J. T. LOVETT. LITTLE SILVER. N. J. 



65 



Strawberries 



Strawberries give the greatest yield and the largest berries when grown in rich, well-prepared soil; hence no 

 pains should be spared in preparing the bed carefully before planting, by digging or ploughing deeply and turn- 

 ing under a liberal coating of well-rotted stable manure. Harrow or rake down finely, and if at this time a top 

 dressing of ground bone can be applied, it will be found a great benefit at fruiting time. Before planting, the 

 roots of the plants should be shortened about one-third, which will cause them to emit a profusion of new fibres. 

 In planting, expose the plants as little as possible to the wind or sun. Do not plant very deeply, but be sure and 

 press the soil firmly about the roots. Should the weather be warm, shade valuable plants for a few days with a 

 handful of coarse litter, etc., over each plant. For hill culture in the family garden, set in rows two feet apart 

 and the plants fifteen inches apart in the rows, cutting off all runners as they appear. For field culture, where they 

 are to be worked by horse and cultivator and permitted to form matted rows, plant in rows three feet apart with 

 the plants one foot apart in the rows, requiring 14,520 plants per acre. 



The after culture consists in keeping the soil mellow and free from weeds by frequent hoeing or cultivation. 

 At the approach of winter, cover the entire bed with salt-meadow hay or other loose, light material. When the 

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

 leave it on the surface about the plants, to protect the fruit and keep it clean and also keep the soil moist and 

 cool. 



The blossoms of all strawberries in cultivation are either hermaphrodite (perfect) or pistillate (imperfect), 

 and the varieties named in this catalog have perfect blossoms, except those marked with the letter P, which are 

 pistillate. It is best always to plant at least three varieties — early, medium and late — to expand the season of fruit- 

 ing to its full limits. 



The growing of Strawberries, (plants for shipment and fruit for market), has been a leading feature of the 

 Monmouth Nursery for over thirty years. During this time hundreds of varieties have been tested, including nearly 

 every one offered for sale, and all that developed any serious defect discarded; hence those herein named are "the 

 survival of the fittest" and may justly be regarded as the very best varieties at present in commerce. 



It is with pleasure I am enabled to announce my plants for the present spring are exceedingly fine — taken as 

 a whole about the best lot I have ever grown — and I have a very large stock of them. Did space permit I 

 would print a number of letters recently received from patrons stating how well they were pleased with Strawberry 

 plants sent out by me and how very satisfactory the returns have been. I shall try to find room for a few of 

 them. 



SILVERo COIN 

 The Strawberr}/^ for Everybody Everywhere 



It is a midseason variety that excels in uniting all desirable properties. Its salient points are exquisite color, 

 luscious flavor and great productiveness. The berries are not only large, but very nearly all of them are large — • 

 even those that ripen at the end of the season, and they are the most uniform in size and shape of any variety I 

 have ever grown, being bluntly conical and about as regular in size and form as Pippin apples. The color is a 

 brilliant flame red — similar to the popular Gandy — in fact, so brilliant and attractive that it sells in market at sight 

 for five to ten cents a quart more than the other large varieties usually grown, retaining its bright color until the 

 fruit decays. The quality is rich, sugary and delicious — surpassing all varieties of its season as yet in commerce, 

 with the possible exception of McKinley. Last, but not least, the texture is very firm; hence it is unexcelled as a 

 shipper and keeper. The plant is of strong, vigorous habit, with large, spotless foliage that never rusts, blights nor 

 mildews. Its fruit stalks are long and extremely large and strong, holding the enormous crop of fruit well from the 

 ground. The blossom is large and vigorously staminate; the fruit is highly perfumed. 



Silver Coin has been thoroughly tested for many years by the side of Win. Belt and other popular varieties in 

 extended field culture; it has yielded in profit more than two dollars to one from any other varieties from space 

 of equal extent. It can readily be produced at a cost of two cents per quart. 



Extract from Report of Speciai, Fruit and Flower Commitiee, New Jersey State Horticultural Society 

 FOR 1909: "The Silver Coin Strawberry which is being introduced by John T. Lovett, I saw growing in an old 

 patch, and found it to be a berry of deserved merit. It is a very prolific and liealthy plant. The fruit is large, 

 bright red and firm, and is one of the varieties that is promising both as a market and family berry." 



Dozen, 25c; 100, 75c; 1,000, $5.00. 



