GREAT CROPS OF STRAWBERRIES AND HOW TO GROW THEM a rcasor 
CopyrlKbt 1914, by B. M. Kellogg Co., Three Rivers, Mich. 
KEI.I-OGG PLANTS SURPASS ALL OTHERS 
WRITING under date of November 1, 1913, C. H. Penton ot Randolph, Ohio, says: "I am writing to tell 
you about the success I have had with the strawberry plants I bought of you last spring. I wish you 
could see the patch. I never had plants do better — some of the plants have made as many as eight crowns. 
They are grown under the hill system. They are the nicest plants in this town, and some good judges say 
they beat anything they ever saw." Thousands of customers send us testimonials of this gratifying nature. 
be consistent with their .quality and productive 
value. 
Soil Preparation 
THE NEXT important feature of strawberry- 
growing is soil preparation. If your soil 
is in a healthy and productive condition, so 
much in your favor. If it is sick and run 
down, it must be treated In a manner that 
will bring it back into a profit-making con- 
dition. Virgin soil Is mellow and rich because 
nature has filled it with decayed matter 
(humus). The same thing will make wornout 
soil mellow and productive. 
Manure. Barnyard manure makes an Ideal 
fertilizer, because it carries with it essential 
plant-building elements and stores the soil 
with humus. All animal manures are good for 
strawberries, and they may be applied any 
time during the fall and winter months when 
there is not much else to do. The winter rains 
and melting snows will carry the leachings ot 
the manure into the soil, and there will be but 
little waste unless the ground is very sloping. 
Hilly and sloping ground should be manured 
at a time when it can be plowed under soon 
after spreading, and by replowing in the spring 
before planting, the manure will be brought 
to the surface where it may be well incor- 
porated with the top soil. 
Other Animal Fertilizers. As many of our 
customers are engaged to a greater or less 
extent in poultry raising, the question of the 
value as a fertilizer of chicken droppings fre- 
quently arises. They are excellent, but should 
be handled with care. If they are mixed with 
two parts of dry earth or dust to one part of 
droppings, they will better retain their rich- 
ness, and they will be diluted to a proper 
degree for application to the soil. Heavy with 
nitrogen, chicken droppings need to be modified 
in this way before applying, and then we advise 
that they be scattered lightly over the surface 
of the garden plot and plowed under, so that 
their excessive richness in this element may 
not result in injury. Droppings are strong also 
in phosphorus, but contain little potassium. 
Another animal fertilizer that has of late 
years become very popular is pulverized sheep 
manure. Scattered at the rate ot 1,500 to 2,000 
pounds to the acre, it is found to be Ideal in 
the producing of quick as well as permanent 
results. This fertilizer is perfectly desiccated 
before pulverizing, so that all weed seeds are 
eliminated. 
Legumes. If you cannot get manure, you 
will find legume crops ideal soil improvers. 
Cow peas and soy beans may be drilled at 
the rate of five pecks per acre. Sow in June 
or early July. The ground should be plowed 
early and harrowed at intervals of every week 
for several weeks before planting, to destroy 
weed growth. Winter vetch (also known as 
sand vetch and hairy vetch) Is an ideal legume 
and is one of our favorites, because it may be 
sown late in the fall. From twenty to twenty- 
five pounds per acre ot seed will be sufficient. 
Sowing in the tall allows the berry grower to 
plow his old fruiting bed after berries are 
picked and to work the ground thoroughly 
before seeding. It may be sown as late as 
September 1st. The vetch grows during winter 
when the ground is not frozen, and in the 
spring it develops very rapidly. 
Experiments show that full benefit is not 
derived from winter vetch until it fully ma- 
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