Care of the Strawberry. 405 
lay the plants away for a rest. The market season in the regions 
supplying the San Francisco market extends from April to 
December, and fruit is continuously shipped during that pe- 
riod. At the approach of winter in the last-named month, it 
is usual to go over the beds with a sickle, cutting off the old crop 
of leaves close to the root crown, carefully cleaning up the plan- 
tation for the heavy rains. In most cases it will be a great 
advantage then to cover over all with a light coat of good ma- 
nure, which the winter rains will leach down into the soils. The 
result of the fall clipping and enriching will be an early and 
strong start of the plant in the spring, and a most abundant 
fruitage. 
Duration of the Plantation.—Strawberry planis well cared for 
and not visited by insect pests, have a long, productive, and 
profitable life in California. Twelve-year-old plants at Santa 
Clara have been reported as still producing abundantly. It is 
customary to count from five to eight years as the profitable lite 
of a plant, though some growers replant after two bearing years. 
Varieties of the Strawberry—Though all new varieties are 
tried by California growers, and quite a number may be consid- 
ered successful either for market or for home use, only a very 
few may be said to be widely grown. The three kinds which 
are pre-eminent in public favor are the Longworth Prolific, the 
Sharpless, and the Monarch of the West. The Sharpless is the 
most widely grown; the Monarch shows hetter size and color in 
southern California and on the Sierra foot-hills than in the re- 
gions adjacent to San Francisco, although it is grown therein 
to some extent. The Longworth is an old favorite, early, pro- 
ductive, and hardy, and its style has become very popular in the 
markets. Wilson’s Albany also holds favor in same. The Me- 
linda is largely grown in the Pajaro Valley. The Gandy and 
Dollar are approved in several counties. 
The best drouth-resisting strawberry grown in California at 
the present time is the Arizona Everbearing. It is a leading 
variety in southern California, and is very hardy, enduring much 
drouth and neglect, which the home strawberry bed is apt to get 
when the fruit grower is very busy in his orchard. It is a late 
berry and bears all summer if well treated. It is handsome in 
form and color. The Australian Crimson, Brandywine, Lady 
Thompson and Laxton’s Noble are also popular at the south, 
and a variety called Shepherd’s is preferred at Santa Barbara. 
It has been demonstrated that varieties show marked dif- 
ference in behavior in different soils and situations. In planting 
for market or home use in new regions the planter will be safe 
in making his largest plantations of the varieties named above, 
and at the same time he should put out experimental plots of 
other varieties. In planting in established strawberry regions, 
secure the hest available local advice, consulting a number of 
growers and forming decision from such evidence. 
