A field of Strawberries as grown by one of our customers 



Suggestions for Planting Strawberries 



n! 



F ALL the small-fruits the Strawberr\' is probably of the greatest commercial importance 

 in this country-. There is no plant that adapts itself so well to all conditions and to all 



■ ^ ■ sorts of soil, whether loam, sand or clay. Good drainage is absolutely essential, but the 

 ^k M plants should have a liberal supply of moisture at fruiting season, therefore a "springy" 



Zl^^t^^TZ. soil is to be preferred. Avoid setting the plants in land that has been for a long time in 

 grass, for in such places you will find the larv^ae of the May beetle, which are extremely 

 destructive to small plants. The soil cannot be made too fertile, and the richer it is made 

 and the more humus you can get into it, the better will be the crop. Stable manure is prob- 

 ably the best fertilizer that can be used, although there is an objection on account of the grass seeds which 

 may be brought in. If commercial fertilizer is used it can be made at home, and the following formula is 

 probably the best: .Acid phosphate (i6 per cent), 900 lbs.; nitrate of soda, 100 lbs.; fish-scrap, 600 lbs.; 

 sulphate of potash, 400 lbs. This will make a ton. This fertilizer should be applied broadcast and worked 

 well into the soil before the plants are set, or applied as a top-dressing and worked into the soil after the 

 plants have started to grow. Don't put directly under the plants when setting, as thousands upon thou- 

 sands of Strawberry plants have been killed in this way, and the one furnishing the plants accused of fur- 

 nishing poor stock. We repeat, don't put commercial fertilizer directly under Strawberr>' plants, when 

 setting. 



In the middle and northern states Strawberries should be planted in the spring. In the southern states 

 fall and spring planting are both practicable. The plants should be set as early in spring as the soil can be 

 worked, the esirlier the better. If the plants are grown in matted rows, a distance of 3^ feet between 

 the rows is best, but if for garden culture they can be set in hills 15 inches by 3 feet. If planted in this 

 latter way, and the runners are kept off, you can get large crops of berries. For field culture the matted 

 row is a method in general use. In large plantings furrows are run from 3>^ to 4 feet apart, and another 

 furrow thrown from each side, making a small ridge, which should be raked flat enough so that the plants 

 will be level after first cultivation. This gives you a good, mellow bed for planting. The plants are set in 

 this row, and it is especially important that they be set at the proper depth. The crown of the roots should 

 be even with the surface of the soil, and the earth pressed firmly about them. Some growers set plants as 

 close as 15 inches in the rows, but the usual distance is from 20 to 24 inches. 



Strawberry plants bear pistillate and staminate blossoms, and in planting pistillate varieties a row of 

 the staminate sorts should be set about ever%- fourth or fifth row. Some commercial growers recommend 

 planting the perfect-flowering sorts ever>' third row. 



It is advisable in the middle states and in the Xorth in general to protect the plants in winter. A mulch 

 of wheat-straw or salt meadow-hay in the late fall should be applied, just enough to cover the crowns of 

 the plants. With the earliest start of the leaves in the spring, the mulch should be pulled back from the 

 plants and left on the beds to keep the fruit clean. After the mulch is off, and before the fruiting season, 

 keep a sharp lookout for weeds that will start in the rows. After the plants have fruited, if the beds are to 

 be carried over for a second crop, cultivation should be started at once and continued the balance of the 

 season. 



OUR TESTIMONIALS. 



Every testimonial in this catalogue was sent us without solicitation. 



We never ask for them, but we appreciate tliem all the more. We 

 shall be pleased to have you read them, and you will then understand why we have so many friends 

 who recommend us to other friends who want plants. We wish we had room for more — we have 

 hundreds of them. 



