PREPARING THE SOIL FOR THE PLANTS ON THE FARM HOME OF THE STRAWBERRY 



Put youp soil in ideal condition before setting plants. Thc'better it Is mixed and the finer your soil 

 the quicker your plants will start growing. It does not pay to set plants on poorly [prepared land. 



Winning Success With the Strawberry 



By Harry L. Donaldson 



FOR one practically to lay down the 

 work of a lifetime, give up the trade, 

 for the most part, that has been his 

 support, and launch out upon a new line 

 of endeavor, minus capital and possessed 

 of rather a limited knowledge of the 

 work before him, is not a pleasing step to 

 contemplate nor an easy task for any man. 

 Yet in these days of rapidly changing in- 

 dustrial and commercial conditions, indi- 

 viduals frequently find it necessary to 

 make some new move or remain forever 

 in a second-rate position in the world, if 

 they do not actually go to the wall. 



A cooper by trade, the influence of 

 modern machinery and methods in hand- 

 ling the products of that industry has made 

 the individual cooper a back number in 

 the industrial world, and the income from 

 the local cooper shop pitifully meagre. 

 Having grown strawberries in a small 

 way, and knowing something of the na- 

 ture of the plant and the treatment it 

 should receive, I started out with the de- 

 termination to transfer my efforts to the 

 development of a business along that line, 

 confident that it opened a steadily broad- 

 ening field of operations. And after three 

 years of experience I am more than ever 

 convinced that this is true. 



How to get the necessary capital with 

 which to secure plants, get possession of 

 the land required and support my family 

 while the strawberries were coming into 

 bearing was a problem. I solved it by 

 going to one of the leading attorneys in 

 town and laying before him the situation 

 and my plans. He agreed with me that 

 there was a field right here for such an 

 enterprise, and said he would stand be- 

 hind it. Accordingly a four-acre tract of 

 land was secured, and I went to work. 



I knew enough about strawberries to 

 be very sure that "poor plants, make a 

 bad crop," and in addition to getting my 



land in perfect tilth, I bought the very 

 best plants I could find, though the price 

 was considerably more than I might have 

 secured others for. My experience fully 

 justified my judgment in this regard, and 

 my advice to strawberry growers every- 

 where is to get the best, for the best 

 plants will pay their extra cost a hundred 



HARRY L. DONALDSON 



times over the first year, while putting 

 before your customers the kind of berries 

 such plants grow is no small factor in 

 building up a permanent trade. 



I do not know iiow common plants 

 act under the same conditions, for I never 

 have tried them, but I have found that 

 the high-grade seiucted plants respond 

 immediately to tiie best attention one can 

 give them. Plenty of plant food, thor- 

 ough cultivation to keep down weeds and 

 conserve soil moisture, and a wise hand- 

 Page 57 



ling of runners — these are the great points 

 to be considered in the growing of the 

 strawberries that in quality and quantity 

 make profits for the grower and give sat- 

 isfaction and pleasure to everyone who 

 takes pride in his vocation. 



We began three years ago and those 

 four acres have done so well in a finan- 

 cial way that the firm now has bought a 

 fine farm of 137 acres, and will this sea- 

 son begin the work of raising strawberries 

 on an extended scale, although we still 

 continue to work the four-acre tract. 

 We also shall grow tree fruits. While 

 the success that has attended our work 

 here had its foundation in good soil, good 

 plants and proper cultural methods, the 

 commercial side of the business has been 

 a prominent factor in whatever we have 

 achieved. 



And as a first step to success on the 

 commercial side of the business, I place 

 the careful and systematic grading of the 

 fruit. I started out by calling my prod- 

 uct "Donaldson's Select Berries," for I 

 believe that the grower should seek to 

 make his name known and respected in 

 the business world because of the char- 

 acter of his output. These berries are 

 selected by the most careful methods, 

 first by employing the most skillful and 

 faithful pickers, and then by rigid inspec- 

 tion at the packing shed. When a box 

 of berries leaves the farm I know that 

 the buyer will find high-grade, large and 

 luscious berries at the bottom and in the 

 middle as well as on top of the box. I 

 believe that any other way of packing 

 berries is deceptive, and I want to be as 

 careful that no one is deceived by the 

 goods I sell him as I am to see that no- 

 body else deceives me. 



\Vhen the mistress of the household 

 has had my berries a few times I am en- 

 tirelv confident that when she goes to the 



