E. W. TOWNSEND, SQUARE DEAL NURSERY, SALISBURY, MD. 



29 



The Selection of Your Plants and Seed 



The Best Plants Brings the Best Returns. 



This is the first thought with me. I want to 

 know that the seed I am going to plant is as 

 good as can be grown, no matter what the cost. 

 I count the price of good seed a second consider- 

 ation. The same applies to all kinds of plants 

 and nursery stock. The cost of production be- 

 ing the same whether we get 2,000 quarts of 

 .strawberries per acre or whether we get 10,000, 

 the few dollars spent in the way of better seeds 

 or plants in the beginning is soon lost sight of 

 in the big yields and big profits in the end. 



Why Certain Varieties Are Running Down. 



In regard to strawberries, I am asked this 

 -question many times during the year: "Can you 

 tell me why certain varieties are running 

 down?; why they do not bear the crops they 

 formerly did?" This is a very easy question 

 for one to answer if he has given a little thought 

 and has been a close friend of his berry patch. 

 Here is the answer: When strawberry plants 

 fail to fruit it indicates that they have become 

 weakened through careless breeding and im- 

 proper selection of the breeding bed. Runner 

 plants always inherit the characteristics of the 

 mother plant, therefore plants that come from 

 unfruitful plants will be unfruitful. If a plant 

 becomes so weakened that it no longer sends up 

 a fruit, but system, its energies will be thrown 

 to the multiplication of barren plants, and as 

 these barren plants make a great many more 

 runners than the fruitful plants, they soon have 

 a monopoly. And plants taken from these beds 

 year after year, without any selection whatever, 

 it is but a natural consequence that the variety 

 must sooner or later run out, as it is called. 

 Labor and money spent in the growing of those 

 kinds of patches is but thrown away. 



The Way to Breed Better Plants. 



On the other hand, if a grower is particular 

 enough in the selection of his plants he can 

 always improve any variety instead of letting 

 it run down. Here is the method I use in order 

 to build up better and more fruitful strains of 

 plants: I have a special plot each season that 

 I use to grow my stock plants. I never set out 

 the plants in this plot until the plants in the 

 old breeding bed have made sufficient growth 

 so that I can easily select my best plants, al- 

 wavs sure to get nothing for this plot but what 

 have a good strong fruit bud, selecting the 

 heaviest crowns and always the plants nearest 

 the mother plant. By this means I know per- 

 sonally that every plant is a fruitful olant. This 

 method is carried on from year to year and is 

 proving very successful for me. I am not only 

 keeping my "plants up to the standard but I ran 

 see a marked improvement in the most of the 

 varieties in a few years' breeding up of this 

 kind. I find by this method of breeding that 

 the higher breed the plant is the fewer runners 

 it will make, as a large part of the growth is 

 spent in building up a crown of fruit buds in- 

 stead of making runners freely, as is done in 

 the wild berry or the variety that has almost 

 become wild or barren through carelessness. 



Be Sure You Get Plants That Will Grow. 



We want to say to our prospective customers, 

 before closing this catalog, don't buy your plants 

 and seed just because the price is cheap. But 

 know the reputation of the man that you place 

 your order with. The best plants are cheapest 

 at any price. We can furnish you with the ad- 

 dresses of customers that make stronger claims 

 for our plants than we do. If you are not our 

 customer, start now. No one can give you more 

 value for SI. 00 than Townsend. And remember 

 our Free Services are yours for the asking. 



A Comparison of Townsend's With Common Ordinary Varieties That Are Sent Out Broadcast 



Every Year. 



Mr. Suggs, of Columbus County, N. C, writes after giving our Thoroughbreds a fair trial 

 under the same conditions exactly same variety tested, that our selected plants produced over 

 four times as much fruit as the common grade of plants did, and not only this but that the ber- 

 ries grown from our Thoroughbreds were of far better quality, and brought a much higher price. 

 Klondyke was the variety tested. We have received the same reports from almost every sec- 

 tion of the Country. 



K. 



Dear Mr. Townsend, 



Strawberry plants arrived O. 

 Thanks for prompt shipment. 



Respectfully 



Oysterville, Mass. 

 ; very satisfactory. 



W. L. L. 



Bettendorf, Iowa, April 20, 1916. 



Dear Sir — Enclosed find money order for more plants. 

 I thought that I would set balance of my own plants 

 but your stock is so much better than mine that I have 

 •decided to get them all from Townsend. All the plants 

 bought from you are doing tine. T will bet you a new 

 hat that you get lots of orders from here next season. 

 My neighbors are all interested. Some of them are go- 

 ing to send orders right away. 



T remain yours truly, H. R. C. 



Oxford. Pa.. April 20, 1916. 

 Dear Sir — -1 was very much pleased with my plants 

 you sent me. W. M. B. 



W ll.ury. X. J.. April 4. 1 91 «. 



Dear Sir — Received all the berrv plants and everv 

 plant is O. K. Thanks. Mr. E. .1 L. 



Wilmington. Del.. April 15, 1916. 

 Plants reached me and everything is O. K.. am very 

 well pleased. J. T. R 



Our Guarantee 



That our plants are the equal of plants 

 grown anywhere. That they arc bred 

 from the purest strains, and that they are 

 fully selected at time of digging. That 

 our packing is perfect, and that ever] 

 box .>r plants will be delivered t<> the 

 carrier In the best possible condition. 

 Owing to the \\;ir risk tin- express com- 

 panies will not bo responsible lor deliv- 

 eries to us. We can not i>«' an] stronger 

 than tin- carrier — thus our responsibility 

 iniiM cease when we deliver in best of 

 condition to the carrier. 



Wo shall continue i«> »i<> everything jx>s- 

 Sible t<> have <>ur plants roach you in the 

 best growing condition, and to make uoo»l 



an] errors thai happen on our pan. Your 

 success means our success. 



Remember that TOWNSEND'S plants 



.iic (ho leaders everywhere and that OUT 



regular customers art* our best adi ertlsi 



