SIXTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 137 



Of the stra\v1)crry, Dr. Butler said, in Isaac Walton's 

 Complete Ant^ler: "Doubtless God could have made a better 

 berry, but (li>ublless (iod never did," and 1 feel sure that you 

 will all ai^ree with me in placing the strawl)erry at the head of 

 our small fruits. Tlie ease with which it lends itself to culti- 

 \-ation, the beauty and ria\-or of its fruit, and its wide range of 

 adaptability, make it the most cherished garden fruit the world 

 has yet known ; you will find it on the mountains, in the val- 

 lex's. on the plains and in tlie small city backyards, always true 

 to its mission in producing a delicious fruit which gives re- 

 freshment to man. 



We consider that to grow strawberries at their best, new 

 land is essential, because it is usuall)- free from weeds, in- 

 sects, pests and fungus growths. 



Our method in preparing new land for strawberries and 

 you will understand that this land has been in sod, is to break 

 it up in the late summer, banowing it a couple of times when 

 r}e is sown as a cover crop for the winter. The next spring 

 this rye is ploughed in when about ten inches high and sweet 

 corn is immediately planted, using some standard fertilizer. 

 After this crop is picked, the stalks are ploughed in green and 

 buckwheat is sown for a late green crop to be ploughed in 

 before early frost, when rye is again sown for a winter cover. 

 By these methods the land is put in the. best working condition 

 besides supplying it with a high per cent of nitrogen, acquired 

 froni the green crops of corn, buckwheat and rye. If this 

 green manuring method cannot be used, we plough in a good 

 top dressing of manure in the fall and when ready to plant the 

 field in the spring this nianure is ploughed up to tthe surface 

 again, where it is in a good position for the root of the plants 

 and is also in the best condition for assimilaton by the plants. 

 \\' hen the land is ploughed in the spring it is made into beds 20 

 or 2d feet wide, as our land is flat and likely to retain surface 

 water during the winter. The dead furrows are used to grow 

 cabbage, and cauliflower or some other one-season crop which 

 after being removed in the fall leaves the furrow open to drain 

 of¥ the water from the beds. In addition to the fall manuring 

 a dressing of bone, wood a.shes, and tankage or guano, are 

 added to the land at the rate of 1,000 of bone, 2,000 of wood 



