July 17, 1890. J 
43 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
early in spring for transplanting, if desired to extend the crop, in 
rows from 12 to 1G inches apart, and at from 6 to 12 inches from 
plant to plant in the rows. The latter distance should be given to 
iplants intended for exhibition. 
The only after attention necessary until the bulbs have com¬ 
pleted their growth is to keep them free from w r eeds and the soil 
stirred between the rows occasionally with the Dutch hoe, this as 
much with a view to accelerate growth in the plants as to destroy 
seedling weeds. Guano water at the rate of a 3-inch flowerpotful 
of guano to 6 gallons of water, applied at the roots during the 
months of April and May, will tend to the production of large fine 
bulbs, and an occasional application of soot water at the roots will, 
m addition to stimulating growth, arrest, if not prevent, the attacks 
of the grub or Onion maggot, which frequently work great havoc 
among the bulbs. The best varieties to grow are the Queen, only 
■a few rows for very early use ; Early White Naples, three parts 
of the sowing made should consist of this excellent Onion ; Giant 
Zittau, and Sutton’s Giant Blood Red Rocca. — H. W. Ward, 
Longford Castle , Salisbury. 
THE BRITISH FRUIT GROWERS' ASSOCIATION. 
STRAWBERRY CONFERENCE. 
(Centbiued from jpage 22 .) 
STRAWBERRIES FOR MARKET. 
By MR. G. BUSTARD. 
This crop is most extensively grown for market in the county of 
Kent, and I propose in the first place to give a resume of the usual wav 
they are cultivated there and then to detail the varieties. Soil and 
situation will come first. 
The best soil is a deep stiff loam rather inclined to clay than a 
lighter sandy mixture, and by preference such as does not feel the 
summer drought to a great degree, but avoiding the chalky uplands 
and the sandy drifts. Strawberries seem to flourish on all other soils 
provided deep and clean culture is carried out and a heavy manuring is 
applied before the plants are put in. I have seen them grand in cool 
clay bottoms and in the higher flinty and pebbly soils which are com¬ 
mon in the Crays district near Swanley. 
Situation is unimportant, all that is requisite is an open space free 
fiom trees, and the larger the field the better, the aim being to reduce 
manual by substituting horse labour in hoeing, and such open fields are 
more readily kept clean than where they are bounded by woods and 
intersected with hedges. 
It is important to have the land thoroughly clean at first, and in 
order to do this a crop such as Potatoes, Cauliflowers, Peas or Beans 
may be taken the previous years, when the ground can be kept quite 
free from weeds, and be frequently stirred and laid up for the action of 
sun, wind, and frost to purify and mellow it. 
Preparation of the Soi'. —This must be deeply cultivated ; large 
fields may be ploughed by steam, and if both ways so much the better, 
in smaller ones the land may be deeply dug or trenched, being pre¬ 
viously manured with 35 to ,)0 tons of manure per acre, and harrowed 
down two or three ways about a fortnight before planting. The cost of 
manure, carting, spreading, ploughing, coal, &c., wiil be about £15 to 
£20 per acre, or if dug £25 to £30. 
Planting .—This is generally done in March, when all danger from 
the runners being lifted by frost is passed, and the plants are about 
making their rootlets, when they strike at once and soon develop fine 
liealthy foliage ; an ingenious marker with spokes on a wheel which 
strike the land at regular distances is used, and the planters then follow 
with the dibble and plant by the acre. The distance preferred in Kent 
is 32 inches between the rows, the plants being 16 inches apart. Care 
must be taken that the crowns are not buried beneath the soil, and they 
should be set as firmly as possible. 
Summer Cultivation. —The first year consists in removing the 
runners about four times with a sharp knife, horse-hoeing to keep down 
the weeds, and hand-hoeing between the plants. 
Autumn Cultivation is completed by earthing-up the plants with a 
mould board plough to protect the fo iage, and to allow the water to 
drain away from the crowns ; the plough is set as shallow as possible. 
Cultivation in Spring .— The field will require horse-hoeing to level 
down the plough ridges in March or April when the land is°dry, and 
after a hand-hoeing when the plants are in bloom ; the fields are littered 
with barley straw, requiring about 2i to 3 loads per acre (about li ton) 
preparatory to picking. 
Cultivation First iear of Cropping. —As soon as the crop is cleaned 
the straw is raked off, the runners and old dead foliage having been 
removed by a bagging hook; the horse hoe is used again, and every 
encouragement given to the plants to develop foliage and make plump 
crowns for the second season’s crop, which is generally the best. The 
straw is used in the cattle yards, and thus pajs for cost of removah 
Expenses per Acre. —Estimated roughly the cost per acre up to the 
time of picking may be set at nearly £50 per acre— i.e., £25 per year 
first and second years per acre; the expenses for the rest of the series 
of years the crop i9 on the land being very much less. If five years an 
average of £15 to £20 per acre. 
Duration of Crop .—About five years is considered the utmost that a 
profitable crop can be expected, as when the fruit becomes small the 
market value will not be remunerative. 
Average Yield .—Two tons per acre is considered a fair yield, much 
more is occasionally taken, and rarely less. 
Price .—This varies year by year according to the weather, a dry 
warm time stimulating the consumption ; from £16 to £28 per ton wi'l 
be a fair average. The cost of picking and packing is about 4d. to fid, 
for 12 lbs., this is done by women, boys, and girls, and they are paid by 
the dozen or gross in punnets, and by the peck later in the season, this 
is included in the expenses quoted per acre. 
The usual plan is to place a shed at a convenient spot for the vans to 
load and for the pickers to assemble, and as each set of punnets or peck 
basket is brought in a tin tally is given to the picker, which is turned 
into cash as required. Some large growers dress the Strawberry land 
three times a year, using soot or artificial manure, and an autumn and 
spring dose of farmyard dung. After the third year a mulching of 
manure, about 15 to 20 tons per acre, must be placed round the plants 
to assist them, and this might be annually repeated, as the Strawberry 
lands are so well cared for that one or two crops can betaken after they 
are ploughed up without extra manure. 
The uses of Strawberries are well known. As a dessert fruit they 
take the first place, and as a preserve are very rich. The custom is to 
send all the earlier pickings for table use in punnets, and to “ Plum ” 
the rest for the jam makers when they are stripped off the stalks. As 
regards the consumption it increases year by year in a remarkable 
degree, and when the price gets low they are eagerly purchased by the 
working classes. In 1888 the crop was very large, and one retailer in 
Maidstone sold 1200 lbs. over the counter on a Saturday, when formerly 
you could scarcely buy a basket in the town at all ; truly the luxuries 
of one generation are the necessities of the next. 
It may be asked, What are the profits of Strawberry growing ? The 
growers are naturally reticent in giving these particulars, but 1 gather 
from various sources that from £20 to £40 per acre may be expected 
where the plantations are well done and cared for, and put on the 
market in good condition. None but the best make top prices, and care 
to the little details of culture will bring an adequate reward, and at 
times an exceptional profit. My notes give 6000 pecks of 12 lbs. each 
as the largest picking at the Crays on one farm alone, while another 
grower is said to have 2000 acres, and picked 360 tons in one week. 
As Strawberries are very perishable the plantations should be near a 
railway to avoid as far as possible the bruising in transit. In the great 
Strawberry districts picking commences as soon as daylight allows, and 
the earliest pickings go in special vans for Manchester, Birmingham, 
and the large centres of consumption, later pickings being in time for 
the London markets. Growers in other parts deliver to the towns 
daily in spring vans. This enables to put them in the market in a fresh 
condition. The bottom of the van should have 1 foot of straw in it to 
prevent jolting, and a neat light cover should be placed over them to 
exclude the sun and dust. 
As regards sorts, in market work only those that carry well can be 
large grown, and in this respect none approach Sir Joseph Paxton, its 
fine rich colour, firm flesh, and glossy skin make it taking in appearance. 
It is as hardy as any kind and most productive. For an earlier crop 
Alice Maud or Yicomtesse H. de Thury are used in some grounds, and 
Sir Charles Napier for a main crop, while Elton Pine and Eleanor are 
favoured for a late crop. Laxton’s Noble will be very much grown in 
a few years, its large size and freedom of crop and vigorous growth are 
what the growers desire. We picked fruit nearly an ounce in weight on 
June 13tb, and no other kind can compare with it for earliness and 
bountiful crop. This is the early market Strawberry of the future. 
The practice in other counties is slightly different ; for example, in 
Scotland, where they are extensively grown about Aberdeen, the small 
early kinds, Black Prince and King of Earlies, furnish the first gather¬ 
ings, and Eliza, President, and British Queen are grown, and as the 
rainfall there is considerable the beds will last in good order as long as 
eight years. 
British Queen is well grown near Sandwich where the cool, deep, and 
rather heavy loam suits them ; but, as a rule, this variety is not a paying 
crop as it bears sparsely, and the beds must be renewed every other 
year. 
For preserving, Mr. Beach, the contractor for Lord Sudeley’s exten¬ 
sive fruit farms in Gloucescershire, prefers the old Carolina Pine to any 
other for jam purposes ; the colour is bright, and it makes a delicious 
whole fruit preserve. In the same district Sir Charles Napier, Stirling 
Castle Pine are preferred with Sir J. Paxton for punnet sale. 
In the Cornish system the planting distance is only 20 by 14 inches for 
small growing kinds and 20 by 16 for others. Here again by deep cultiva¬ 
tion and heavy manuring beds are sometimes retained as long as fifteen 
years. Possibly the rainfall keeps the plants in health and vigour, while 
the proximity to the sea may be advantageous. One farmer there picks 
an average of tw r o tons per day, and as all are marketed with baskets 
this represents an e rormous picking. 
In conclusion I would venture to suggest a trial of more varieties, such 
as James Veitch for earlies, and Waterloo, Laxton’s Jubilee, and Aberdeen 
Late for late sorts. Waterloo is of very dark colour (quite a Mulberry) 
but its fine appearance would in time command a sale. A grower says 
it sells for double the price of others at the same season. Jubilee is an 
enormous cropper. A plot of land should be set aside, and two or three 
new or fresh varieties tried every year, as both early and late Straw¬ 
berries are much appreciated. 
