26 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



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PROGRESS IN STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 



( Conclusion.) 



An Address before the New Jersey State Horti- 

 cultural Society. 



By Dr. F. M. Hexamek. 



Of scarcely less importance to the Straw- 

 berry-grower is the proper selection and 

 application of fertilizers. How and from 

 what to reap the best returns for the money 

 invested is, and always will be, the leading 

 problem. There are, no doubt, many among 

 those present who know that bone-dust is 

 best ; others have used stable manure with 

 success, and want nothing else ; and still 

 others may be sure that there is nothing 

 better than a certain special Strawberry 

 fertilizer. All may be right, and showing 

 their good sense by continuing what they 

 found to be good and profitable ; nevertheless, 

 should these gentlemen change places with 

 each other, some would probably soon modify 

 their practices somewhat. 



Careful observation and extensive experi- 

 ments have convinced me that the Straw- 

 berry plant is not only a glutton, but an 

 epicure at the same time ; that it is not 

 satisfied with an abundance of the richest 

 food — it also insists upon having it prepared 

 in the most palatable manner, served in the 

 most dainty style and as often as it feels 

 inclined to partake of it. Of course, you 

 Can force and starve it to exist on most 

 anything rather than die ; but if you want 

 it to put on its sweetest airs, to be pleasant 

 and have rosy cheeks, and do its best gen- 

 erally, it must, like other pets, be coaxed 

 and petted. 



Now, wherever you keep your pets, be it 

 north or south, on sandy plains or on heavy 

 clay hill-sides, there is one decoy to which 

 they respond every time and without fail, 

 and this is a good, well-decayed compost. 

 Whatever the fertilizer to be used consists 

 of, composting increases its strength, en- 

 hances its value, and prepares it for the 

 immediate needs of the plants. I do not 

 wish to be understood as underrating the 

 value of stable manures nor of special fertil- 

 izers, some of which are among the crowning 

 triumphs of scientific agriculture, but I do 

 assert that practice, as well as theory, have 

 proved that, however effective either alone 

 may be, combined they become often doubly 

 valuable. 



It is a great mistake to use commercial 

 fertilizers only to lengthen out the supply of 

 stable manure ; much better results may be 

 obtained by composting all the available 

 manure with all the purchased fertilizers, — 

 mixed with sufficient muck or soil to prevent 

 too violent fermentation, — and to distribute 

 the entire bulk over all the land to be culti- 

 vated. We all know that in seasons of severe 

 drought ordinary fertilizers rarely produce 

 the desired results, and that too much rain 

 carries a considerable part of fertilizing 

 matter below the reach of roots ; composts, 

 however, by reason of the minute division 

 of the active principles contained in them, 

 are immediately available as plant food, 

 and, by being evenly scattered over the sur- 

 face, benefit all plants alike, and become 

 absorbed in a shorter time than raw fer- 

 tilizers. 



To obtain the best results from composts, 

 ! it is advisable to divide the quantity to be 

 used during the season into several parts, 

 and to apply them at different intervals 

 instead of using all at one time. We practice 

 a similar method in feeding our animals : 

 we are careful to give them all, and no more, 

 than they will eat up clean at one meal, else 

 a part of the fodder becomes wasted and 

 useless, while with judicious feeding nothing 

 is wasted, and all the provender goes to 

 strengthen the animal. The same principle 

 underlies the system of feeding plants. 



I will not take up your time by entering 

 into the details of preparing compost heaps, 

 but I am sure that any one who will give 

 composted fertilizers a fair trial will soon 

 become convinced of their great value in 

 Strawberry culture What ready cash is 

 to the tradesman a good compost heap is to 

 the Strawberry-grower, although even the 

 latter does find a good bank balance in no 

 way inconvenient. As the merchant who 

 has ready cash is better prepared to strike an 

 advantageous bargain when opportunity of- 

 fers than one who has to wait till money 

 comes in before he can buy, so is the fruit- 

 grower who can rely on his compost heap in 

 some measure independent of weather and 

 seasons ; he can count on its good results 

 every time. 



I perceive that the material on hand has 

 already outgrown its intended dimensions, 

 and I shall be able to allude only to our prog- 

 ress in some other new methods in Straw- 

 berry culture. 



Irrigation is attracting much attention now. 

 We can hardly call it new, for the Egyptians 

 have practiced it to perfection more than 

 four thousand years ago, and at the present 

 time extensive systems of irrigation are found 

 in Italy, Spain, India, and many other coun- 

 tries of the eastern hemisphere. Except in 

 California, we have made only a few isolated 

 attempts in irrigation, but wherever tried 

 systematically it has proved eminently satis- 

 factory. The time cannot be far when we 

 shall become enlightened enough to utilize 

 the immense stores of fertility contained hi 

 our mountain lakes and streams, which are 

 now permitted to flow into the ocean. 



The use of Potted Plants has likewise be- 

 come more general, and as an article of trade 

 they are already of considerable importance. 

 For the amateur, and especially in cases 

 where spring planting is not practicable, 

 potted plants have certainly much in their 

 favor. With good potted plants, failure is 

 almost impossible. They may be set out 

 during summer, on ground from which a crop 

 of early vegetables has already been har- 

 vested, and produce nearly a full crop of 

 berries the following season. 



Before closing, will you permit me to re- 

 view briefly the benefits which progress in 

 Strawberry culture has brought, us, as a people 

 and as a nation. Let us leave for a moment 

 the crimson waves of the fragrant current 

 which we have seen rolling over Strawberry 

 fields and markets, to follow the mild ocean 

 breezes which fan the luscious aroma far 

 over the land ; let us follow the little curling 

 waves that flow through valleys and over 

 plains, and push their gentle ripples to the 

 remotest farm-house ; let us enjoy a plate of 

 luscious berries with the far-off pioneer, and 

 participate in the delight and enjoyment 

 which the divine fruit spreads in cot and 

 i palace alike. 



It is but a few years since Strawberries were 

 considered a great luxury, to be indulged in 

 only by the wealthy who could employ profes- 

 sional gardeners skilled in the mysteries ol 

 their culture. Improvement and progress 

 have dispersed these antiquated notions, and 

 have placed a Strawberry-bed in the garden 

 of every right-minded citizen. While many of 

 those present may remember the time when 

 Strawberries were hardly known as a luxury 

 even, it would be difficult to find now a 

 comfortable home in city or village, or on 

 the farm, where Strawberries do not consti- 

 tute an indispensable part of at least one 

 meal a day during the season. It is true 

 that improved means of communication and 

 transportation have greatly facilitated the 

 distribution of this delicate fruit, but were it 

 not for the improvements in Strawberries and 

 progress in Strawberry culture, could it be 

 supposed that our Strawberries of the past 

 would have become more disseminated than 

 they were then ? It is only through the won- 

 derful progress in cultivation and improve- 

 ments by hybridization that the Strawberry 

 has reached its present commercial impor- 

 tance. 



Statistics show that the value of Straw- 

 berries sold annually in our large cities 

 amounts to many millions of dollars, but the 

 priceless value in enjoyment, in good cheer 

 and health to the millions who grow and pick 

 and eat their own berries, is incalculable. 

 With the planting of every Strawberry-bed 

 on a farm where there was none before, the 

 corner-stone is laid for a happy home, for 

 every plant we intrust to the soil bears in it 

 the germs for happiness and health. Would 

 we know where the Strawberries grow, let us 

 drive along the country road to yonder cozy 

 cottage, where the rosy cheeks and bright 

 eyes, the happy faces and cheerful expression 

 of the children playing under the rose- 

 covered veranda, tell, plainer than words 

 can tell, that the Strawberry-bed is not far 

 away. 



But progress in Strawberry and other fruit 

 culture has accomplished more than invigor- 

 ated health, increased enjoyment, and made 

 home dearer to our children ; it has sharp- 

 ened observation, brightened thought, and 

 inspired the development and stability of 

 the noblest traits of human nature. No 

 plainer object-lesson was ever taught, 

 more impressive sermon preached, than that 

 which Nature has instilled in every root, in 

 every leaf, in every expanding bud, and every 

 fading flower which must wither that the 

 more perfect fruit may spring into life. • 



There is a class of people who do not 

 believe in progress, who think the world had 

 reached perfection when they were young, 

 and that it has gone backward since. But 

 who could, fifty years ago, have imagined the 

 wonderful progress of the present day, and 

 who can conceive what progressive ideas, 

 progressive minds, and progressive men will 

 accomplish in another half -century ? We 

 may, at times, go too fast, and make missteps, 

 or we may put on too much steam and burst 

 a boiler, but what of that ?— what does the 

 brave soldier care if he must lose his life that 

 his brothers may march to victory ? 



He who does not believe in progress is the 

 most virulent sore on the body of the com- 

 munity, the most dangerous enemy to society, 

 the state, and mankind ; far better that 

 he should perish than impede the wheel of 

 progress. 



