422 
FHE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
July 7 
hoed crops, it is proposed to use fertilizers on the 
gfrass. Experiments will be started this fall to ask 
these old meadows what they need. With a standard 
mixture of fine ground hone and muriate, the ground 
will be invited to say whether it needs nitrogen, phos¬ 
phoric acid, or potash—one or all, and in what pro¬ 
portions. Mr. Thorne has become convinced from 
last year’s experience, that there is a legitimate place 
for fertilizers on a stock farm, lie now wants to know 
how, when and on what crops, they can be best used 
Tbk R. N.-Y. hopes to record these experiments 
which, we feel sure, will prove of great value to 
stockmen. 
THE STRONGEST STRAWBERRY PLANTS. 
When and How to Get Them. 
I 
THE QUESTIONS 
1. At what Beason can you ktow tho strODKCat strawberry plants for 
settlnK? 2. Are the best plants produced from newly set or older 
beds ? 8. Is there any special method of settlnK that will enable the 
Krower to produce more or better plants? Should the production of 
runners be restricted? I. Is there any difference In the quality of 
plants produced close to the parent plant and those at the extremities 
of the runners? 5. Does It pay to use potted plants? 
Success With Potted Plants. 
1. I do not consider the strength of the strawberry 
plants to be dependent upon the season, but upon the 
distance apart and the fertility of the soil. The 
strongest plants are grown upon clay loam, and the 
smallest plants upon sandy soil. 2. The best plants 
are usually secured from new beds, largely for the 
reason that the soil is kept in good condition, and is 
more fertile than in older beds. There is no reason, 
however, why old beds should not make good, strong 
plants if properly treated. 3. If strong plants are 
desired, the number of plants should be somewhat 
limited. Surely strong plants cannot be secured when 
young plants stand as thick as grass, as they do in 
varieties like Crescent, which multiply rapidly. 4. I 
have never discovered any difference in the quality of 
the plants grown close to the parent and those grown 
at the extremities of the runners. Of course, the 
plants at the extremities are younger plants and may 
not be as large as the others at the opening of winter. 
a Potted plants are a success. The great objection to 
them is tho expense of shipment to different points. 
I have beds of potted plants set out the last week in 
September, after the nurseries had stopped selling 
potted plants. I went over tho rows last night, and 
found the plants loaded down with the finest straw¬ 
berries I have ever seen. The varieties were Jessie, 
Rubach and Parker Earle. When winter came on, the 
plants were very small; they simply had a foothold in 
the soil, but this spring they have made a marvelous 
growth. C. A. QKEEN. 
September the Best Month. 
1. I can grow the strongest plants during the month 
of September, when the extreme heat is over. I find 
that plants make more roots, and enter more deeply 
into the soil during this month than during any other. 
2. The strongest and best plants are grown from 
potted plants. I find the plants are better rooted than 
those from spring-set plants. 3. Potted plants set out 
August 20 usually send out strong runners June 1, a 
month earlier than spring-set plants. The runners 
should not be restricted. 4. The best and strongest 
plants are produced close to the parent plants ; those 
at the extremities are not so well rooted. 5. If a 
grower wishes to exhibit fine, large specimens, it will 
pay to use potted plants. t. c. kevitt. 
Always From New Beds. 
1. From spring-set plants, whose runners are al¬ 
lowed to set as soon as they will, but not too closely. 
2. Always from new beds; plants should never be 
taken from old beds if it can be avoided. 3. Any 
method, so long as they are well planted to insure no 
vacant spaces. Such varieties as Michel’s Early, War- 
field, Crescent, etc., should be restricted in the num¬ 
ber of runners, to insure well-rooted plants. 4. Those 
at the extremity are most likely to be light, though I 
have seen fields that were allowed to mat too closely 
and the plants next to the old ones were light and 
weakly on account of being crowded, while the best 
were on the edges of the row. 5. No. e. wii.lets. 
How Pot Grown Plants Pay. 
1. I can grow the strongest pot grown plants in July 
and August, the strongest ordinary layer plants in 
September and October. 2. The largest and most 
vigorous plants are produced from young beds. Ninety 
per cent of our strawberry plants are propagated from 
plants that have been planted in August and Septem¬ 
ber. We remove all fruit stalks the following spring, 
not allowing these beds to produce any fruit the first 
season. 3. Better and healthier plants may be obtained 
by following the instructions named above. After the 
newly set plants have formed a matted row, 12 to 15 
inches wide, all runners should be promptly cut, in 
order to obtain the largest fruit and best results. 4. 
After the season’s growth is over, there is no material 
difference in any of the young plants. Of course, dur¬ 
ing the months of August and September the plants 
near the parent plant, are the largest and, conse¬ 
quently, the most vigorous ; this applies to the larger 
and not to the pot grown plants. 5. It most certainly 
pays to set pot grown plants. September 19 to 23 last 
year, we planted several acres of pot grown plants, 
and at this writing, June 13, we have counted on many 
hundred plants of Timbrell and other varieties, from 
75 to 100 well formed berries. These berries were re¬ 
tailing recently in New York City, in several produce 
stores where I made inquiry, at from 18 to 22 cents per 
quart. By the use of pot grown plants, we may mar¬ 
ket our early crops of potatoes, peas, etc., and after¬ 
wards, by setting these pot grown plants, we may 
obtain a full crop of the finest strawberries the follow¬ 
ing season less than 10 months from the time of plant¬ 
ing, from the land that has produced a crop the pre¬ 
vious season. One of my neighbors grows all his 
strawberries from plants set the preceding August or 
September, and he markets the choicest fruit grown to 
my knowledge. Many others use this method of plant¬ 
ing, which I am certain from my own practical ex¬ 
perience, is profitable farming. t. .j dwyek. 
Strength Close to Parent Plant. 
1. In the month of October. 2. Prom newly set 
beds; by removing the blossoms and throwing the 
entire strength of the plant into the runners. 3. We 
have no special method of setting. To sorts that mul¬ 
tiply fast we give more space than to other varieties. 
F'or fruiting, the best results are attained by removing 
runners and giving the plants room to grow. 4. The 
first plants produced, or the ones nearest to the parent 
plants, are the strongest, and we consider them better 
plants for transplanting than the ones at the extreme 
ends of the runners. 5. For general field planting, 
we do not think it pays to use potted plants, and ad¬ 
vise their use only for new and high-priced varieties 
THE STuRBS & HARRISON CO 
July and August in Minnesota. 
1. With us, the strongest and best strawberry plants 
for fall or spring planting, are those grown in J uly 
and August. 2. The best plants are those produced 
in new beds, and from plants that have not been 
allowed to bear fruit. 3. I think that the best method 
for growing plants is to set only strong, healthy, well- 
rooted plants that were not produced later than 
August of the previous year. Set early in May, in 
rows four to five feet apart, and far enough apart in 
the row to give room for fullest development, accord¬ 
ing to the variety. Strong soil, without too much 
stimulating manure, is best, but they must be kept 
growing vigorously by frequent hoeing and cultiva¬ 
ting. Better plants are produced where the runners 
are guided somewhat, and not allowed to take root 
too near together. More plants can be produced by 
severing the new plant from the parent after it has 
become well established. With varieties like War- 
field, better plants are produced if a portion of the 
runner is clipped off after the third and fourth plants 
have rooted. 4. Yes, there is a marked difference in 
the quality of the plants produced close to, or distant 
from, the parent. In this climate, a bed set with the 
first four or five plants produced will give one-fourth 
more fruit in the first crop than a bed set with plants 
from the extreme ends of the runners. 5. I do not 
think it pays to use potted plants unless for shipping 
out of season. In the spring of 1891, I set one-fifth of 
an acre of strawberries, using only plants from the 
first runners that had rooted in J uly. The next sea¬ 
son, 1892, I picked and sold 3,000 boxes, dry measure 
quarts, which was fully double the yield on a bed set 
at the same time with plants chosen at random. 
Minnesota. j. s. Harris. 
PRUNING AND STAKING TOMATOES. 
WILL IT PAY IN FIELD CULTURE ? 
Would Pay When Prices Fluctuate. 
In the variety tests on the experiment grounds, the 
vines are trained on a trellis, and later in the season 
the young shoots are pruned away. The training is 
accomplished by driving boards, six inches wide and 
four feet long, about every rod in the row, setting 
the board at right angles to the row. On each edge of 
the board are strung two wires, the top one being 
about 30 inches from the ground and the bottom wire 
18 inches. During the summer the vines are gone over 
about twice and trained up between the two double 
rows of wire and at the same time the straggling 
shoots are pinched off. Many other methods of train¬ 
ing have been tried, but this trellis is cheap, easily 
and quickly constructed, and is satisfactory. 
As to the benefits, many seasons show but little 
benefit either in earliness or increased yield, but dur¬ 
ing an occasional season, it is a grand success. It was 
here in 1893, when the dry season and the rot caused 
nearly a failure of the tomato crop. On the acre that 
was on trellises, more thorough stirring of the soil 
was allowed, and there was but little rot. The toma¬ 
toes ripened early, yielded well, and sold Rt very satis¬ 
factory prices. The tomatoes not on the trellises were 
nearly a failure. For prices such as the canning fac¬ 
tories pay, I doubt if training the vines would be profit¬ 
able.' Where prices fluctuate greatly, it would un¬ 
doubtedly be profitable, especially as a safeguard in a 
poor season, when a crop sold at a high price would 
overbalance a doubtful profit for several normal sea¬ 
sons. R, J CORYELL. 
Michigan Agricultural College. 
A Successful Experiment in Ohio. 
We conducted an experiment last season with about 
3,000 plants, half staked and pruned ; the other half 
treated in the ordinary manner. The result of this 
and other experiments in previous years, leads me to 
think that, under certain circumstances, it will pay 
well to stake and prune tomato plants in field culture 
on a large scale. One must have a good and con¬ 
venient market for early tomatoes, and proper facili¬ 
ties for growing plants, otherwise it will not pay to 
follow this method. First as to plants. They may be 
grown in a hot-bed, but not so certainly and well as in 
a greenhouse. We aim to have them a foot in height, 
with no side branches, in bloom, and some small toma¬ 
toes on them, by the middle of May, when they are 
planted in the field, and tied to stakes at once. The 
young plants are pricked out from the seed bed into 
flats, two inches apart each way, and when they begin 
to crowd, are transplanted again into flats, four or five 
inches apart each way, where they remain until taken 
to the field. If they are in danger of becoming over¬ 
grown, the flats may be transferred to a cold frame, 
but should not be placed where the wind can whip 
them about. When taking the plants from the flats, 
cut across each way between the plants wfth a knife, 
and each one will come out with a square of soil at¬ 
tached. The plants are set two feet, or even as close 
as 18 inches apart in the rows, and the rows are four 
feet apart. 
The method of staking is simple, neat and effective. 
Strong posts 33^ feet high are set at either end of each 
row, and light posts, or stakes of the same height are 
driven into the soil about a foot, at intervals of about 
two rods along the row. A No. 12 wire is then 
stretched tightly along the tops of the posts. Of 
course the end posts need bracing in some manner. 
An ordinary building lath is driven into the soil two 
or three inches, close beside each plant, and fastened 
to the wire above with small staples or with small 
wire nails driven into the lath and bent over the wire. 
In some sections, it would be cheaper to have the lath 
sawed out of chestnut or oak, because of better lasting 
qualities than to use ordinary lath. 
The plants ought to be tied to the lath at once, as if 
left to lie on the ground for some time, the growth 
goes into bottom sprouts which afterwards must be 
removed. Tying should be continued as the plauts 
grow, and the side sprouts removed promptly, so as 
to force the first fruits which appear. Whether it is 
better to top the plants as soon as they reach the 
same height as the trellis or to allow them to grow 
and bend over is still an open question. The first cost 
of lath, wire and posts is not far from $30 per acre, 
but if oak or chestnut are used, we may safely divide 
this by three for the bill for materials each season. 
To this must be added the cost of tying and pruning, 
also extra plants. The entire cost of staking and 
tying is not far from $25 per acre more than by the 
ordinary method. 
'.I’he pay for this extra cost comes in earlier and finer 
tomatoes, greater exemption from rot and lessened 
cost of picking. In our experiment last season, the 
yield from the staked plants, when tomatoes were $2 
per bushel, was sufficient to pay all of the extra ex¬ 
pense, before any were picked from the unstaked 
plants. Later, the weather was very dry, the rot very 
bad, and the marketable product from the staked 
plants greatly exceeded that from those not staked. 
This was because there was less rot and there were 
larger tomatoes from the staked plants than from the 
others. In seasons when the rot is less troublesome, 
the difference would be less marked, and with favor¬ 
able weather, the tomatoes would be large enough by 
either method; hence the above may be regarded as 
an extreme case except in the matter of earliness. No 
doubt some who have tried the method will declare 
that nothing is gained in earliness by staking, but it 
is my firm conviction that much is gained, provided 
the plants are properly handled and everything done 
as it should be to force the first fruits that appear. 
I admit that the work may be done in such a manner 
that it will not give the desired results, but such 
methods are not now under consideration. 
The question has been asked me recently, would it 
pay to stake tomato plants in a field where they had 
been planted to be grown in the ordinary manner ? 
The answer is, no, for staking is advisable only when 
the plants have been grown especially for that pur¬ 
pose. Regarding the comparative yield per acre by 
the two methods. I am unable to speak definitely, but 
the yield per plant is less when staked than if left to 
1 
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