354 



A TRUCKER'S RE VIZARDS. 



age." This is precisely the effect it has with us. The 

 plants are large and grow with great vigor, and are ' ' full 

 of sap." They will stand drouth well and keep far 

 longer in bearing than plants on poorer land. We set 

 out plants in the spring and give the land a dressing of 

 superphosphate and nitrate of soda, say 500 lbs. of each 

 per acre. If the soil was poor and sandy we would use 

 potash also, or buy a superphosphate containing potash. 

 Keep the land free from weeds or the weeds will devour 



the nitrate. Then the next spring sow another 500 lbs. 

 of superphosphate and nitrate, each per acre, broadcast 

 over the whole land. Sow as early in the spring as the 

 frost is out of the ground and keep the land clean with 

 shallow cultivator and hoe, and if other conditions are 

 favorable I believe you will have a fine crop of straw- 

 berries of the highest quality. 



- Please observe that the nitrate and superphosphate are 

 sown early in the spring — not when the fruit is forming. 



A TRUCKERS REWARDS. 



CROPS THAT PAID AND CROPS THAT DID NOT PAY. 



FTER READING the result of 



Theo. Baker's experience in The 



American Garden last year, on 



of an acre, whereon he made 



a profit of some ^18, one would 



suppose that gardeners should 



all be rich by this time. But 



such is not the case, with this 



gardener at least. I give you 



below iny experience with a few crops last year. 



The reader must bear in mind that the crops were 



sold at retail, that the season was quite unfavorable, 



and that we had frosts in May and September. This 



makes the season shorter than Mr. Baker's. 



Plot No. I, xV ^'^''^ ' sandy loam. Crops, 



lettuce, cabbage and celery. This ground was plowed 



April 14 ; after harrowing, the plot was marked out in 



rows 12 inches apart. The first row I set with cabbage, 



2 feet apart, and between the cabbage a lettuce plant. 



The next three rows with lettuce, 12 inches apart ; fourth 



row same as first row, and so on ; all set April 14. 



The varieties of lettuce were Tennis Ball and Early 



Curled Simpson (black seed); of cabbage, Early Jersey 



Wakefield, the seed of which were sown in flats under 



the staging of the greenhouse, February 22. The lettuce 



was transplanted into other flats and set two inches 



apart, about March 15. The cabbage plants were 



thinned out to the same distance. I cut the first lettuce 



May 24 ; it was all cleared off June 26. I cut the first 



cabbage July 10; it was all cleared off Aug. 17. The 



lettuce was cleared off before the cabbage needed the 



room. After clearing the lettuce I plowed the ground 



between the rows of cabbage, the rows being 4 ft. apart, 



and set the same with celery (White Plume and Golden 



Heart), July 14. The weather being very dry for a 



month, the celery did not do very well. The cabbage 



was cleared off Aug. 17, and I again plowed the ground 



between the rows of celery, giving thorough cultivation 



throughout the whole season. Now for the results : 



617 heads lettuce $12 20 



194 heads cabbage 8 16 



150 bunches celery 15 00 



Total 35 36 



Rate per acre 601 12 



The above plot was manured the fall previous with two 

 tons of well-rotted manure, costing about $3.50. As the 

 plot was cultivated at odd times, it is impossible to give 

 the cost of cultivation ; and the crops being sold with 

 other produce, the cost of marketing can not be esti- 

 mated. This plot also supplied my family of six per- 

 sons with an abundance of the above vegetables. 



Plot No. 2, three acres. Soil, sandy loam and gravel ; 

 crop, potatoes, five varieties. April 26th I plowed under 

 a heavy timothy sod, and planted the potatoes April 28. 



7'/< bbls. seed potatoes $9 25 



800 lbs. phosphate, in hills 13 75 



500 lbs. plaster i 50 



2 lbs. Paris green 50 



Digging 3 50 



Ploughing and cultivating 10 00 



Interest on land 15 00 



Total expenses $53 50 



RESULT. 



23 bbls. marketable potatoes, @ $2 $46 00 



5 " seed potatoes, ® $1 5 00 



5 " small potatoes, @ 30 c i 50 



Total receipts $52 50 



The profit I leave to the reader to figure for himself, as 

 I have done. 



A Crop that Paid Little. — In the spring of i88g, a 

 plot of -j',- of an acre of corn stubble, which had been 

 manured the year previous, was plowed under and plant- 

 ed with strawberry plants, as follows ; 900 Parry, 900 

 American and 1,200 Sharpless. The plants did well, 

 and by fall almost covered the ground. They were cov- 

 ered as follows : the Sharpless with manure, the Parry 

 with tomato vines, and the American with corn stalks. 

 When uncovered in the spring, I could not see that one 

 variety looked any better than the others, thus satisfying 

 me that the covering is of little importance. At bloom- 

 ing time the Sharpless looked the best, being well loaded 

 with blossoms, so much so that a neighbor of thirty years 

 experience in the berry business thought the Sharpless 

 would yield twice the number of quarts that the Ameri- 

 can would. Everything looked promising for a good 

 crop, when 'the heavy rains set in. I am satisfied that 

 these did a great injury, as they destroyed much pollen, 

 causing many blossoms to blast. I commenced picking 

 June 17 and finished July 6, during which time no rain 



