THE STRAWBERRY JULY 1906 



until it gets firm hold upon the soil. In 

 a few days more it will be ready to say: 

 'Good-bye, mother; I'm going to leave 

 you. I've an ambition to start a family 

 of my own, and become the greatest 

 fruiter in the row." 



Elements of Success 



By A. D. Stevens 



THE success of the strawberry crop 

 depends first upon the plant breeder, 

 for without him the crop must soon 

 succumb to failure and defeat. While 

 few recognize him to be of much impor- 

 tance in their prospective success, he 

 stands pre-eminently as the foundation 

 on which growers must build their struc- 

 ture of victory. 



In my experience as a plant breeder 

 and plant seller I find that many people 

 class all growers alike, but it is possible 

 for anyone to be a plant grower and 

 dealer, yet not have any knowledge of 

 breeding plants. I have met hundreds of 

 farmers that have classed all plant dealers 

 alike because they have been swindled 

 out of their money and labor by purchas- 

 ing plants of some dishonest dealer who 

 did not know how to breed plants up to 

 a standard or did not care to take the 

 trouble to do it. He was simply selling 

 plants to get all out of it he coulJ, re- 

 gardless of the purchaser. 



I have seen a great many farmers who 

 say they would rather have plants taken 

 from an old bed that had fruited one or 

 two years, saying they made a much bet- 

 ter bed. The only thing in their minds 

 seemed to be to secure an abundance of 

 plants, not comprehending that the old 

 plants had become pollen-exhausted and 

 put their entire energies into plants at the 

 expense of next year's crop. We often 

 hear people say that plants will soon go 

 back to the wild berry from which they 

 started, forgetting that plants may be so 

 aided by man as to prevent "running out" 

 as some call it, but which really is pollen 

 exhaustion. The plant breeder not only 

 brings plants up to a higher standard, but 

 must work to keep them up to that 

 standard. Everything in nature has the 

 tendency to go backward, — has been 

 placed here in a sort of crude, incomplete 

 form. To man has been given the honcr 

 of improving and developing standard 

 varieties of fruit. 



I have two neighbors in mind that 

 started out when both were young men 

 in about like circumstances. One was 

 very careful in every way in regards to 

 raising a high grade of strawberries, never 

 neglecting anything, sparing no pains, al- 

 ways selecting the best plants, careful to 

 put his land in proper condition, and giv- 

 ing them proper cultivation. It was not 

 an unusual thing to get an acre to net 

 him $600 a year, and it is not surprising 

 that he now may sit back, enjoying a 

 large bank account, and a farm that is the 



envy of his neighbors. The other neigh- 

 bor was not so fortunate. He nervously 

 hurried about, neglecting everything, the 

 only thing he thought about was haste, 

 never figuring profits, but always trying 

 to cut expenses to a low figure. This 

 man still flies around in his nervous way; 

 his land is poor, his buildings are tumb- 

 ling down, he has no bank account, and 

 prospects for life in old age are not 

 promising. 



Attention to the details, from the selec- 

 tion of the plants to the packing and mar- 

 keting of the last berry, is at the bottom 

 of all success in strawberry production. 



Bridgelon, N. J. 



THE ideal home is found where the 

 husband denies himself for the sake 

 of the wife and the wife for the sake of 

 the husband, while both conceal their 

 self-denial so skilfully that neither suspects 

 it in the other. — T. P. Frost. 



INDIANA has great districts devoted 

 A to commercial strawberry production. 

 That they have the right idea of things is 

 indicated by the remarks of A. Blaisdel 

 of Broad Ripple, before the Indiana State 

 Horticultural Society at a recent meeting. 

 Among other good things he said: "Good 

 berries will pay. Poor berries will not 

 pay. What must we do? The answer 

 is, raise good ones. But we find that the 

 expense of picking, boxing and conveying 

 to market is very great, and leaves to the 

 producer a very small margin even on his 

 good product. And, if I have only one 

 acre of ground for berries what must I do 

 to get a living out of it.? The answer is: 

 Make your acre produce very abundantly. 

 The only hope of success lies in inie ber- 



ries and many quarts. You must have 

 these here in the Indianapolis market or 

 go out of the business. You can have 

 them if you supply the conditions. The 

 plant will do its part, for the governing 

 laws of plant force are as true and regu- 

 lar as the rising and setting of the sun. 

 If man will plant and cultivate, God will 

 give him the increase." 



A CCORDING to the statements 

 ■'»• made by Herbert Wallace in a tech- 

 nical magazine an invention has been 

 made under which an entirely new method 

 of providing refrigeration for freight cars 

 will be in general use. The scheme con- 

 templates the use of mechanical refriger- 

 ation. In each refrigerator car will be 

 stationed a machine similar to that used 

 in modern cold storage houses, which 

 will be operated by connection with the 

 axle of the car; thus while the car is in 

 motion ample refrigeration will be pro- 

 vided, and an oil engine will be used in 

 case of serious delays which prevent the 

 car being in motion. Refrigeration of this 

 kind will be. it is claimed, an improve- 

 ment over present conditions, because 

 there will be no moisture as is the case 

 where ice is used. It is claimed that any 

 degree of temperature required can be ob- 

 tained by means of this invention and that 

 the machine is so nearly automatic that 

 little attention is required. It is also said 

 to be more economical than present 

 methods. 



THERE may not be more than two 

 inches of strawberries, but think of 

 the size of the box with the lumber going 

 higher every day ! is the gloomy admoni- 

 tion of the Nilcs (Mich.) Star. 



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Pa«e 146 



