SUCCESS WITH STRAWBERRIES 



Of all small fruits the Strawberry is probably of the greatest commercial importance in this country, and on the- 

 Maryland-Delaware peninsula the culture has attained an importance second to no other part of the country,, 

 since soil and climate favor the production of the finest plants and the most plentiful fruiting. In no section do the 

 plants make better root-systems, and wherever the plants grown here have gone they have made a reputation. 



Soils for 

 Strawberries 



There is no plant that so adapts itself 

 to soils of all descriptions as the Straw- 

 berry. It is a fruit that can be grown 

 anywhere, in sandy or clayey soils. But certain soils seem 

 to be better adapted to certain varieties than others. 

 While good drainage is essential, there is nothing that the 

 Strawberry delights in more than a moist soil. Of course, 

 it does not want standing water in the soil, but a soil that, 

 while well-drained, has the water table only a few feet 

 down, and in which there is a constant rise of capillary 

 moisture, will always produce the heaviest crop. Late 

 berries, like the Gandy, always do better on soils of this 

 character than on high and dry soils. 



But a strong claj^-loam, so prepared that the roots can 

 penetrate deeply into the soil, w411 always give satisfactory 

 crops, and even on high, dry and sandy soils, the finest of 

 berries can be grown from varieties suited to such soils. 

 Hence, there is a great variation in the capacity of the 

 different varieties for the production of fruit on soils of 

 different types and in different climates, for varieties that 

 are popular and profitable in some sections have not 

 been found so in others. It may be, therefore, important 



to test different varieties on a small scale before planting 

 largely in any section. 



T>*-^fx^-^^^i^*t Your land may be sandy loam, black 



nf thp ^nil swamp soil, heavy clay or a rich clay 



' loam, and in any of these with good 



drainage you can grow good Strawberries. But of all 

 locations avoid land that has been long in grass, for on 

 such sods will always be found the larvae of the May 

 beetle, and there is no insect that will destroy Strawberry 

 plants so badly as these. Low land in a valley between 

 high hills is apt to be frosty in spring, while low land, or 

 reclaimed swamp land in a generally level section will not 

 be much more liable to frost than other land in the localr 

 ity, and such land often makes the heaviest crops. On 

 such land and on sandy soils in general, deep plowing is 

 never advisable for the Strawberry, but on heavy clay 

 loams it is well to plow the land deeply late in fall in 

 preparation for the spring setting, and to replow more 

 shallowly in the spring. 



A growth of rye sown in the fall and turned under in 

 the spring will help on heavy soils. This spring replowing: 

 will bring the best soil to the surface again, and we want 



