THE STRAWBERRY AUGUST 1906 



ail my spare time. Just as soon as the 

 ground dried sufficiently after a rain I 

 commenced hoeing. When fall came 1 

 had a model patch, the only objection I 

 could see was that some of the rows had 

 too many plants. Just after working my 

 plants the last time I mulched the space 

 between the rows with stable manure. 

 When freezing weather came I covered 

 all with straw and felt that I had done 

 my part and could at least expect nature 

 to produce enough to repay me for my 

 work. 



This spring, as soon as the plants 

 showed signs of growing, I raked the 

 straw between the rows. The season 

 started out well and promised much. 

 Bloom literally covered the plants. Sev- 

 eral berry growers said they never saw a 

 finer prospect for berries. 



But on the morning of May 7 the 

 ground was white with frost, the ther- 

 Mjometer registering 20 degrees. Hardly 

 a live berry was to be found. Black eyes 

 were everywhere. I supposed my entire 

 crop was destroyed, but in a week or two 

 new fruit stems appeared. Following the 

 freeze we had two weeks of hot, dry 

 weather which was unfavorable for any 

 growing crop. At last we had showers 

 and sunshine and soon the berries began 

 to turn red. 



On Monday, June 25, we picked the 

 last berries preparatory to re-working the 

 patch for another year. We kept an 

 accurate account of the berries picked 

 and found we had gathered 906 quarts 

 from less than one-eighth of an acre. 

 Considering that the freeze and drouth 

 destroyed and damaged the crop to a very 

 large extent this appeared to me to be a 

 pretty good yield. 



Urbana, Ohio. 



Pluck and perseverance, accompanied 

 by a fine faith, are requisites to the man 

 who trusts to the soil and to the caprice 



of climate and weather for his livelihood. 

 Our correspondent has shown these qual- 

 ities in the way he continued "to labor 

 and to wait" in the face of discouraging 

 conditions. And his patience was abun- 

 dantly rewarded, just as would have been 

 the case in countless instances where men 

 have impatiently given up in despair be- 

 cause nature did not smile continuously 

 upon their efforts. Mr. Smith's descrip- 

 tion of the conduct of his plants following 

 a severe frost is directly in line with our 

 own experience. Plants that were black 

 from frost April 20 one year yielded one 

 of the finest crops of fruit imaginable six 

 or seven weeks later. The moral is, stick 

 to your strawberries even though the 

 outlook at all times may not be as bright 

 as you would like to see it. Everlast- 

 ingly keeping at it will bring larger results 

 with strawberries than anything else we 

 are acquainted with. — -Editor Strawberry. 



<^ ^ 

 Selecting a Location 



T WISH to locate where I can do two things 

 well, viz. , grow and sell strawberries. Kind- 

 ly give me helpful directions and answer the fol- 

 lowing questions: 1. How should land lie as 

 to elevation and slope? 2. What kind (com- 

 mon name) of soil, and subsoil is best? 3. 

 Would it pay to have soil analyzed, as a means 

 of knowing whether suitable for growing berries; 

 and if so where could it be sent for analysis? 

 What should be the ingredients and how much 

 of each? Understand that I am not tied down 

 to any locality and wish to go where conditions 

 are the most favorable. 



Hanover, III. R. F. E. 



IF we were looking for an ideal loca- 

 tion for strawberry growing for mar- 

 ket, we should select a place near a 

 thriving little city of from twelve thousand 

 upward, and, if possible, should locate 

 between two good cities in order to have 

 a choice of markets, so that when prices 



THIS BEAUTIFUL PATCH ILLUSTRATES ELMER SMITH'S VICTORY OVER DIFFICULTIES 



^STRAWBERRY^ 

 LANDS 



The most proHtable locations for raising 

 strawberries are in the South, where the 

 climate and soils produce large crops and 

 where the berry ripens early, sothat itfroes 

 to the markets of the country at the time 

 when the highest prices are obtained. The 

 various sections along the 



SOUTHERN RAILWAY and 

 MOBILE & OHIO RAILROAD 



Are especially suited for profitable berry 

 culture and fruit orchards and gardens. 

 Lands may be obtained at extremely low 

 prices. Good shipping facilities to all mar- 

 kets at rates which encourage the industry. 

 Finest vegetable growing opportunities. 

 Write the nearest agent for information 

 about desirable locations, lands, etc. 



M. V. RICHARDS 



Land and Industrial Agent 



Washington, D . C. 



Chas. S. Chase, Agent. 

 622 Chemical Bldy., 

 St. Louis, Mo. 



M. A. Hays, Agent 

 225 Dearborn St. 

 Chicago, 111. 



were low in one city, berries might be 

 sent to the other. 



The next consideration would be suit- 

 able soil. We should not want this sit- 

 uated too high or too low; if possible, 

 have one section sloping to the south 

 while the other slopes to the north, so 

 that conditions would be favorable for 

 both early and late varieties. In seeking 

 a location for fruit-growing it is well al- 

 ways to choose land a trifle higher than 

 the surrounding country, for purposes of 

 water drainage and frost protection. 



As to soil, if it were possible to secure 

 our favorite after the conditions already 

 named were fulfilled, we should choose 

 a sandy loam with clay subsoil. We 

 should like to have the loam about one- 

 third clay and two-thirds of a sandy na- 

 ture. We should not object even though 

 it were half clay. However, it will be 

 difficult to find all these ideal conditions 

 in one place, and that is why we name as 

 the first condition a good market; second, 

 the situation of the land, and third the 

 nature of the soil. We do this because 

 we can make our own soil conditions by 

 fertilizing and proper handling of the soil. 



A convincing proof of the fact that the 

 nature of the soil — whether clay, sandy 

 or black — has less to do with success in 

 strawberry growing than the manner in 

 which the plants are fed, we have tried 

 the same varieties on nearly every grade 

 of soil and observed no appreciable dif- 

 ference in quality and yield. Of course, 

 the different grades of soil were carefully 

 studied, and each handled to bring out 

 its best. 



As to soil analysis, we think that quite 

 unnecessary, for while a good chemist 

 could inform you as to the content in the 

 soil of the several elements, he could not 

 tell you the percentage of those elements 

 that would be available as plant food. 

 Remember, that the strawberry is a very 

 hardy plant and quickly adapts itself to 

 almost any kind of soil or other condition. 



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