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VOL. L. NO. 217 
NEW YORK, OCTOBER 10, i89i 
PRICE, FIVE CENTS. 
$ 2.00 PER YEAR. 
IRRIGATING THE STRAWBERRY. 
Economical Use of Water. 
HE past dry season has ruined many a crop of 
strawberries. The plants were all right, the soil 
was in good condition, and there was plenty of 
fertilizer in it. Still the plants suffered. They lacked 
water, in a season like the past, the most important ele¬ 
ment of growth. A pound of strawberries contains more 
water than a pound of milk. For every pound of milk a 
cow gives she is obliged to drink several pounds of water, 
and she must have it every few hours. When we sell 300 
bushels of strawberries from an acre, we sell something 
over five tons of wat er, besides what is needed to support the 
vines, dissolve the fertilizer and bring it to the roots, and, 
as in the case of the cow, this water must be supplied “on 
time.” It is needed at once, as the strawberry makes its 
growth and utilizes this vast amount of water in a few 
short weeks. This is why soluble fertilizers and water 
are of special value to the strawberry plant, and it ex¬ 
plains why hundreds of our readers are preparing to pro¬ 
vide an artificial supply of water for next season. Where 
ries and blackberries. I have followed this practice for 
three years—since my irrigating system has been in order. 
Steuben Co., Ind. j. d. 
Don’t Irrigate Too Often. 
1. No. The trouble is not about putting on too much 
water; but, almost Invariably there is an injurious prac¬ 
tice among those who are beginning to irrigate—they turn 
on the water too often. I would not hesitate in a very dry 
season, if the crop was a large one, to put on two inches of 
water per week during the heaviest of the bearing season. 
This amount I should prefer to put on at two waterings, 
one inch at a time; but I would much rather put on the 
whole amount at once than to have it distributed in equal 
portions each day in the week. 2. It is true, however, that 
one may put on too much water. In such cases the fruit 
would be seriously injured both in quality and in its ship 
ping capabilities. It would be both sour and soft, and In 
very hot weather it would begin to mold in the boxes in 
a very few hours. I have had some experience in this line 
and am sure that I am not mistaken. 3, I think that upon 
my soil the Wilson will stand drought better than any 
be grown in this way, still it r. quires more water to pro¬ 
duce them, than if it came from the clouds. The results 
aie not as quick as if the water came naturally; or, in 
other words, the Good Father does the work, when He 
does it, a little better than we can, although we may do 
our very best. Such has been my experience for about 20 
years past. J. M. SMITH. 
Brown Co., Wis. 
PLANTING TREES AND OTHER MATTERS. 
I quite agree with T. H. Hoskins in preferring to plant 
fall dug trees at once. It is frequently recommended to 
buy trees in the fall and heel them in until spring I 
could never see any good in the practice, but much barm. 
But in preferring fall dug trees I do not mean trees from 
which the leaves have been stripped by hand, as is often 
done. If the leaves are ripe and have changed color, it 
matters very little, but so long as the leaves are green and 
firmly united to the shoots the vital functions of the plant 
have not been suspended, and digging is not proper at that 
time. Much prejudice has grown up against fall planting 
one can sell water at 10 cents per quart, it 
will pay to spend five cents a quart to raise 
it above the field to be watered. For the 
benefit of those who will try this plan of 
irrigating next year, we give the views of 
several men who have made a practical 
study of the matter. These are the ques¬ 
tions most frequently asked: 
1. In irrigating strawberries is there not 
a tendency to get on too much water ? 
2. Does an excess of water tend to make 
the berries soft and poor shippers ? 
8. Are there any varieties that seem bet¬ 
ter suited than others for irrigation ? 
4. If a man is to change to a system of 
irrigation, what common varieties should 
he discard ? 
5. Is it not the usual practice for begin¬ 
ners to use too much water ? 
Berries that Bloat on Water. 
1. I am not aware what may be the gen¬ 
eral tendency, except upon the well-nigh 
universal disposition, when the supply is 
abundant and convenient of application, 
to apply it with a free hand. 2. With a 
porous subsoil permitting the excess of 
water to pass freely downward, there may 
be little probability of Injurious excess 
during the earlier part of the season; but, 
while the fruit is developing and maturing, 
an excess of water tends to increase of 
size, with soft and watery texture, and 
corresponding loss of flavor. 3. Yes; those 
varieties with a tendency to excessive pro¬ 
duction of plants at the expense of fruit, 
are to be avoided, together with varieties 
of naturally soft texture. 4. He will do 
well to omit Crescent, Cumberland, Bu- 
GERMAN RECEPTION OF A DISTINGUISHED AMERICAN. Fig. 254. 
because of this practice of premature dig¬ 
ging and stripping off of the leaves. In 
the South particularly, autumn and win¬ 
ter planting Is far better than spring plant¬ 
ing, but I would prefer, even here, to dig 
and plant a tree in spring rather than plant 
one that had been “ heeled in ” either in a 
cellar or anywhere else. The “ heeling in ” 
practice has grown up because nurserymen 
found it convenient to treat the trees thus, 
and they have actually made many people 
believe that it is a benefit to the trees that 
they should be “ heeled in ” during winter. 
|Tiie R. N.-Y. regards the above as sound 
teaching.— Eds.] 
In this latitude it is best either to plant 
grafted stocks as fast as ready, If the 
ground is ready for them, or to keep them 
burled out-of-doors as short a time as pos¬ 
sible to prepare the soil for them. 
I would never undertake to get trees here 
from the North in springtime, and, if com¬ 
pelled to plant in spring, I would rather 
get trees freshly dug, near by, than to have 
those wintered over in a cellar. Trees of a 
deciduous character ought not to be plant¬ 
ed here before the last of November, and 
December is better, and this is another 
reason for planting from nearby nurseries. 
Evergreen trees are very difficult to handle 
here when brought from a distance. They 
should always be planted in spring, and 
just at the beginning of active growth, 
and, of course, cannot be transported far 
at that season. This question of trans¬ 
planting needs more careful study than 
it has yet had. The whole practice as it 
now exists has grown largely out of the 
bach’s No. 5, and others of similar texture 
necessities and convenience of nurserymen 
or habit. 5. With no opportunity for observation as to other variety I have ever tried. The roots are very numer- ^ rather than from close study of what is best for the trees. 
the practice of beginners with irrigation, I would expect ous, and run deep into the soil, while the Crescent, which Raleigh, N. C. _ _ w. f. M. 
this to be the case, where the supply of water is abundant, has fewer roots, and these nearer the surface, will almost 
and its application easy. T. T. LYON. 
Yan Buren Co., Mich. 
A Mulch Saves Water. 
My experience of late is that it pays to mulch heavily. 
Of late I mulch with clean straw or marsh hay in early 
winter after the ground has frozen, to keep the plants from 
heaving out. In the spring, as early as I can when the 
ground is in good condition, I rake off the mulch between 
the rows and cultivate thoroughly. After I have finished 
this I put between the rows as much clean straw or marsh 
hay as I can without covering up the tops ; then I sprinkle 
fine-cut straw or marsh hay on the plants of each row, say 
two or three inches thick; this holds moisture, keeps 
weeds down and the berries clean. If the season is a very 
dry one, I find that in the evening after I have finished 
picking, a good soaking is better than sprinkling, and this 
under the mulching will serve for 10 days. Ia the absence 
of heavy dews, a light spraying—just enough to wet the 
leaves—is sufficient. With this treatment I have not 
failed to secure nice, large berries and lots of them. The 
cultivating, mulching and heavy watering are also appli¬ 
cable to all of the small fruits and especially to raspber¬ 
perish before the Wilson shows signs of suffering. From 
my few years’ experience with the Warfield No. 2, I suspect 
that it will stand drought but little if any better than the 
Crescent. 4. Throw out everything that is not a first class 
bearer. It should be borne in mind that by adopting a 
system of irrigation, one is, as it were, under contract to 
expend an extra large sum of money in order to get his 
crop. Such being the case, he does not want to fool away 
either money or time upon a variety that is not at least 
reasonably certain to produce a large crop in return for 
his extra care and expense. I am often asked if it does 
not injure plants of any kind to put water upon them 
when the sun shines. I have for years put water on 
plants both by day and night. It certainly requires more 
water if put on during a hot summer day to produce a 
given result. The reason ia very plain—the hot sun and 
warm earth both aid in evaporating the water very much 
more rapidly than the cooler earth and air of the night. 
Otherwise I can see no difference whatever, whether the 
water is put on during the day or at night. One point 
more—every one who expects to grow berries by irrigation, 
should bear in mind that while they can without dispute 
Nurserymen's Mistakes. —Ninety-nine per cent of the 
so-called mistakes in supplying wrong trees and vines are 
due to the fradulent practices of irresponsible tree dealers 
or tree peddlers, who represent nurseries that have no ex¬ 
istence except in their order books. The tree peddler 
gathers up the surplus stock in the country and bills it 
out to suit his orders regardless of variety, often making 
a dozen or more kinds out of one sort. To suppress the 
irresponsible dealers we must sell our trees through our 
own agents, doing our own billing out, and wholesale 
only to reliable nurserymen who are directly responsible 
to the purchaser; but without the cooperation of the 
planter it is next to impossible to get rid of the objection¬ 
able class. The planter should place his orders only with 
an authorized agent of some responsible nursery or send 
his orders directly to the nursery; there would then be 
comparatively few mistakes, and the small errors that 
may occasionally occur—and some will happen under the 
most careful management—would cause no serious loss to 
the planter, and the nurserymen could almost invariably 
make satisfactory amends for such errors. 
Union Co., N. J. flemer & felmly. 
