Digging Strawberries at Monmouth Nursery. 



Strawberries give the great- 

 est yield and the largest berries 

 when grown in rich soil; hence 

 no pains should be spared in 

 preparing the bed carefully be- 

 fore planting by digging, or 

 ploughing deeply and turning 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. 

 Select a location where the soil 

 is moist and deep, if possible — 

 moist and yet where water does 

 not stand near or upon the surface. In such a soil, well enriched, the 

 strawberry delights and gives marvelous results. It will, however, succeed 

 upon almost any soil if well manured. Strawberries do not succeed when 

 planted beneath trees; hence in selecting a location for them be careful and 

 avoid places that are shaded by trees. Before planting, the roots of the 

 plants should be shortened about one-third, which will cause them to 

 quickly emit a profusion of new fibers. The pruning should be done by 

 holding a bunch of plants in one hand and with a sharp knife in the other 

 trim off the roots as shown in the accompanying illustration. All straw- 

 berry plants sent out by me are tied in bunches with roots straightened in 

 one ciirection, that they may be well packed in shipment and easily handled 

 when received. In planting, expose the plants as little as possible to the 

 wind or sun. Do not plant very deep, 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 the rows 2 feet apart and the plants 15 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 3 feet apart with the plants 1 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 cul- 

 tivation. At the approach of Winter (as soon as the ground is frozen sufficient to support the weight of 

 a horse and cart) cover the entire bed with salt hay or loose light material. Light strawy manure is 

 excellent for this purpose, as the soluble portion leaches into the soil and affords nourishment to the 

 plants while the fibrous portion remains upon the surface as a mulch. Evergreen branches are very useful 

 for securing the covering in place, and are in themselves a protection. 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 sur- 

 face about the plants to protect the fruit and keep it clean and also keep the soil moist and cool. An 

 application of unleached wood ashes or muriate of potash along the rows very early hi the Spring, just 

 before a rain-fall, will be found to increase the size, beauty and flavor of the berries. 



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

 (imperfect), and the varieties named in this pamphlet are perfect except those marked with the letter P, 

 which are pistillate. The pistillate flowers differ from the hermaphrodite or perfect ones in being desti- 

 tute of stamens, or nearly so, and unable, therefore, to properly fructify themselves. It is consequently 

 essential, when pistillate varieties are grown, that a perfect flowered variety be planted near them in- 

 order to properly pollenize their blossoms, in the proportion of one row of perfect flowered plants to 

 about every four or five rows of pistillate ones. When thus properly fertilized the pistillate varieties 

 are often the most productive, and there is really no good reason for the prejudice with which some 

 growers regard them. If but one variety be grown, however, it is, of course, essential that it be a per- 

 fect flowered sort and not a pistillate. It is best always to plant at least three varieties — early, medium, 

 and late, to expand the season of fruiting. to its full limits. 



A SEVERE TEST OF VITALITY AND MERIT. 



St. Tammany Co., La , Oct. 3, 1903. 



The strawberry plants I ordered received in fine condition. 

 If they don't do something it will not be in the plants, for they 

 were surely fine. I have them set out, and they don't look as 

 thongh they had ever been moved. 



Now, here is another thing that happens in this section; a 



strawberry plant never stops growing until it is done bearing, 

 and then it dies and is of no account whatever. 



My plants perform the same work in a year that they took 

 four to do in the North. Now I would like to know why it is 

 that the plants I get of you do better in every way than those 

 I get elsewhere. L. L. Thomas, 



