Strawberries 



Fairly good Strawberries can readily be giown upon any ordinary garden soil, but if large, fine 

 terries and a generous yield are desired, fertilizing material of some kind must be used freely. Al- 

 most any kind of fertilizers will be found useful, but well-rotted stable manure and finely ground pure 

 bone meal are among the best. Prepare the soil by spading or plowing deeply, then level and thor- 

 oughly pulverize the surface with a rake or harrow. 



For hill culture, in the family garden, set in rows two feet apart and the plants a foot apart in 

 the rows (cutting off all runners as they appear). For field culture, to 

 be cultivated with a horse and hoe-harrow, the plants to be permitted 

 to form matted rows, plant in rows three feet apart with the plants 

 one foot apart in the rows (rec^uiring 14.520 plants per acre). 



When the plants arrive, take them from the package and place the 

 roots in the soil with tops level with the surface; or loosen them up 

 in the package and place the package and plants in a cool, moist 

 place, tmtil they can be planted. Do not pour water upon them and 

 leave them in the package, as this will cause them to decay quickly. 

 Before planting, shorten the roots one third, as shown in the accom- 

 panying illustration (as this causes them to emit a profusion of new 

 fibers at once when planted), and in planting take but few plants from 

 the trench, or package, at a time and expose the plants to wind and 

 sun for as short a period as you conveniently can while planting. 

 Place the plants only as deeply in the soil as they stood before they 

 were dug, and be sure to press the earth firmly about the roots. Plant 

 early for best results — failures are almost always due to late planting. 

 It aids success in planting to place the plants in a bucket partly filled 

 with wate , and to drop them from it as they are being planted — 

 especially if the soil is dry at the time or the planting is being done 

 upon a windy day. Should the weather be warm, it is well to shade 

 valuable plants with a handful of coarse litter, or a quart berry basket 

 (old stained ones are as good as any for the purpose), over each plant 

 for a few days. The after culture consists in keeping the soil mellow 

 and free of weeds by frequent cultivating and hoeing. 



In late autumn or early winter, when the surface of the field has 

 become frozen to a depth of two or three inches, cover the entire bed 

 with a mulch of salt-meadow hay, or other loose, light material, to 

 a depth of about two inches. Strawy stable manure is an excellent 

 mulch; as the soluble portion leaches into the soil and gives nour- 

 ishment to the plants. Evergreen boughs are useful in holding the 

 mulch in place and are themselves a protection, ^^^len the plants 

 "start" growth in spring, rake the mulch from off the plants sufficiently to permit them to push 

 through it; and leave it between the rows, or about the plants, to conserve moisture and to keep 

 the fruit from becoming spattered with earth and sand by dashing rain storms. An application of 

 nitrate of soda, broadcasted along the rows at blossoming time (being careful not to permit any of 

 it to come in contact with the foliage) will increase the size, beauty and flavor of the berries. ' 



The blossoms of all cultivated Strawberries are either bi-sexual (perfect), or pistillate (imper- 

 fect), as shown in below illustrations. All the varieties offered in this Catalog have perfect blos- 

 soms, except those with the letter P following the name. In planting a pistillate variety, it is 

 necessary to plant with it a variety having perfect blossoms in the proportion of a row of perfect 

 flowered plants to every four or five rows of an imperfect one; or the fruit of it will be decidedly 

 imperfect also. If but a single variety is to be grown, it should, of course, be a variety having per- 

 fect flowers. It is best, unless the ground to be planted is of very limited extent, to plant at 

 least three varieties — early, midseason and late — that the time of fruiting may extend over a period 

 of several weeks. 



The growing of Strawberries has been a leading 

 feature of the Monmouth Nursery for over thirty-five 

 years. It has always been my policy to test every 

 variety of promise that was offered for sale and to dis- 

 card each one as soon as it developed any serious 

 defect (as all varieties are sure to do sooner or later); 

 hence, those offered are the "survival of the fittest," 

 and I believe to be the best varieties in commerce to 

 date. 



Although my supply of Strawberry plants for this 

 spring is not so large as I have sometimes had in PISTILLATE BLOSSOM 

 the past, the plants are exceedingly fine — in fact." 

 I have never grown or seen a finer lot of plants, taken as a whole. I am confident that all who 

 favor me with an order for Strawberry plants this spring will be much pleased with what they 

 receive. 



TRIMMING THE ROOTS 



BI-SEXUAL BLOSSOM 





















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Fairfield Co., Coxx., Nov. 7, 1913. 

 The Strawberries I ordered from you three years 

 ago have been the wonder and admiration of the 

 neighborhood. (]Miss) Nettie E. Hill. 



Hartfobd Co., Conn., July 1.5. 1913. 

 Been in the berry business since*^ 1866. The 

 Abingtons I got from you were the finest berries 

 I ever saw. M. C. Woodford. 



Hartford Co., Conn., July 19, 1913. 



The plants I got of you last August are doing 

 finely; also the plants and Grape Vine I got this 

 spring. The Morning Star and William Belt 

 Strawberries are the best I have ever eaten. 



Chas. S. Darling. 



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