THE STRAWBERRY JANUARY 1906 



Under that method it required from thirty 

 to thirty-tive tons to cover an acre, but 

 during the last three years we have done 

 this woric with a large manure spreader, 

 and we have found that the saving has 

 been fully 50 per cent, the amount re- 

 quired for one acre by the old way being 

 amply sufficient for two when passed 

 through the manure spreader. Not only 

 does this save about $25 an acre, but the 

 even distribution secured by the spreader 

 gives much better results. 



A good substantial spreader picks and 

 tears the heavy and compact lumps of 

 manure into fine particles and scatters it 

 with perfect evenness. This gives a uni- 

 form quantity of plant food and produces a 

 uniform stand of plants and yield of fruit. 

 A good spreader costs anywhere from 

 $100 to $17S, according to its capacity, 

 but it will prove to be a valuable invest- 

 ment to any tiller of the soil using large 

 quantities of manure. Sometimes several 

 berry growers will combine and install a 

 spreader, taking it from one farm to the 

 other until each grower has his barnyard 

 cleaned and the manure properly distrib- 

 uted over his field. Our spreader has 

 been in use for three years and has han- 

 dled about 4,000 tons of Chicago stock- 

 yards manure, and as far as we can see is 

 still as good as new. 



Many of our friends who write that 

 their supply of manure is insufficient 

 doubtless would find the quantity at 

 hand quite ample if they would use the 

 spreader in its distribution. Considering 

 its method of handling the manure itself 

 and its great economy of labor, the manure 

 spreader must be recognized as one of the 

 most important aids to successful com- 

 mercial strawberry production. If your 

 business is hardly large enough to justify 

 the necessary outlay for a spreader of 

 your ov\'n, it will pay you to hire the use 

 of one; or, if several growers are located 

 in the same neighborhood, all might join 

 together in its purchase and own it in 

 common. The point we desire to urge, 

 and with emphasis, is the necessity of a 

 thorough distribution of the manure if 

 your crop is to meet your just expecta- 

 tions and yield the largest possible profit. 



One Amateur's Experience 



By J. R. Murrie 



REGARDING my experience as an 

 amateur strawberry grower, I can 

 only say that conditions were not 

 altogether favorable for the highest suc- 

 cess, yet results were all that we had right 

 to expect. We did not get possession of 

 the farm until the latter part of March, 

 1904, and by the time we had sent for 

 and received the Kellogg catalogue and 

 had ordered the plants it was late, the 

 plants not reaching us until May 21. 

 There were $15 worth of them, and they 

 arrived at a time of severe drouth, when 



rain had not fallen for six weeks, and the 

 ground was dry and hard. 



I did not know the first thing about 

 strawberry culture, but I followed the 

 directions of the catalogue, and we cleared 

 $130 from the patch, besides using all 

 we needed for the table and for canning. 

 This may not be a large showing, but 

 considering all the circumstances, I am 

 satisfied, especially as the prospects for a 

 splendid crop next season are in the high- 

 est degree encouraging. 



Gurnee, 111. 



A Family Strawberry Patch 



FEW gardens are so small that some 

 portion of them may not with profit 

 and untold pleasure be given up to 

 a strawberry bed sutficient to supply the 

 entire "home" demand; perhaps grow 

 enough of the delicious fruit to make 



how much space in the family garden 

 you will give up to the strawberry bed, 

 and be sure to give it all you can; then 

 spread over this a light dressing of stable 

 or chicken manure (it will be well to mix 

 some earth with the latter before apply- 

 ing to the soil, as it is very heating). 

 Then measure the length and breadth of 

 the plot to learn how many plants will be 

 required. If the bed be small, it will be 

 well to set the plants but one foot apart 

 in the row, and the rows two feet apart. 

 The length and number of rows will de- 

 termine just the number of plants re- 

 quired to set the plot. Four or five rows 

 each one hundred feet long will produce 

 at least 500 quarts of berries if they re- 

 ceive proper care; many of our friends are 

 getting double this number from a patch 

 of this size. 



Just figure up and see what that tiny 

 patch has done for you, if you have done 



THE FAMILY GARDEN PATCH OF SAMUEL KARSHNER OF SCHOOLCRAFT, MICH. 



some pin money for the girls or (and this 

 has many times been done) enough to give 

 the boys a college education. For no 

 other thing in horticulture can be made 

 to yield such large returns from a small 

 area as the strawberry. Mark that care- 

 fully; it is a fact of large importance to 

 the man or woman with little land at dis- 

 posal, but who is determined to make the 

 most of opportunities offered. 



Now is the time to plan the garden for 

 1906, and you should not fail to include 

 in those plans a generous space for the 

 strawberry. A very few plants, if prop- 

 erly set in a well-planned bed and given 

 good care, will keep a family amply sup- 

 plied with ripe, rich fruit the year 'round. 

 Add a little more space, and you will be 

 surprised to know how that neglected 

 corner will turn into a producer of money. 



Here are a few suggestions as to the 

 way to go about it. First determine just 



Page II 



your part. The patch described would 

 be less than four square rods. Five 

 hundred quarts at ten cents a quart 

 would be $50.00. Can you use that 

 space to any better advantage in any 

 other way? 



The principal reason why so many 

 folks fail to grow their own supply of 

 strawberries is that they think it requires 

 a lot of hard work. Nothing else that 

 will give anything like the returns straw- 

 berries yield can be named. 



Then there are other things to be con- 

 sidered than the • money side. Every 

 member of the family finds delight in 

 working in the strawberry patch, and it is 

 a part of the home delightful to parents 

 and children, and an important part of 

 the home beautiful. It trains the boy to 

 business habits, encourages him to under- 

 take things "on his own hook," makes 

 him careful as to details of expense and 



