4887 
THE AURAL NEW-YORKER. 584 
POTTING THE STRAWBERRY. 
CHARMS A. GREEN. 
I have not teen over-enthusiastic on this 
subject. I have at times considered that those 
people who purchased potted plants, or potted 
for themselves, were wasting money. But H. 
W. Beecher has said that to change our minds 
is a sign of growth, therefore I am not ashamed 
to say that I am changing my mind regarding 
the potting of strawberry plants. As in every¬ 
thing else, we must learn how to do the work. 
There is a knack about it. 
We have been potting for several weeks, but 
yesterday we began it in earnest. The previ¬ 
ous night there was a fine shower, and the roots 
of plants dug after such a shower retain con¬ 
siderable earth, which is a great gain either 
for potting or shipping, Four good men were 
employed. One was sent to the field early 
with bushel baskets each containing three 
inches of wet moss spread over the bottom, and 
moss to cover the young plants when dug. 
With one thrust of a fork he raised every plant 
growing on one side of the parent plant, num¬ 
bering with those rooted and not rooted often 
50 bo 100 to each pant of the Jessie, first de¬ 
taching the runners from the parent plant’ 
permitting no exposure. One moment’s ex¬ 
posure of such immature roots would injure 
them. While be was digging, the other men 
prepared n bed by loosening the soil and re¬ 
moving all stones, etc. Then four planks, one 
foot wide, two of 
them 1(5 feet, two 1*1 
feet long, were placed 
on edge and held in 
position by stakes 
driven into the soil, 
forming a parallelo¬ 
gram-shaped bed 
with airspaces at the 
ends of the two 
shortest planks. Over 
this was stretched 
strong sheeting 
(white cotton cloth) 
stitched together by 
a sewing umehiuo, 
the borders hemmed 
to make it strong, 
This sheet was tacked 
fast at one side, the 
opposite sidu being 
tacked to a pole 18 
feet long, which en¬ 
ables two men to roll 
it up when it is de¬ 
sired to water the 
plants or to give air. 
The other two sides 
of the sheet were 
fastened with strips 
of leather booked to 
a nail, and the center 
was upheld by two 
poles supported by 
stakes. The bed was 
divided iuto three 
divisions by placiug 
an inch board a foot 
wide, flat across it, 
to be used as a wulk. 
It would have been 
better to have had three boards, making four 
divisions. 
By this time the man sent to dig the plants 
had returned, so all bauds began to pot, set¬ 
ting un benches in a cool packing-house, each 
man having n box of earth moist enough to 
pack well, yet none wot enough to be sticky. 
There must bo some clay iu the potting ma¬ 
terial, for if it is all sand or muck, the soil 
will crumble wheu the plant is knocked nut of 
the pot, for shipment or planting: yet there 
should be some sand mixed iu.uud tbe soil should 
be rich, but no (resh manure should be used, As 
the plants had been howl each week and the 
runners covered slightly; most of these young 
plants had some roots, but at. the cud of each 
runner was a plant on which no roots had 
formed. Those with no roots we did not pot, 
but simply left dangling, to be pressed Into 
the moist earth bordering the pots, au l held 
there by a small stone after the pots were 
placed iu the bed. The partly root vl plant 
was held in the (tot, the crown slightly below 
the surface, while the soil was sprinkled in 
evenly ou all sides, without crowding the 
plant to one side: then the earth w as pressed 
as firmly as possible, and the plant laid in an 
ordinary berry picking stand holding 30 pots, 
using 40 to 50 such stands. That part of the 
runner extending from the young to the 
parent plant was cut off within an iuoh of the 
young plant, but no runner promising to 
make a plant was removed in any case, ex¬ 
cept where several plants were rooted ou oue 
runner, iu which case we removed all plants 
but the last one rcottci and its runners. One 
man was kept digging and supplying the 
needs of the other three. We found that a 
man could pot 100 in one hour, and that it 
requirod nearly as much time to set the pot¬ 
ted plants in the bed as to pot. The entire 
work of the four men was the making of 
the bed and potting and planting In the 
bed and watering 1.600 plants, besides layer¬ 
ing the runners left on the potted plants by 
placing a pebble over each, which is the best 
plan, for if covered with earth they are apt 
to be buried too deep. 
Many of ray readers will not consider this a 
big day’s work for four smart men, yet they 
worked faithfully and I was well satisfied, but 
the second day they will accomplish more, no 
doubt. I have heard of one man potting in 
the field, on the old plan. 1,000 per day, but 
conclude that this was a fable, as I think as 
many can be potted by this new method as by 
tbe old. 
We have never potted and planted in the 
shaded bed without the plants wilting. Some¬ 
times they would look as though they would 
never revive, yet they never failed to do so, 
usually looking as fresh as daisies the second 
morning, after having been watered each 
evening copiously, and kept carefully shaded. 
We continue the shading for nearly a week if 
the weather is at all hot; but the plants grow 
faster and root better after the removal of the 
shade, if not x’emoved too soon. The plants 
should uot be watered for 48 hours previous to 
packing or planting, as it is desirable to have 
the ball of earth hardened when turned out 
of the pot. 
What is gained by this method of potting ? 
possible to reach the old plant with the hoe 
while thus surrounded; but just how great 
the additional increase I cannot state. The 
natural design of the plant is frustrated, 
and I like Nature’s methods as a rule, but it 
does appear that we can lend a helping hand 
at nursing these baby plants, that excels fancy 
incubators for chickens. 
Pig. 1 is a cloth 10x16 feet, used to shade 
the bed; 2 is a berry-picking stand filled with 
potted plants; at 3 are potted plants knocked 
out of pots; 4 are potted plants in pots; 
5 support for sheet used in shading plants; 
6 , 6, 6, potted plants put in 24 hours previous¬ 
ly; 7, space left at end of plank for ventila¬ 
tion—there is another like it at the opposite 
corner; these are not considered essential; 
8 , front plnnk laid down flat, to secure a bet¬ 
ter view of the interior of bed or cold-frame. 
After this bed has been shaded a week, the 
planks forming the sides and the cloth cover 
may be removed to another spot aud a new 
bed started. 
Rochester, N. Y. 
THE'CONFrDENCE MEN IN THE COUNTRY.before 
selecting their victim in any place, almost in¬ 
variably ascertain beforehand who among the 
farmers in the neighborhood is worth “work- 
into the good will and confidence of his would- 
be dupe. It is no labor to him. It’s just fun, 
and the more successful his blandishments 
the greater the fun, for the brighter the pros¬ 
pects of success. 
Often in order to deepen the favorable im¬ 
pression made by his address, appearance and 
glibuess, the fellow says he is the son, brother, 
father or some other connection of some 
banker, merchant or some other well-known 
resident of a town some way off; but known 
to the farmer, at least by reputation. Occa¬ 
sionally he represents himself as a buyer for 
some mercantile or manufacturing firm, who 
has come to look at some crop belonging to 
the farmer, or at some choice stock he is 
anxious to purchase. Generally, however, in 
whatever character he may appear, he wants 
to buy a farm ra that neighborhood, and is 
ready to pay a guod figure for it, preferably 
for that of his hearer—if for sale. If not, he 
would be much obliged if the farmer, as an 
old, wide awake resident, would recommend 
to him a good place in the vicinity, and intro¬ 
duce him to the owner. To secure the re¬ 
quisite amount of confidence, and mature the 
plans properly may take half a day or a whole 
day or several. Such fellows are always in 
baste, but seldom in a hurry. They wish the 
job done as soon as possible; but they won’t 
spoil chances by precipitation. 
A novice or bungler may do that; but the 
“confidence man,” who takes pride in his 
skill, will not. Accordingly the rogue will 
sometimes accept a hospitable invitation to 
stay a day or more at the farm, or he will re¬ 
main at the village hotel and visit the farm 
once or twice a day. 
During the time he 
makes a liberal dis¬ 
play of greenbacks 
—most of them often 
bogus—for he knows 
right well, the knave, 
that nothing inspires 
confidence in the or¬ 
dinary heart like tbe 
possession of “filthy 
lucre.” When he has 
made all arrange¬ 
ments for purchasing 
the farm, crop, stock, 
or whatever else he 
has been bargaining 
for, and thinks it 
tim» to scoop in the 
shekels, he gets his 
would-be dupe, on 
some pretext,out into 
the country, either 
to visit a neighboring 
farm or the nearest 
town, preferably in 
some vehicle. It is 
while on the way 
they usually meet 
rascal No. 2. Com¬ 
monly this worthy 
takes the character 
of a drover—a devil- 
may-care, jovial sort 
of fellow with a 
boastful tongue in his 
mouth and plenty of 
greenbacks in his 
pocket to back up 
whatever it may say. 
Of course, Rascals 
Nos. 1 and 2 are utter strangers to each other, 
and obviously different in character and de¬ 
meanor. The stranger, however, soon gets 
into conversation with the other two, usually, 
of course, through moans of his “pal,” and 
soon he wants to show them a little game he 
has lately learnt, much to his loss. By quiet 
e S) 4 iug on, or an unobtrusive inquiry or re¬ 
mark here and there. Rascal No. 1 plays into 
the hands of Rascal No, 2, who is soon show¬ 
ing otf the three-card monte game. 
Play is generally couflued at first to the 
brace of confederates; but, as a rule, the 
farmer soon becomes interested, aud then see¬ 
ing his “friend” winning so easily, he takes a 
hand, or rather makes a guess. If he is back¬ 
ward, Rascal No. 1 is sure to urge him on, 
often finding some pretext for quarreling 
with Rascal No. 2. The farmer, of course, 
ultimately wins a big pile; but he cannot'get it, 
until he has shown that, had he lost., he would 
have been able to pay up. To do this he goes 
home or to the bank for the necessary funds. 
If he refuses to play, Rascal No. t wins the 
pile, but cannot get it until ha shows that he 
would be able to pay up if lie had 1 st, aud, of 
course, he is always from $6lH) to *2,000 short, 
and begs his friend, the farmer, to club with 
him enough to make up the necessary amount, 
promising in return, to share his winnings 
with him. The farmer may have been able 
to resist the temptation to gamble; but he is 
seldom able to resist the temptation of shar¬ 
ing in another’s winuiugs at such slight cost, 
so he gets enough money to make up the re¬ 
quisite amount with the sum produced by his 
6 _ ~2? r^X 
-KcC' 3i‘i C 
■■ 
POTTING STRAWBERRY PLANTS. Fig. 325. 
You can multiply a new variety nearly twice 
as fast as by field layering without pots, and 
some claim a much larger increase. These 
potted plants can be set out iu the open fie 11 
during August or September without, much 
danger of loss (provided they are uot exposed 
to the hot sun a moment before planting), aud 
they will produce the fluest specimens of fruit 
the next season—not as large a crop as old 
hills under hill culture, but more than plants 
iu matted rows yield, plaut for plant, uuder 
good culture, plan tod the year previous. 
These beds of pot tod plants growing vigorous¬ 
ly are a pretty sight, aud the planting of 
potted plants possesses a fascination to those 
who can afford it. They have a vacant space 
iu the gardens, have no strawberries of the 
kind wanted; they can see the fruit eight 
mouths after planting; it is a novelty aud 
most people eujoy he experience. They may 
grumble wheu they pay oxpressage on so 
much weight; but they should understand 
that, wheu ordering. But the method is most 
profitable to the person desiring to plant for 
himself that which he thus propogates. 
The theory holds that the parent plant, re¬ 
lieved of its numerous progeuy that have been 
sucking at its vitality, at once renews its vigor 
and sends out another family of young 
plants, aud -these in turn being removed and 
others formed, many times greater increase 
is given than if all wore permitted to remain 
without molestation. This is partly carried 
out iu practice, for the pareut plaut does lose 
vigor wheu the young plants begin to draw ou 
the moisture aud fertility, aud it is quite im¬ 
iug” aud is most likely to permit himself to be 
duped. They want a man who is well-to-do, 
covetous, aud therefore ordinarily economical 
or parsimonious, and likely to jump readily at 
a plausible chance of addiug to his hoard. 
According to published reports their victims 
are in most cases elderly or old men. The de¬ 
sired information is secure,! iu various ways, 
but generally by shrewd, uuobtrusive inqui¬ 
ries among visitors or hangers-on at the hotels 
and other places of public resort in the neigh¬ 
boring towns, or through some confederate 
who may previously have canvassed the sec¬ 
tion for books or other articles, taking notes 
as he went. 
Having gained the desired information, the 
gang at ouce proceed to act on it One of 
them—usually the most respectable-looking, 
sometimes elderly and sedate, or jovial; at 
other times youug, bright and confidential— 
manuges to make the acquaintance of their 
intended victim This is sometimes done 
casually, without introduction, at the hotel or 
at the fair; at other times the landlord of the 
hotel or some produce dealer is asked to iutro- 
duce the stranger. Occasionally he calls ou 
the farmer at his own home, tolling him he 
has heard “so-and-so’ about him, and has 
therefore ventured to call ou him. From the 
outset his object is to win the farmer’s confi¬ 
dence, and, better still, likiug, aud having 
usually practiced the art of bamboozling for 
years, he knows how to flatter the weaknesses 
of his hearer iu a quiet, unobtrusive way, or 
iu a jolly, hail-fellow-well-met fashion, while 
all the time he is steadily working himself 
