THE STRAWBERRY 



A MONTHLY MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS 

 OF STRAWBERRY PRODUCTION IN ALL ITS BRANCHES 



Volume II No. 1 



Three Rivers, Mich., January, 1907 



$1.00 a Year 



ING IN THE NEW!" The past is gone; let 

 it go, clinging only to that part of it that has 

 broadened, heightened, sweetened life and made 

 the new and the true and the more beautiful 

 possible in the days that are before us. There 

 l^g^ j ts^^-^l are the "good old days", to be sure. It is well 

 to let memory dwell fondly on the bright spots of the past. 

 But there never was a day in the past that can compare with 

 the days that are to come in the brightness and glory of their 

 radiant possibilities. Never was Opportunity more generous in 

 her offerings than now, and never had Knowledge so large a 

 vogue, nor were her powers so highly appreciated. The world 

 moves to higher 

 planes of thought 

 and action, and is 

 more than ever dis- 

 posed to recognize 

 quality in the work 

 of man's brain and 

 hands. Progress is 

 the watchword of 

 the hour, and in 

 very truth 



"We are living, we are 

 dwelling 

 In a grand and glorious 

 time, 

 In an age on ages telling; 

 To be living is sub- 

 lime." 



So let us appre- 

 ciate and enjoy to 

 the full this New 

 Year season, so pro- 

 phetic of the fLiture. 

 The winter solstice 

 is past; the darkness 

 of the night season 

 shortens perceptibly 

 day by day; the 



morning sunlight grays the east jus; a little earlier and evening's 

 glories linger longer with each passing day Prophetic of spring, 

 with its unfoldment of life, are these signs of the heavens, and 

 unconsciously our thoughts turn hopefully to that glad season, 

 when root and bud and bloom, foliage and flower and fruit, join 

 in the universal anthem of joy and praise. 



In the strawberry world the year that has gone has taught us 

 many valuable lessons. It was a hard year on horticulture in 

 many sections of the country; in fact, there were few sections 

 which did not suffer from some one or more of the elemental 

 forces. Yet tl'.ere were compensating conditions, and even 

 where almost complete loss was suffered, if we rightly utilize 



STRAWBERRY FIELD OF JOHN RUCKER, BOSTON, N. Y. 



that experience it may prove after all a "stepping stone to higher 

 success." Down in the Atlantic-coast South where many folk 

 rushed into the production of strawberries without adequate 

 knowledge or preparation, and started off on a scile that on'y 

 the thoroughly practiced strawberry grower ever should venture 

 to do, the inevitable results have followed, and we hear many 

 complaints, with threats of decreased acreage. On the other 

 hand, men in that section who knew their business report fine 

 fuccess, and are loud in their assurance that the business oppor- 

 tunity offered in the Southern field to supply the North with 

 early strawberries is limited only by the ability of the South to 

 grow high-grade fruit in sufficient quantities and pack and ship 



it to market in first- 

 class shape. And 

 who would expec: 

 to win success with 

 poor fruit, badly 

 packed and deliv- 

 ered in unattractive 

 form.'' 



Over in Tennes- 

 see, on the other 

 hand, the gloom oc- 

 casioned by the ex- 

 cessive rains of 1905 

 has been cleared 

 away by the sun- 

 shine of success in 

 1906, and to this 

 has been added a 

 fair prospect that 

 the season for straw- 

 berry growing in 

 that state is to be 

 lengthened by the 

 encouragement of 

 "double-croppers," 

 and one enterprising 

 grower near Gieen- 

 field, Tenn., whose strawberry fields are located in a fertile 

 valley, was enabled to supply large quantities to the people in 

 New York about Thanksgiving time. But this did not take 

 the edge off Gotham's appetite for the strawberry, as was 

 shown by the fact that they gladly paid a dollar a box for the 

 berries that came from Florida in December. 



These incidents suggest how long a season, after all, the 

 strawberry enjoys in this country of varied climates. They also 

 suggest what possibilities lie in the lengthening of the straw- 

 berry season by a wise use of our climatic opportunities. One 

 of the most suggestive photographs that have come to us this 

 year is that of afield of strawberries growing at Wahpeton, N. D., 



