THE STRAWBERRY 



A MONTHLY MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS 

 OF STRAWBERRY PRODUCTION IN ALL ITS BRANCHES 



Volume II No. 8 



Three Rivers, Mich., August, 1907 



$L00 a Year 



RP^PORTS from the strawberry fields of the country 

 ne\er have had greater interest than those which 

 have to do with the experiences of the present year. 

 For everywhere has it been recognized that the sea- 

 son of 1907, talcen in connection with tiie peculiar state of affairs 

 that developed during the latter part of the growing season of 

 1906, was one of the most difficult ever experienced, not only 

 in the strawberry field, but in horticulture in general. 



Of course, no general statement of conditions will cover spe- 

 cifically particular sections, although what we shall have to say 

 about them will apply to many sec- 

 tions representing with greater or 

 less accuracy some of the details in 

 the experiences of nearly every state 

 north of the Ohio river. The spring 

 of 1906 was declared by old straw- 

 berry growers to have been the worst 

 in thirty years. One grower report- 

 ed that ice smothered his plants; 

 from one section came reports of 

 drought; in another (along the Ohio 

 river, for instance) the frost destroyed 

 entire areas given over to strawber- 

 ries; and still others reported de- 

 structive floods. Late in April over 

 a large portion of the North a re- 

 markable rise in temperature, which 

 continued for many weeks, checked 

 the natural root -development of 

 plants just foniiino;, while it has- 

 tened the maturing of fruit. 



Then, to cap the climax, came, 

 in the early days of October, such 

 a frost as never before had been ex- 

 perienced over the fruit sections of 

 the North. It may be said that all 

 other fruits suffered more severely 

 than did the strawberry, cherry, 



peach, apple and plum trees were killed outright, and one Mich- 

 igan nurseryman declared that practically all of his tree stock 

 had been killed outright or rendered of no account by the sud- 

 den and severe vi^it.ttion. 



Thus it will be seen that fruit came into the growing season 

 of 1907 with a heritage tainted by weakness, a weakness which 

 the conditions of the present year contributed nothing to im- 

 prove. In fact, the early part of ihe present season has not 

 alone affected fruits of all kinds, but corn and wheat and hay, as 

 well, have been so influenced by conditions that no one is haz- 

 ardous enough to venture a prediction as to the outcome at 

 harvest time. And yet, dolomus as all this is, the reports that 

 have come to us only go to prove that the statement so often 



IJERE is a model report sent us by W. Ellis 

 * •* Pennypacker of Burchrunville, Pa. — a 

 model for many reasons, first of which is the 

 remarkable yield received from a patch only 

 108x213 feet in size, and second, because of 

 the detailed way in which he has kept his ac- 

 counts and presents them. Mr. Pennypacker 

 writes: "This is the exact amount I sold, not 

 taking any account of what was used by our- 

 selves. The prices given are generally whole- 

 sale, as I retailed few: 



We would like to have anyone show us another 

 plot of ground of equal size devoted to any 

 other crop that turns as much cash into its 

 owner's purse as this is doing. 



made in these columns, viz: that the strawberry is the safest crop 

 in the world, is at no time better proved than in such discourag- 

 ing circumstances as above are briefly noted. I he number of 

 Strawberry readers who have written us that they had a tough 

 time of it in the crop season of 1907, but after all realized more 

 than they had reason to expect, is very large, and when we con- 

 sider that thousands of acres of peach trees, and even hardy 

 cherry and apple trees succumbed to the stress of weather, we 

 think strawberry growers may well take courage from the situa- 

 tion in which they find themselves. Here is one report from a 



well-known woman who has won 

 more than local fame as a strawberry 

 grower in Illinois. We omit her 

 name because especially requested 

 by her to do so because she did n:)t 

 care to ha\e her business secrets 

 made public. She says: 



We had so much rain durini; ihe 

 blossoming time this spring that we 

 were fearful for pollenization, and 

 we had so much rain during the 

 latter part of the picking season that 

 we lost a good many berries. On 

 the whole, the only reason we had 

 to expect very mucli was that under 

 all these trying condiiiims :ind cir- 

 cumstances we ha\e dmie the very 

 best we could; and the result has 

 been gratifying beyond our highest 

 expectations. There are tivo acres 

 in the patch. We sold over 8,00(1 

 boxes and after paying for boxes, 

 making of the same, picking the 

 berries, paying commissions and for 

 straw for mulch, we had left for 

 our share (I mean by that payment 

 for our labor and use of land) 

 ,$47.^00. 

 "We picked the hist berries on the afternoon of July 17, and 

 by the evening of the 18th it was plowed under, disked and har- 

 rowed several times, and planted to Clay peas. On the 20th 

 they could be seen coming up here and there and today (July 

 22' the field looks green. We had to broadca'^t them as we 

 could not get a drill. 



"Our new bed has about two acres in it. The la'gest half of 

 it is now in double-hedge rows. I have been working in it my- 

 self about eight hours a day since picking is over. Nearly all 

 my friends ques'ion both the proprien' and the wisdom of my 

 doing this, but I am >^o interested in the work that 1 cannot keep 

 out of it. iVly frieiui.s are all sure 1 will kill myself with work, 

 but 1 have noticed th:it I have more strength and less illness 



