THE HOME AND STRAWBERRY PATCH OF E. J. VREELAND, SCHOOLCRAFT, MICH. 



Mr. Vreeland is a living example of the fact ihat strawberry culture holds its interest long after the frosts of many winters have left their marks of advancing 

 years. He is as enthusiastic now as ever. In a note to The Strawberry, received just as we go to press, Mr. Vreeland says: "I have been growing strawber- 

 ries for the last twenty years. I always get a good price tor my berries. I use the quart boxes, put iust as good berries at the bottom of the box as 1 do at the 

 lop; have the box full, with the hulls all down. Then the berries look fine." Among Mr. Vreeland's favorites are the Aroma, New York and Senator Dunlap 



Some Reminiscences of An Old Timer 



By August Melcher 



STRAWBERRIES! As far as my 

 memory goes back — to the days 

 when 1 was a barefoot boy rambling 

 in green meadows and beside the creeks 

 and rivulets — of my rural surroundings, 

 do I recall the wild strawberry, ranging 

 in size from a small pea to a medium- 

 sized acorn. Ah! there were so many 

 varieties of them, and so beautiful were 

 they, and so delicious! How that bare- 

 foot boy enjoyed their fragrance and their 

 sweet flavor, as he gathered these dain- 

 ties from meadow and fence corner. 

 And how kind was nature to these little 

 volunteers. Just enough of moisture, 

 and under the mulch of fallen leaves just 

 enough temperature to satisfy the wants 

 of the juicy berries. And the rain fell 

 just when it was needed — not heavy rains, 

 but fine showers, just suited to the nature 

 of the little plant. 



I wonder how much one acre of our 

 modern, highly developed plants would 

 yield under our latter-day methods of 

 cultivation, if just these favorable condi- 

 tions were supplied them by nature. 

 Surely something enormous in the way 

 of yield. 



Later in life I found my neighbors 

 were setting out plants they had bought 

 from nurseries here and there, and some- 

 times they had crops of berries that made 

 them enthusiastic. I heard them tell 

 with joy that they had picked so many 

 quarts of "tame" berries from their patch 

 on such-and-such a day. In the fall of 



1885 I concluded to get some plants on 

 my own account and try to grow enough 

 for my own use. I gathered all the in- 

 formation afForded by my neighbors and 

 the limited amount of literature on the 

 subject, and procured about 250 plants, 

 and set them the next spring in rich clay 

 soil. Clean culture was given them, and 

 blossom buds were strictly removed, and 

 in the fall they were covered with a fine 

 mulch of clean straw. The next spring 

 a thousand plants were set out and given 

 the same care and treatment. 



Once more I was the expectant bare- 

 foot boy with high hopes. And my first 

 bed was indeed pretty to look at. Dur- 

 ing blooming time it rained hard and of- 

 ten and myself and my good neighbors 

 concluded that this was the sole and suf- 

 ficient reason for the failure of my plants 

 to fruit; for not one quart did I get. For 

 two years I set out a patch from the or- 

 iginal stock, waiting with patience for my 

 fine berries that never came. Then I 

 was discouraged. Certainly, we had 

 some years that v\ere fair enough, and the 

 trouble was not all on account of rainy 

 weather and frost. And my mind went 

 back to those wild berries that grew 

 when I was a boy on these very acres. 

 Was my mode of culture wrong.' No; 

 the plants were fnir to look upon, a fact 

 which went to show they had been well 

 cared for. Then it was I discovered that 

 I simply had foo'ed my time away in 

 growing unproductive plants! Knowing 



nothing of the mating of different varieties, 

 I simply had set out pistillate varieties 

 time after time. 



Kind providence now came to my aid. 

 I always have taken to horticultural liter- 

 ature. Through this I was directed to 

 the right way. I was induced to try 

 again. And so I did for two seasons 

 more, then, I said if I do not get enough 

 fruit while the season lasts I will quit for 

 good. I now procured and set according 

 to my new advices. As the saying goes, 

 "a burnt child shuns the fire," and I did 

 not dare set more than a few plants the 

 next season, thinking I might work in 

 vain as before. That second spring I 

 was not expecting much anyhow, the 

 winter just past having been quite severe. 

 But at last I was agreeably surprised. I 

 did get enough for my wife and myself to 

 eat and to can, and I then had some to 

 sell and some I gave away. I now con- 

 sidered it would pay me to grow berries 

 for market. The following spring I set 

 one acre to plants from those last pro- 

 cured. I also renewed my stock of the 

 same strain for propagation and the spring 

 following set one acre adjoining. 



The winter then gone had been so se- 

 vere as to kill outright about one-third of 

 my plants set the preceding spring. De- 

 spite all this, I harvested a big crop of 

 berries to my intense satisfaction. After 

 renovating my first acre I got another se- 

 vere winter, but the plants wintered fairly 

 well, starting vigorously in the spring of 



