THE STRAWBERRY 



A MONTHLY MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS 

 OF STRAWBERRY PRODUCTION IN ALL ITS BRANCHES 



Volume I No. 9 



Three Rivers, Mich., September, 1906 



$1.00 a Year 



SUCCESS is the goal to which the steps of every man 

 possessed of interest in life are directed; it is the ban- 

 ner, ever waving aloft, that inspires him to new en- 

 deavor when the days of doubt and uncertainty come. 

 Not long ago the editor of one of the leading agricultural 

 periodicals in this country sent u,s a letter from a Montana sub- 

 scriber, in which the latter asked: "Why don't you tell us of 

 some of the failures — you are always describing the work of the 

 fellows who make a success of their imdertakings.''" That 

 letter of inquiry is worth thinking about. 



Suppose that for one single issue the thousands of publications 

 in this country should consent to give up their pages to the 

 lugubrious narratives of the fellows who have made a 

 failure of their undertakings. 

 Try to imagine what the ef- 

 fect would be. It is safe to 

 say that insanity and suicide 

 would be the direct result of 

 such a happeninu- This be- 

 ing true, what may we learn 

 from this supposition and its 

 possible results ? Certainly 

 this, at the least: the impor- 

 tance of looking toward suc- 

 cess, of thinking success, of 

 acting success, if we would 

 actually achieve success. 



And what right has failure 

 to a place in our thought.'' 

 What are its claims to our 

 consideration? Why, in other 



uords, should that editor give a second thought to his Montana 

 subscriber who was dissatisfied because his sort of people were 

 not recognized in the columns of that paper? T hink it over 

 and you will see that failure is the worst form of negation — it 

 is the outcome of a negative character; one who always says 

 "don't," and always fails to do things that ought to be done. 

 Success, on the other hand is positive, vigorous, uplifting, in- 

 spirmg. It takes hold of the wavering and the discouraged, 

 and say to him: What has been done you may do, if you will 

 but do the right thing. Keep on, be patient, act intelligently, 

 work faithfully. Success is not of mushroom growth — it is of 

 continuous development; it not only brings you joy and satis- 

 faction in the ultimate, but makes you a stronger and better 

 man in the very process of achieving it. Let us, therefore, 

 r,.-fuse to give room for failure in our mind, persisting in our 

 march toward success; and let us thank the editor who refused 

 lo fill his columns with the tales of the men who failed. For 

 had he done so he would only have made other failures inevitable. 



It is the mission of The Strawberry to inspire hope and con- 

 fidence and courage, to strengthen faith and resolution, and 



help all who read its pages to attain that order of success that 

 means not only material satisfaction, but deep and lasting 

 pleasure in the things worth living for. It believes that no 

 other line of work offers to the men and women of limited 

 means so wide an opportunity, one that lies so close at hand 

 and is within the easy reach of the ones who must earn a live- 

 lihood, as does the production of strawberries for market. And 

 it knows from long observation and broad experience that no 

 other avocation will give more joy and satisfaction to those who 

 take up this work for recreation during the hours when the 

 daily toil is laid one side. To bring to its readers, therefore, 

 the successes, and sometimes the mistakes, of strawberry 

 growers; to point out the way in which the mistakes may 

 be corrected and success be ac- 

 complished — this comprehends 

 in great part the particular work 

 of this periodical. 



What this has meant to the 

 men and women in the straw- 

 berry fields of this country we 

 are now, happily, given some 

 opportunity to realize, for the 

 letters that come to us from 

 every state in the LTnion and 

 from other lands as well, speak 

 of the encouragement and prac- 

 tical help this periodical has been 

 to them. They tell us that some- 

 thing The Strawberry had to say 

 helped them to turn what por- 

 tended failure into complete and 

 gratifying success; that the cheery word, reaching them just at 

 the moment of their need, pointed out the way to meet and 

 overcome threatened disaster, transformed the entire outlook 

 and gave them new hold upon the world. 



In one very large and important sense there ought to be no 

 such thing as failure in this splendid world as ours. No one 

 may be said to be a failure who has done his part, kept good 

 faith with his opportunities, made the most of his chances, and 

 through it all has kept himself in tune with the higher harmonies 

 of life. To amass a fortune may not be called success. We 

 have seen during the last year that the greatest failures on 

 record have been made by those who are called multi-million- 

 aires. Let us remember that no matter what it be, no evil 

 thing may be success, and no good thing may be failure. 



We are just beginning another season in strawberry culture — 

 for it must not be forgotten that the preparation of the soil in 

 autumn is one of the most important first steps to success with 

 strawberries next season. Let us begin right and do right all 

 the way through. From the putting of the plow into the soil 

 until the last berry is marketed, let us follow the best methods 



