90 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



very lightly, while more attention must be given to some of those 

 subjects which are the determinants of success or failure, any one 

 of which, if lacking, may spell disaster to the strawberry grower. 



It is taken for granted that the greatest interest centers around 

 the growing of the strawberry for commercial purposes and not 

 for home use although the latter field is far too much neglected, 

 the requirements of which are somewhat different from the com- 

 mercial end of the business. Fpr instance, in the home the ques- 

 tion of quality stands first, and heavy yield is not so essential, but 

 for commercial work, no matter what happens, the variety must be 

 sufficiently firm to ship well and the plants must be good yielders. 



Detailed statements of actual operations are not in order at this 

 time. They vary with the locality and the particular environment^ 

 and are as diverse as are the number of men growing the fruit. 

 But there are certain essential factors of strawberry growing which 

 are unchangeable wherever strawberries are grown and which will 

 apply in Massachusetts just as they equally apply in New York or 

 any other state. Any variety of strawberry to do well must be 

 adapted to its environment and must find its local surroundings 

 congenial or it will fail in part or altogether and become a profitless 

 instead of a profitable kind. 



Soil and climate with its twin subjects of temperature and rain- 

 fall spell success or failure with the strawberry. Fortunately, 

 temperature feels more kindly disposed toward the strawberry than 

 is the case with the raspberry and blackberry and it is seldom we 

 hear of winter injury to this fruit, especially if the ground has its 

 normal covering of winter's snow and if the plants have had their 

 blanket of some mulch material. The fruit itself is occasionally 

 injured by the intense heat of the sun, especially during showery 

 weather, but the plants as a whole may be considered hardy. 



Rainfall, however, is a more trying problem. The strawberry, 

 of all small fruits has its root system nearest the surface, has the' 

 smallest capacity of soil space for root run and consequently is 

 more quickly affected by varying conditions of moisture. This is 

 especially true at fruiting time, during which a few days of severe 

 drought may reduce the yield fifty per cent. There must be 

 present, therefore, if the strawberry is to succeed, a proper amount 

 of moisture whether it is supplied naturally or artificially. 



