THE STRAWBERRY OCTOBER 1906 



better shape than anything we have 

 planted yet. 



Ontonagon, Mich. 



MESSRS. NEHMER & SONS cer- 

 tainly are pursuing an interesting 

 work and doing it in a manner that in- 

 sures success. Their way of enriching 

 the soil by the use of barnyard manure 

 and wood ashes will soon put their sandy- 

 loam soil in ideal condition for strawber- 

 ries, and there is no doubt but their yields, 

 after the ground is drained and well fer- 

 tilized, will be largely increased. 



The method of setting the plants twelve 

 inches apart in the row is very good in 

 view of the fact that they grow their own 

 plants, but this would be decidedly costly 

 for the man who purchases all his plants. 

 1 he intensive cultural methods this firm 

 pursues calls for our commendation, as 

 nothing else equals a dust mulch in its 

 power to hold moisture in the soil. 



However, their method of mulching 

 may be greatly improved by applying the 

 mulch in the early winter after the first 

 freeze, placing it directly on the rows of 

 plants only. Then in the spring, when 

 growth starts, this mulching may be 

 parted, placing one-half on each side of 

 the row, making an opening large enough, 

 merely for the plants to come up through. 

 The advantage of applying the mulch in 

 this manner is in the fact that it will lie 

 close to the ground and the fruit will set- 

 tle down upon it, while if the mulching 

 is put on in the spring, it will be almost im- 

 possible to place the mulching so that the 

 fruit will rest upon the mulching. We 

 have experimented with mulching by ap- 

 plying in the fall and also in the spring, 

 and we find that fall mulching costs much 

 less because it is done at a time v/hen 

 other work is not pressing, and it also 

 serves its purpose better in every way. 

 Applying mulching as above will in no 

 way interfere with spring cultivation, as 

 the mulching will lie directly under the 

 foliage of the plants, leaving about two 



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feet of bare space between rows. And 

 by the way, we heartily agree with the 

 Messrs. Nehmer in the matter of culti- 

 vating the fruiting bed. Our own exper- 

 ience in this matter is that fields so culti- 

 vated show an increase over those not 

 cultivated of more than twenty per cent, 

 while the increase of fancy fruit and in 

 the general quality of the berries also was 

 quite twenty per cent. 



We note that the Nehmers set their 

 plants in the spring. Our views on that 

 point are so well known that they need 

 not be repeated here, except to say that 

 this firm never could have achieved such 

 fine success had they planted at any other 

 season 



'^ ^ 



The Overflow Question-Box 



E. G., Cohocton, N. Y. Would like to know 

 the best way to prepare this patch for setting 

 strawberries next spring. It is a light loam 

 soil and level, about one-fourth of an acre. 

 For two years it has had timothy hay and this 

 spring it was well manured with cow and 

 horse manure, and planted to potatoes. Can 

 get plenty manure and wood ashes. 



2. Does it do any harm to cut runners and 

 hoe in the mornip.g when there is a heavy dew 

 on the vines.' 



3. Will runners set in September make good 

 fruit bearers? 



4. Competition here is very strong, but with 

 the aid of The Strawberry think I will come 

 out wiiuier yet. 



There is no cultivated crop better to 

 grow in advance of strawberries than po- 

 tatoes. From what you say we judge 

 you have given this ground a liberal 

 dressing of manure, of which the potatoes 

 have taken up the rankest part, leaving it 

 in splendid condition for strawberries. If 

 the manure at your disposal is well de- 

 cayed, it would be well to break up this 

 1 piece of ground this fall and sow to rye, 

 spreading the fine manure on the surface 

 over the rye. After the rye and manure 

 are turned under next spring apply fifty 

 bushels of wood ashes to the acre, then 

 harrow this thoroughly into the soil be- 

 fore setting the plants. Ashes contain 

 about thirty per cent of lime, which will 

 aid in making the plant food quickly 

 available, while the potash in the ashes 

 will add to the firmness of the berries and 

 increase their fine color. 



2. No. 



3. Runners set in September in New 

 York state have too brief a period in 

 which to build up a heavy fruit-bud sys- 

 tem. However, they will produce a suf- 

 ficient quantity to pay. Even in your 

 state it sometimes happens that growing 

 weather continues up to December, and 

 when this is true early September plants 

 will develop size and strength. 



4. Competition is the life of any busi- 

 ness. The thing to do is to get into a 

 class by yourself which lifts you above 

 ordinary competition. Pack fruit honestly, 



Page 198 



"The Whole Thing in a Nut Shell" 



200 Eggs 

 a Year 

 per Hen 



HOW TO GET THEM 



'I'HE sixth edition of the book, "200 E'-'ps a Yr-ar 

 A per Hen. ' ' is now reaily. KevlBed, enlarged, and 

 in part rewritten, 00 pai;es. Contains amon^ other 

 thinirs the method of feedini; by which Mr. S. D. Fox. 

 of VTolfboro, N. a., won the prize of $100 in gold of- 

 fered by the manufacturers of a well-known condition 

 pjwder for the best egg record during the winter 

 montlxs. Simple as a, b, c — andyetwe gunranteeitto 

 start hons to laying earlier and to induce them to lay 

 more e.;gs than any other method under the sun- Tin- 

 book also contains recipe for egg food and tonic used 

 by Mr. Pox, which brought him in one winter day 6W 

 ejrs from 72 hens; and for flvedaysin succession from 

 the same flock 04 egi's a day. Mr. F. P. Chamberlain 

 of Wolfboro, N. H.. ;-,ays; "By foUownng the methods 

 oitlined in vour book t obtained 1.490 eggs from 91 

 R. I. Reds in the month of January, 1902." From 

 14 pullets picked at random out of a farmer's flock 

 the author got 2,999 eggs in one year — au average of 

 ocer 214 eggs apiece It has been my ambition in 

 writing "200 Eggs a Year per Hen" to make it the 

 standard book on egg production and profits in poultry. 

 Tells all there is to know, and tells it in a plain com- 

 mon-sense way. 



Price 50 cents; or wilh a year's subscription 

 to the American Poultry Advocate, both for 

 65 cents; or given as a premium For 4 yearly 

 subscriptions at 25 cents each. 



Our paper is handsomely illustrated, 44 to 80 page:. 

 2r» cents per vear. 4 months' trial. 10 cents. .Sam- 

 ple free. 0ATAX.OGUE of poultry books free. 



AMERICAN POULTRY ADVOCATE 



85 Hogan Block Syracuse, N. Y. 



give full measure, use a good label, pack 



the berries attractively, and very soon 



people will call for and insist upon hav- 

 ing your brand of fruit. 



T. A. N., Woodstock, Ont. We are troubled 

 very much with the grubs eating off the roots. 

 Is there anything that can be done to destroy 

 them? 



2. Tell me the best way to treat or care for 

 a patch the first season.' 



3. What is meant by a double-hedge row.' 

 Do you think it the best.' 



4. Do you advise cutting off the first 

 runners? 



You will find full information concern- 

 ing treatment of the white grub in the 

 September issue of The Strawberry. 



2. The first season the strawberry 

 bed should receive thorough cultivation 

 and hoeing. The cultivator should run 

 close to the row, going about two inches 

 deep, and the work should be done at 

 least every ten days and always cultivate 

 as soon as soil will crumble after a rain. 

 Hoe up close to the plant, bre.iking every 

 particle of crust, but do not hoe deep 

 enough to loosen the plant. 



The double-hedgerow means a double 

 row of runner plants. The rows should 

 be about three and a half feet apart, and 

 the mother plants set twenty-four inches 

 apart in the row; allow each mother plant 

 to make enough runner plants to form 

 two continuous rows, laying them in X 

 fashion, the center of the X representing 



