August 12 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
574 
SETTING POTTED STRAWBERRY PLANTS. 
Do These or Layers Give Better Results ? 
WOULD NOT BUY THEM.—I would not purchase 
potted strawberry plants, at the prices asked for them, 
except in small quantities of new and promising va¬ 
rieties. Well-grown young plants, put out in August, 
and well taken care of, will produce about as much 
fruit the following season as would the potted ones, 
at least, such has been my experience. I gathered 548 
bushels of choice strawberries from 3 1-6 acres of 
good clay loam, from plants set out the previous 
August. N. OIIMER. 
Ohio. 
DOESN’T ADVISE THEM.—We have never encour¬ 
aged the potted-plant business, as we do not think it 
profitable for any one concerned except the express 
companies. I think 2,500 are as many as we ever 
shipped one man at one time, and we have cured our 
customers of calling for them. We cannot conscien¬ 
tiously advise the purchase of potted plants under 
any known conditions. We have the pots and plants, 
but never pot for our own use or for our customers, 
except on orders. The demand is not increasing, 
which may account for the extra effort to sell. 
Conn. g. s. BUTLER. 
EXPERIENCE WITH POTTED STRAWBERRY 
PLANTS.—About August 1, 1897, in order to hasten 
the season, I procured one-half dozen potted plants 
each, of Brandywine, Parker Earle, Michigan and 
Lovett strawberries. They were, apparently, good 
plants, and I gave extra care, as I thought, to the 
planting, fertilizing and cultivation; but the product 
was less than one quart of what would be called mar¬ 
ketable berries. In August, 1898, I set four potted 
plants, only one of which survived the Winter, giving 
this season less than one dozen berries. While grow¬ 
ing but few berries, the two dozen potted plants sent 
out numerous vigorous runners, the plants from 
which I transplanted in the month of August. They 
made vigorous growth during the Fall, producing 
about 100 quarts of fine berries this season. 
My experience would seem to indicate that plants 
taken directly from the soil, and costing much less, 
planted at the same time, would, show better results 
than potted plants. 
About June 1 last year, I received three plants, un¬ 
potted, of an unnamed variety. Two of the plants 
died. From the survivor, I obtained 30 plants, which 
were transplanted last Fall. From these plants, there 
were picked this season, at least, iy 2 quart of good 
berries. Thus it will be seen that the one unpotted 
plant, having only about two months advantage in 
setting, produced more the following season than the 
24 potted plants, and at a small fraction of the orig¬ 
inal cost. It lias occurred to me that I might not have 
rightly set the plants. Perhaps the ball of earth 
should have been loosened, or the soil more or less 
shaken out. If such is the case, I fail to perceive the 
advantage, considering the enhanced price, of setting 
potted plants at all. I am anxious to learn of the ex¬ 
perience of others of your readers who grow straw¬ 
berries, with potted plants. h. ii. b. 
Jewett City, Conn. 
NOT PROFITABLE FOR MARKET.—At the farm¬ 
ers’ institutes that have been held in this and other 
States during the past few Winters, farmers have 
been advised, among other things, to diversify their 
farming operations. They have been especially urged 
to plant small fruits for their nearest market, and for 
home consumption. As a direct result of these teach¬ 
ings, an unusual number of farmers have been making 
inquiry about small fruits. One question frequently 
propounded is', “How soon can I expect a return from 
my plantation?” Our wideawake nurserymen have 
heard this oft repeated inquiry, and as they are al¬ 
ways ready to minister to the necessities of the farmer 
—for a consideration—they reply, “If you set potted 
strawberry plants this Fall, you can gather a full 
crop of berries next Summer.” 
This statement is true, yet it is misleading. It is 
true that each potted plant, if properly cared for, will 
bear as many berries next season as a plant of the 
same age that has been allowed to remain where it 
grew; but in order to grow a profitable crop for mar¬ 
ket, too many plants would be required. If grown in 
hills two feet apart each way, about 11,000 plants will 
be required per acre, while an acre of ground will 
contain over 40,000 plants when grown in matted 
rows, and thinned to six inches, and each one of 
these 40,000 plants will produce as many berries as a 
potted plant. No one can afford to buy potted plants 
to grow berries for market at present prices. Yet 
these potted plants have their place, and quite a good 
many are planted every year. 
The commei’cial grower wants to keep fully up with 
the times, and so by planting one or two dozen of 
each new sort that strikes his fancy, he can see them 
fruiting on his own grounds one year earlier than by 
planting runners next Spring. The amateur, by the 
expenditure of a moderate sum this Fall, can secure a 
very full line of all the newer sorts of berries for 
comparison next season. The business man in the 
town or village who, for any reason, failed to renew 
the plantation in his garden in the Spring, can by a 
trifling outlay this Fall for potted plants, secure a full 
supply of berries for his table from his own vines 
next Summer, of the varieties he may select. But for 
reasons above stated, it would be folly for any one 
to plant them in quantity with the expectation of 
being able to market the fruit at a profit, or to gain 
any time in the production of plants, either for his 
own use or for sale, as they will not make many run¬ 
ners this Fall, and good strong young plants set out 
LIGHT BRAHMA PULLET. Flo. 219. 
next Spring, and not allowed to fruit, will produce as 
many plants before the close of the season as potted 
plants set out this Fall. gabriel hiesteb. 
Pennsylvania. 
NOTES ON EARLY MATURING FRUIT. 
In the Spring of 1898, we planted a Downing mul¬ 
berry tree in a field directly in front of our house. 
Last season, it made a top growth of about 15 inches, 
is seven feet in height at this time, and is fairly well 
developed. It is bearing 60 perfect berries, a number 
of them showing color at this writing, July 31. It was 
the late Rev. Henry Ward Beecher who said, “I would 
rather have a tree of the Downing mulberry in fruit 
LIGHT BRAHMA YEAR-OLD MALE. Fig. 220. 
than a bed of strawberries.” A very small percentage 
of us will feel as Mr. Beecher did in making this com¬ 
parison. However, the mulberry is a very good fruit; 
in fact, I have met many people who enjoyed it in¬ 
tensely. It is a very desirable shade tree. On the 
whole, this would seem to be its chief value. 
From Yellow Transparent apple trees planted in 
the Fall of 1896, we are now gathering perfect samples 
of fruit. These trees are only four to five feet apart 
in the row, and are in close contact with other young 
trees. Of course, these conditions are unfavorable, 
yet all of these 25 or 30 trees are bearing from 40 to 
75 fine, attractive apples. The trees will run about 
seven to eight feet in height. The Yellow Transparent 
apple is one of our best Summer apples, of large, de¬ 
lightful form and color. The flavor is good, either for 
eating from the hand or as a dessert fruit. 
Perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the season is 
our quince orchard of about 40 trees, planted in the 
Fall of ’96, principally to test the different varieties 
side by side. We have Meech’s Prolific, Rea’s Mam¬ 
moth, Champion, Orange and some others, including 
two new varieties that were given to us to propagate. 
As a rule we do not expect to get any fruit from 
quince trees for four or five years after they are 
planted. None of these trees is over six feet in height. 
The Meech’s Prolific and Champion have from 10 to 
15 well-formed quinces on them. These trees are 
getting the best of cultivation, and are on black, 
heavy land with a clay subsoil, the ground where the 
quinces seem to thrive best with us. We shall be 
much disappointed if the whole orchard fail to give a 
nice crop of fruit next season. 
In the same field and directly above the quince 
orchard, we are testing the different varieties of the 
Duke and Morello cherries. These were planted in 
the Spring of ’97, and have had only two seasons’ 
growth. The trees are only five to seven feet in 
height, but are stocky and vigorous. We have about 
30 of these trees in this orchard, and nearly all of 
them bore fruit this season. My daughter picked the 
fruit from one of the English Morello trees. The 
weight was four pounds. This was not by any means 
an exceptional case. In another field, we have 50 or 
60 Early Richmond trees that are only four to five feet 
apart. June 25, my wife and myself gathered from 
every one of these little trees from four to six pounds 
of cherries. These trees are only four years old from 
the bud. 
On another part of our grounds we have an English 
Morello cherry tree that was planted in the Spring of 
1894. This tree is about 10 feet in height. While in 
fruit, this tree was a beautiful sight. My son picked 
from this tree exactly 55 pounds of cherries, which 
were sold in the New York market for $3.20. A few 
hundred trees like this would make a very respectable 
income for most of us who must get our living from 
good old Mother Earth. t. j. dwyer. 
Orange Co., N. Y. 
NORTHERN-GROWN WHEAT FOR SEED. 
What Are Its Superior Qualities ? 
Michigan and Wisconsin potato seed produces better 
crops in the Middle West than that grown there. Do you 
think there would be the same advantage in securing seed 
wheat from Minnesota to grow here? h. n. g. 
North Branch, Mich. 
As I understand it, the northern wheat is particu¬ 
larly valuable by reason of its superior milling quali¬ 
ties, and a certain amount of this hardness might be 
retained the first year in warmer localities, though 
this is doubtful. It is not our experience with other 
seeds that the northern-grown seeds, say of corn, 
peas and beans, are more productive, as the exact 
contrary is the fact; but they will mature more 
quickly and uniformly, shortening both the period of 
growth and bearing, while seed from farther south 
will make a longer period of both growth and bearing. 
I see no reason why this should not hold good with 
grain. 
In working for the largest crop of wheat, I would 
select one of the best milling varieties, readily sal¬ 
able at the highest price, and of healthy stock and 
vigorous constitution, and would then look for an in¬ 
creased production by thorough preparation of the 
seed-bed, and liberal application of high-grade com¬ 
mercial fertilizers. With us, the raising of wheat is 
a side issue, incident to our rotation of crops, and we 
find that the grain grown on land which has been 
fertilized in previous seasons for our vegetable and 
flower growing for seed, far surpasses in yield that of 
the other farms in our vicinity, and that the subse¬ 
quent crops of grass are equally satisfactory. 
On the large wheat farms of the Northwest, I think 
it would be of advantage to sow a portion of the 
wheat area with the earlier-ripening, northern-grown 
seed, as it would spread out the harvest season, as 
from newspaper accounts, the harvesting commences 
before the grain is fully ripened, and continues until 
the grain is so ripe that there is danger of loss of 
grain from the heads by shattering. 
Our growing fields present an object lesson in the 
use of the cultivator as a conservator of moisture. 
The weather has been extremely dry, with practically 
little more than heavy dews for moisture, until the 
last week in July, but every cultivator on the place 
has been kept constantly in use, and our crops have 
never made finer growth, while the fields around us 
have suffered greatly from lack of rain. We have 
preached this doctrine for years, as especially appli¬ 
cable to gardening, but have never had a more con¬ 
vincing demonstration. As soon as the farm had been 
thoroughly cultivated, it was at once gone over again, 
and this has been kept up until the naturally heavy 
soil was as fine and loose as dust. In wetter seasons, 
this is impracticable, as the soil is too sticky to work 
when at all wet, and becomes hard and lumpy. 
Fordhook Farms. e. darlington. 
