THE STRAWBERRY APRIL 1906 



most impossible for the roots to send out 

 feeders. 



We have seen whole fields ruined be- 

 cause the bloom was not picked off. 

 This is a case of saving one dollar and 

 losing one hundred or more. We often 

 get letters saying: "I ha\e bought me a 

 a little farm and am in debt, and cannot 

 afford to wait a whole year before getting 

 returns from my plants." These friends 

 are over-anxious to pay off the debt. If 

 they only will be patient with their plants 

 and give them time to develop a large 

 crown sj'stem, the debt will be paid much 

 quicker than by trying to get plants at 

 work before they are sufficiently mature. 



It is folly to try to hurry nature, and 

 when we expect a plant to produce a crop 

 of berries immediately after it is set out, 

 it is too much like expecting a newly 

 hatched chick to lay eggs. One is quite 

 as reasonable as the other. 



^ i^ 



A VE, he's the man to pity, his the 

 ■'^ tale of woe, 

 Who hath no wish to plant a seed, and 

 help to make it grow; 

 Whose heart is brick and mortar. 

 Whose life is soulless barter, 

 A million miles from God's sweet 

 world — the man without the hoe 

 — E. C. Tompkins 



A Note From The Southland 



By D. B. Lacey 



I AM a novice in the culture of straw- 

 berries. In the spring of 1904 1 

 planted one thousand plants and ever 

 since then I have been thoroughly an en- 

 thusiast on the subject. From a plot 74 

 x52 feet I gathered last spring (1905) 

 about 350 quarts of berries and many 

 quarts were lost on account of the wet 

 weather. Strawberry culture is just like 

 the culture of any other kind of plant: 

 you must have well-bred plants and 

 prune, fertilize and cultivate them on sci- 

 entific principles if you hope to have suc- 

 cess with them. The strawberry busi- 

 ness is a fascinating, elevating and profit- 

 able business for any yoimg man or 

 woman. I intend to plant several thous- 

 and more in the spring of 1907. 



I can't see why Noah didn't plant 

 some strawberries for his famil.\'s use as 

 well as the grape vine, when he went out 

 of the ark into the valley. If the apple 

 was as tempting to Adam while he was 

 in the Garden of Eden, keeping it for the 

 Master, as the strawberry is to mine eye, 

 I can't blame him for "partaking of the 

 forbidden fruit." If there were more 

 young men, yes, and old men, out on the 

 farm raising big red strawberries, there 

 would be fewer suicides and homicides 

 in this country. What is more fascinat- 

 ing than to walk out into the field in the 

 spring and behold a robe of white blos- 

 soms, with the air filled with their sweet 



SHIPPING 



The Wax-Lined Paper Berry Baskets 

 Haven't time to get up "Ad." 



SEND IN YOUR ORDER 



If you want sample basket and catalogue 

 It is yours free by writing to 



MULLEN BROS. PAPER CO., 



Depi. B. ST. JOSEPH, MICH. 



Pa«e 89 



