10 
GREAT CROPS OF STRAWBERRIES AND HOW TO GROW THEM 
R. M. Kellogg Co., Three Rivers, Mich. 
Loading Express Car with Kellogg Thoroughbreds 
'TPHE volume of shipments of strawberry plants from the Kellogg Farms from the beginning to the end of the shipping 
■■■ season scarcely la reahzable without an object lesson. Every day we ship vast quantities by freight and by mail 
but by far the larger part of our orders go by express. The loading of an e.xpress car as shown above is a typical scene 
During the season of 1908 we shipped thirty special express carloads ; that is, thirty cars were furnished by the American 
Express Co. for our exclusive use. In addition to these special express cars, shipments were made on practically every 
train carrying express out of Three Rivers, from March 27 to the latter days of May— and there are eight trains daily. 
I he number of plants shipped was approximately twenty-live millions. 
fully ripe. If fruit is to be shipped a long dis- 
tance, pick the fruit under-ripe. Let the dis- 
tance the fruit is to be shipped govern the de- 
gree of ripeness. Don't pull the berries, but 
pinch them off, leaving short stem on each one. 
Note the appearance of each of our more than 
fifty varieties as they appear at the top of their 
respective pages in this book, and you will ob- 
serve that each has a short stem. When pick- 
ing the berries, handle them as lightly and as 
little as possible. Don't pick when vines are 
wet unless absolutely necessary. Grade ber- 
ries while picking, putting fancy fruit in sep- 
arate boxes from the No. 2 grade. Be sure 
to have berries the same on top and bottom 
of the box. Arrange top layer evenly and at- 
tractively (see page 30). Pack in clean, 
neat boxes, and use full quart measure. Clean 
crates also should be used. Label each crate 
of fancy fruit. Make arrangements for mar- 
keting before berries are ripe. 
Renewing Old Bed. — After fruit is picked 
mow off the vines. For this work the hay 
mower, the scythe or the sickle may be used, 
depending upon the implement available. Cut 
the vines close to the ground. When dry, 
loosen mulching with fork or hay tedder, then 
burn over the entire field (see page 39), unless 
rain comes after plants are cut and new growth 
starts before the refuse becomes dry enough 
to burn. In such a case do not burn, but rake 
up the mulching, and all other refuse, in piles 
and haul away. After burning or cleaning off 
the patch, cut a furrow from each side of the 
row (see page 40). After this cultivate with 
five-tooth cultivator ; then cross the rows 
with weeder or spike-tooth harrow. These tools 
loosen the soil in the rows and draw soil over 
the crown of the plants. (See page 40). 
After this cultivate the bed the same as in 
the case of new-set plants. You will observe 
that we recommend that the crowns of old 
plants be covered with soil after burning over 
and rows are narrowed down. This is be- 
cause the roots of old plants have become wiry 
and almost useless, and in order to encourage 
a new root system it is necessary that the 
crown be barely covered with fine soil. In 
the case of newly-set plants the roots are 
young and are full of vitality, and from these 
will start feeding roots. 
Our shipping season usually begins the last week in March and continues up to the Ist of June. We ship no plants at 
any other season to anybody anywhere. 
