Straiberries, and Bow Be Grows Them 
KI,ONDIKE. 
MEDIUM. El-sexual. This is certainly the real 
Klondike. It Isn't nece.s.sary to kiss your wife and 
bablf,s good-bye and go to Alaska for riches; you 
can now have a Klondike right on your own farm that 
will mine out the pure gold without taking any 
chances. Another year has passed and it shows up 
in big, roundish berries better than ever. It is very 
prolific, the berries are large and smooth and they 
hold up in size throughout tlie season There is a 
great scramble for it among the Commission dealers 
on account of its lirmncss and reaching the market 
In such fine condition. Growers ai-e wild over it in the - 
South as well as in the North, and a large call for it 
came to us last season, several asking tor fifty thou- 
.sand plants, and telegrams were also received late In 
our shipping season asking if we could furnish plants 
for large acreage. This year we have a large stock 
of this grand variety priced along with our other 
standards. We have taken it through the third year 
of selection in our breeding bed: it proves to be a 
money maker In all localities. 
greater is its capacity for holding moisture. 
In the warm days of spring, when the plants 
are undergoing tlie strain caused by resetting, 
they need a great amount of moisture and 
hence cultivation should start at once after the 
plants arc set. A dust mulch made by frequent^ 
cultivations will close up soil capillarity, pre- 
venting moisture from escaping; it is also effec- 
tive by bringing available plant food near the- 
warm surface so the roots can take' up the 
materi.al needed to give the plants a vigorous 
growth. . • 
Most soils have enough plant food to produce 
a big crop of berries providing it is made avail-: 
able by bringing it into a soluble condition. 
This is best done by working in vegetable mat-, 
ter, incorporating it thoroughly with the soil, 
working it up fine and firm so moisture shall 
be retained to dissolve the plant foods and 
combine them with the soil grains. Clotfs may, 
be full of plant food but it is locked u.p and is' 
of no value until fined and dissolved by moist-, 
lire. It requires five hundred times tlie amount^ 
in weight of water to build up one pound of 
solid material in plants and the roots can only 
feed by absorbing liquid solution: therefore it 
is essential that sufficient moisture be present 
at all times during the growing period, tlant- 
food digestion in the soil is a process some- 
what similar to that of digestion of the animal 
stomach and too much vegetable matter, or 
MONITOR. 
MEDIUM TO LATE. El-se.\ual. Introduced from 
Missouri six years ago: tried and tested at all the 
experiment stations. It is very productive, large 
berries, light color and most splendid flavor. Just as 
true as a top; picture shows it exactly, an extra 
meaty berry and one of the very choicest tor table 
use. Every family garden .should include this one as 
they are so big; no trouble to get your company to 
stay for dinner when these are ripe. Foliage a dark 
green and a thrifty grower. Selected six years in 
breeding bed. 
humas may cause indigestion if not rightly 
distributed and evenly mixed with the soil. 
More generally indigestion of the soil is caused 
by the failure of digestive bacteria to develop, 
or the wrong kind being present. Tillage is 
one of the chief means of hastening digestion 
of plant foods and bringing them into activity. 
It. is..trncjthat intensive cultivation has a ten- 
dency to burn the humus out of the soil by 
the changing and turning up repeatedly to the 
sun, and the addition of fresh supplies of 
vegetable matter must be given proportionate- 
ly to the amount of tillage. Frequent pulver- 
izing by cultivation increases soil bacteria, 
showing concliisively that a certain amount 
of cultivation is necessary in order to keep 
bacteria, moisture and plant food working 
together' to get a satisfactory growth. Bac- 
teria is also increased by the introduction of 
humus ia sufficient quantities to form food for 
them, and their growth is stimulated by con- 
tinuous tillage; also a better aeration given 
them by frequent cultivation as well as con- 
servation of moisture. There is some danger, 
however, of cultivating too often, bringing 
plant food into a digestive form and making it 
available faster than the plants can use it to 
good advantage, thiis causing a waste. Soil 
should be cultivated as soon after each rain 
as possible, taking care not to work it until 
the top surface will crumble, repeating this in 
five or six days; afterwards every eight days 
is often enough until rain comes again. By 
these cultural methods plants can be taken 
through two months' drought without any ma- 
terial check in their growth. We find after 
the dust mulch lays eight or ten days undis- 
turbed it becomes settled, letting the mois- 
25 
