DOES PLANT SELECTION PAY? 



RECENT research has shown that the fruit 

 buds of the strawberry are formed in the 

 crown of the plant from September to Novem- 

 ber of the season before the blossoms appear. 

 It is important therefore, to give the plants 

 such care as will develop strong crowns dur- 

 ing the first growing season. An application 

 of a well balanced fertilizer during September 

 will be more profitable to the crop than the 

 usual spring application. We prefer the fall 

 application and leave off the spring manuring. 

 Plants should always be started as early as 

 possible in the Spring, and the first runners 

 that appear rooted. The first two plants that 

 form on a runner will always produce more 

 fruit than the later plants. For best results 

 the late runner plants that are made after 

 a sufficient bed of plants is grown, should 

 always be removed either by a runner cutter 

 attachment, or with the hoe. If allowed to 

 grow thick on the side of the beds these sur- 

 plus plants take away the moisture from the 

 larger fruiting plants and never produce very 

 much. Neither should these latter plants ever 

 be taken up and reset for the same reason 

 as mentioned above. They are only weaklings 

 and will only produce weak off-springs. In 

 order to keep any variety up to the standard 

 of productiveness, nothing but the strongest 



heavy crowned plants should be set for breed- 

 ing stock. By following this rule any variety 

 can be made more productive. While at the 

 same time, the same variety will soon run out 

 if no selection of breeding stock is made. 



A plant grower with nothing at stake, who 

 chooses to pay no attention to plant selection, 

 but rather take his planting stock from the 

 middle or side of his rows can grow about twice 

 as many plants per acre as the person who 

 practices the selection of his breeder plants, 

 but quantity is all he has, and he depends 

 solely on prices year after year to sell his 

 stock. Many thousands of our customers 

 know this to be a fact. Hundreds of our cus- 

 tomers have stated to us that plants pur- 

 chased from certain growers, grow as good or 

 better bed of plants than Townsend's plants. 

 but when fruiting time comes they get plenty 

 berries from our plants, and only a few small 

 berries from the other stock. It costs just 

 about twice as much to produce good strong 

 healthy fruiting plants as it does to produce 

 the common stock. 



Our loarning is to lay off the "cheap John 

 plants." It doesn't pay to buy plants and seeds 

 simply because they are priced low. For in 

 the end they may mean the most expensive 

 to you. 



VARIETY SUGGESTIONS 



It is a pleasure for us to make selections of varieties 

 for our customers. We have been doing this for over 

 twenty-five years for thousands of our customers every 

 year. Usually we are better acquainted with local condi- 

 tions in your own section, than the average grower there. 

 We say this because we not only get the reports from all 

 the leading growers throughout the countrv, but from 

 all the leading State Experiment Stations. We know the 

 soil, and climate, in practically every strawberry section 

 in the United States. We have been making variety tests 

 in most of the important strawberry sections for a good 

 many years. Generally before a variety is ever offered 

 by us for sale, it has had years of tests right in your own 

 locality. In this way we are better qualified to make 

 selections of varieties for you than you would be your- 

 self. We are not asking for the privilege to do this in 

 every case, but simply offering our services to those who 

 are not exactly familiar with what varieties to plant that 

 will make them the most money. 



This service is absolutely free. We are always ready 

 to take up your proposition, and make out your list, 

 just as particular as if we were preparing our own plant- 

 ings. If you were to pay us $100 we could not render you 

 a more valuable service than we give to thousands every 

 year free. We always exert every effort to make your 

 experience in growing strawberries profitable. 



In- writing our descriptions we try to make them as 

 plain as possible in order that our customers can make 

 their own selections, but there are so many factors that 

 enter into the strawberry growing that it is not possible 

 for us to write descriptions in a catalogue that will fit 

 for every section. There are many sections in every State 

 that are as different as the East is from the West as to 

 the behavior of varieties. This is even so many times in 

 some counties. In order to be sure of what a variety will 

 do in a particular section, it is necessary to have it 

 tested there first. This is our way, and the only way. 

 There are some varieties known as universal varieties 

 that do well in practically all sections and in all soils. 

 We name below a few of these favorites. 



PREMIER has been found to do well in most sections except 

 the far south. 



MISSIONARY has proven a valuable variety for the entire 

 south. 



AROMA is profitably grown in every state of the Union. 



BIG JOE has proven profitable in 90 r <" of all strawberrv 

 sections. 



DUNLAP is more profitable in the western states (but not 

 the best). 



TOWNSEND'S BIG LATE has proven a universal variety. 



FORD has done well wherever Premier has been grown 

 successfully. 



GANDY has generally filled the bill where an extremelv 

 late is wanted. 



CHESAPEAKE is a favorite wherever soil conditions are 

 right, except in the far south. 



LUPTON has proven a money maker in all the eastern 

 states. 



BLAKEMORE: A profitable early variety for states south of 

 New York. 



WM. BELT has been a favorite for market gardeners in all 

 sections north of the Mason-Dixon line for the past 

 twenty-five years or more. 



"TOWNKING" has made good as a late variety in every 

 state in the Union. There are but very few sect:, i 

 any state that it has not made a better showing than 

 any other late variety. 



"MAYQUEEN", while not as well known to the ptiblic as 

 "Townking" or some other varieties of more recent in- 

 troduction, is a valuable variety for home use or market 

 in practically every state and section where tested. 



ABERDEEN has been sent to practically every state and has 

 been tested by thousands of horticulturists. It 

 most a 100^ perfect. A valuable variety for m 

 purposes on account of its hardiness m plant u: 

 and great productiveness. 



HOWARD'S SUPREME, while of recent introduction, it has 

 been tested in most of the strawberry sections bj 

 State Experiment Stations, and has been four.,: 

 nearest ideal strawberry ever originated 

 should hesitate to plant freely of Howard'.- - 



"JUPITER'' has made good wherever tests have been made. 

 It is valuable as a commercial variety or ten 

 It is of the Gandy type except thai 

 to ripen and is predicted by all who have seer. 

 fruit or grown it to become the leading standard m 

 variety in a short time. 



