance with the 

 science (if boiany and the physiology of plants is not requisite ; but 

 one should understand somewiiat the differences of growth and their 

 sexual characteristics to enable him to choose properly. 



YIELD PER ACRE. 



AVh have asked the question frequently of the uninitiated, Whicli 

 wib yield the most bushels per acre, corn or strawberries? The 

 answer has frequently been that corn will yield the most : and men 

 have been astonished at the assertion that strawberries can be made 

 to excel it three-fold. On the subject of yield, we quote from relia- 



(137) 



