jLx '‘3 
Vol. XLVI. No. 1927 
NEW YORK, JANUARY 1, 1887 
PRICE FIVE CENTS, 
$2.00 PER YEAR. 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, In the year 1886, by the Rural New-Yorker, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, 
years have shown, perhaps no one has exhib¬ 
ited more surprising results than strawberry 
culture; for only 30 years since, the growing 
of strawberries for market was confined to a 
few gardeners in the vicinity of half a dozen 
of our large cities; and means of transporta¬ 
tion consisted mostly of the market wagon. A 
few huudred wealthy gentlemen who had 
handso.necountry place-sand kept.professional 
gardeners, grew tilts luxurious berry for their 
own tables, and a few dozen gardeners grew 
it for markets, the varieties grown bearing 
names entirely strange to our ears to-day. 
Outside of this limited culture most of the 
people of this country knew nothing about 
strawberries, except what they gleaned from 
the fragrant hillsides, where nature had plant¬ 
ed them with the daisies and the buttercups. 
In these early days a mystery overhung straw¬ 
berry growing. The principle of fertilization 
of blossoms was not well understood, and 
many people grew strawberry plants in their 
gardens, and had abundance of strawberry 
blossoms, but an inscrutable Providence with¬ 
held the fruit. 
But with the advent of the Wilson Straw¬ 
berry began the new era in this culture. Its 
flowers were perfect, every one producing a 
berry, and it had cosmopolitan qualities—it 
succeeded in all soils and climates, as no varie¬ 
ty had ever done before—and strawberry 
planting for home use and for market extend¬ 
ed in all directions over the continent. I well 
remember when the daily supply of strawber¬ 
ries in the city of Chicago did not amount to 
a large wagon load; and how when I began 
growing them tor that market myself, only 
25 years ago, it was predicted that the five 
acres that were planted in one spring in our 
neighborhood would certainly break the mar¬ 
ket. And the prophecy came true, for prices 
went down one-half under such an unprece- 
TIIE OUTLOOK FOR STRAWBERRY 
CULTURE. 
PRESIDENT PARKER EARLE. 
Limited strawberry growing 30 years ago; 
change eff’oeted by the. II ilson Strawberry; 
vast expansion; probability of still further 
expansion; extension of the strawberry 
season; the problem of transportation. 
Among tho many wonderful expansions in 
our industrial enterprises which the last 30 
j sr 
NOW 
WHAT ’LL HE DO WITH ITP 
