THE STRAWBERRY SEPTEMBER 1906 



men dropping seed in the little checker- 

 board test plots; the test plots in bearing; 

 the process of reaping the test plots; the 

 the special miniature threshing machine 

 at work; the process of emasculating the 

 blossoms of the wheat; the men in the 

 act of fertilizing one flower with the pol- 

 len of another variety; the method of ty- 

 ing and labelling; and, finally, the results 

 obtained. These views will, with others, 

 be used to illustrate the lectures delivered 

 from the "education train. " 



The Saving that Wasteth 



By Walter E. Andrews 



ONE day last spring I called upon 

 a neighbor and found him hard at 

 work digging strawberry plan's 

 from an old patch on his farm. 



"Back-aching work, isn't it?" I re- 

 marked casually. 



"Yes," said he, "but this bed has 

 fruited for three seasons and I guess it's 

 about done for. So I'm going to start 

 another patch and see if 1 don't have bet- 

 ter luck. Somehow I never seem to do 

 well with strawberries — never could ac- 

 count for it nohow! Neighbors all around 

 me are making money, but mighty little 

 of it comes my way. Queer thing, that. 

 This soil is good enough and the plants 

 grow pretty well, but they seem to lack 

 fruiting qualities." 



Of course, right there I made a few 

 remarks. He listened politely, but I 

 fear the suggestions I offered were as un- 

 fruitful as his strawberry plants. 



"Oh, yes," he continued, when I had 

 finished my little talk, "I've heard tell of 

 plant breeding and all those new-fangled 

 theories, but I never put much stock in 

 'em; can't afford to; do you suppose I'm 

 going to send away and pay three or four 

 dollars a thousand for 'fancy' plants when 

 I can get plants for nothing right here on 

 my own farm.^" 



And that apparently settled the matter. 

 I felt that no amount of argument could 

 outweigh that fact in his mind. To his 

 thinking, immediate saving was the most 

 essential thing in the universe. However, 

 I said what I could — partly from a sense 

 of duty, partly because there was a like- 

 able something in my neighbor's blunt 

 frankness. I explained patiently and 

 calmly, I hope, that like begets like or a 

 little worse; that plants taken from an 

 old bed never could have the fruiting 

 vigor of plants from a new bed which had 

 never borne fruit; that a farmer might 

 as well plant little potatoes every year as 

 to set new strawberry beds, with ofF-shoots 

 from old, worn-out plants; that — 



"You said part of that before," he in- 

 terrupted, not unkindly. Indeed, I de- 

 tected a half-humorous, half-obstinate 

 twinkle in his eyes as he continued. 

 "Little potatoes, you say.?" "I always 

 plant 'em myself. Can't sell 'em you 



' Direct to You" 



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Radiant B^se Burner 



High Grade Parlor 

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 FOR CATALOGVE NO. 348 



Examine our complete line of stoves 

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know. What else you going to do with 

 'em.'" 



"But the — the — " I stammered. 



'Never mind any huts' said he. 

 "The point is: How's a poor man going 

 to make a living unless he sells everything 

 he can, saves every penny possible and 

 plants all the odds and ends.' No, no 

 neighbor.' Theories are all right for some 

 folks, but I've got to scratch lively to 

 keep out of the poor house — Darn that 



mortgage on my farm, anyhow! I never 

 did have any luck with berries or I might 

 have paid it off long ago!" 



Well, I gave it up and went thought- 

 fully home. 



How strange it is that the saving of a 

 few dollars on plants or potatoes blinds so 

 many men to the higher economy and 

 profit which comes from wise spending. 

 They probably will alwa\s be poor; their 

 mortgages in all likelihood never will be 



Page 176 



paid; no doubt they will continue to plant 

 little potatoes and run-out plants until 

 somebody smarter than myself succeeds 

 in convincing them of their error 



How I Renew The Old Bed 



By C. H. Krueger 



I HAVE read with much interest of 

 many different ways of renewing 

 old strawberry beds, but still think 

 my way the best, which of course is 

 natural. 



My plan is to use an elevator potato 

 digger. This machine leaves the ground 

 in as fine shape as it can be made, pro- 

 vided there is no grass sod. The soil 

 should be reasonably dry to do its best. 

 After mowing and burning, hitch a good 

 team to the potato digger, dig up all 

 plants, leaving a narrow strip four to six 

 inches wide, being careful to drive straight. 

 If the soil is dry, the digger will shake all 

 plants and weed roots out of the s-'il, 

 leaving them on the surface. 



After drying a day or two rake with 

 sulky rake, haul the rubbish off, and then 

 with a sharp hoe cut all surplus plants 

 out of the strips. 



Fertilizer may be applied at this time 

 and cultivation begun. The result should 

 be satisfactory. 



Holland, Ohio. 



