228 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
March 6, 
FALL-BEARING STRAWBERRIES. 
The most important introduction of 
late years in the strawberry world is, 
in my opinion, the Fall-bearing straw¬ 
berry. There were the Fall berries 
occasionally borne by various varieties 
when a dry Summer was followed by a 
rainy Fall, but in all the long list there 
was not a single one that could, with 
any confidence, be depended upon for 
the production of fruit after the Spring 
crop was gone. The French “Gauthier” 
and the Alpine varieties have shown a 
second-crop tendency, but all attempts 
to strengthen it and produce crosses 
with the fixed habit have failed. At 
last Nature herself gave us ready-made 
a genuine Fall-bearer in the Pan- 
American. Up in northern New York 
lived a man to whom the Government 
was paying a pension for gallant serv¬ 
ice during the war, and who cherished 
a love for horticulture. Planting a few 
strawberries more for pleasure than 
profit, his mind curiously turned toward 
the production of a Fall-bearing va¬ 
riety, and he experimented for a time 
with certain kinds that exhibited the 
desired tendency. His efforts resulted 
in failure, and he gave up the work 
in despair. September 28, 1898, Sam¬ 
uel Cooper strolled through his plot of 
strawberries, looking casually around, 
when his eye was attracted to a par¬ 
ticular spot by the sight of white blos¬ 
soms. On coming near he found a lit¬ 
tle group of plants, in a bed of Bis- 
marcks, all in full bloom. This was 
unusual, to say the least, and he knelt 
down to investigate closely. He found 
a mother plant with 16 runner children 
about her, every one with fruit stalks 
and bloom. Carefully marking the lo¬ 
cation of the plants, he took them all 
up in the Spring and transferred them 
to his garden, where he could see them 
daily. Two of them fell victims to 
the grubs and three more, not pleasing 
his eye for certain reasons, he threw 
away, an action that he afterwards re¬ 
gretted. There were now just 12 left, 
and as the Summer passed and Fall ap¬ 
proached, they were watched with the 
greatest solicitude to discover whether 
their blossoms of tbe Fall before had 
been incidental or indicative of fixed 
quality. Again, however, they wreathed 
themselves in flowers, and Mr. Cooper, 
now satisfied that the long-desired con¬ 
summation had really come to pass, 
named these new creations the “Pan- 
American,” in pleasure and recognition 
of the fact that there was in them no 
admixture of foreign blood. The 
mother plant he had permitted to fruit 
in the Spring, and in July divided it 
into 10 parts. The next Spring, 1900, 
these 10 plants produced 117 ounces 
of berries, which would be over a pint 
apiece. This demonstrates the prolificacy 
of the strain and their readv submis¬ 
sion to division of the crown, which 
has proved to be a very important part 
of their propagation in the absence of 
runners. During the Fall of 1900 the 
remainder of the plants, now increased 
by runners and division to 125, pro¬ 
duced a total of 1,468 ounces, or 91*^ 
pounds. By measure this would, I be¬ 
lieve, approximate 75 quarts. 
A serious defect at once became ap¬ 
parent ; the new plants refused to make 
runners except in the most grudging 
fashion. Taking four plants as an ex¬ 
periment, Mr. Cooper stimulated them 
as far as he dared with nitrogenous 
fertilizers, with the result that three 
produced about 40 runners apiece, 
while the fourth made 500. In the 
Fall all these plants alarmed their 
owner by unanimously refusing to put 
out a single fruit stalk, having appar¬ 
ently reverted to the old Bismarck 
stock. The next season they confirmed 
this suspicion by setting fruit only in 
the Spring and by losing the tendency 
to form multiple crowns that could be 
divided. It appeared as if Nature was 
resenting this attempt of man so soon 
to alter the characteristics with which 
she, in her wisdom, had thought it wise 
to endow her new creation. Of the 
other plants that had not been sub¬ 
jected to this forcing treatment, only 
four out of 1,300 failed to Fall-bear 
the next year, and thus the fixed char¬ 
acter of the strain seemed convincingly 
confirmed. Since then Mr. Cooper re¬ 
ports that not as many as one-half of 
one per cent show symptoms of re¬ 
version. His general mode of treat- 
men, as developed by his experience, is 
as follows: Fruit stems are all removed 
in the Spring, and the plants not al¬ 
lowed to blossom until about a month 
before it is desired to have ripe ber¬ 
ries. Practically, the plants never 
cease budding from Spring till frost, 
so that they are really everbearers as 
well as Fall bearers. This, of course, 
adds to their value. Earlv in the 
Spring the old plants are divided ac¬ 
cording to their number of crowns and 
these divided plants make the best 
yielders. A part of the plants may 
always be depended on to make some 
runners. It is best to take the run¬ 
ners away from the old plant as soon 
as their roots will permit. By this 
process of division added to natural 
runner increase, the plants can be mul¬ 
tiplied at a satisfactory rate for private 
purposes, but not rapidly enough for 
the nurseryman. Here with me the 
Pan-American is fulfilling all anticipa¬ 
tions. Grown in the hill system, as it 
necessarily is, it is prolific to the point 
of setting more fruit than it can ma¬ 
ture. A description of the Bismarck 
will fit the berries, which have good 
color, shape, size and quality. Every 
week, from May on, I was compelled 
to go over the plants to remove fruit 
stalks. Knowing that it was vain to 
expect good berries in the intense heat 
and drought usual to July and August, 
I did not permit fruit to set till along 
in August so that it would get the ex¬ 
pected September rains in time to ma¬ 
ture to perfection. Alas, the drought 
continued right on without the least re¬ 
gard for normal Fall conditions, and 
no rain fell till in November. The 
plants did nobly, however, struggling 
to ripen their loads of berries with 
what little moisture they could extract 
from the hard ground, and did re¬ 
ward us with quite a bit of fruit, some 
of which we sold at 20 cents a box, 
which is as high as the first Spring 
berries ever sell for here. But for 
the drought we should have had ber¬ 
ries till frost. My feeling is that the 
Pan-American, or an improvement on 
it, is indispensable to every fruit gar¬ 
den. To have the delicious strawberry 
of Spring come again after the Sum¬ 
mer heats and regale us throughout the 
Fall till severe frosts, is certainly a 
consummation wished for by all. 
f 
For myself, I have not any doubt 
that in a few years we shall see our 
markets as regularly supplied with 
fresh berries in the Fall as they now 
are in the Spring. The pictures show 
the abnormal fruiting tendency of the 
Pan-American, which, I believe, is as 
unique as its everbearing nature. The 
runners regularly form fruit stalks, 
sometimes not even waiting to take 
root, and proceed to ripen berries un¬ 
less the flowers are pinched off, as they, 
of course, should be. L. r. Johnson. 
Missouri. 
Eureka 
Corn 
FOR MORE AND BETTER 
ENSILAGE 
Beats all other varieties as proved by its record of 
21 years as the old reliable standby in good sea¬ 
sons and bad. Used everywhere in the East and 
in great demand in every state of the Union. 
A quick grower and heavy producer. Grows 
from 14 to 20 feet high, is short jointed, pro¬ 
duces more and larger leaves and more ears than 
any other. 
64 Tons Per Acre 
is not an unusual crop. Stock is* better than 
ever this year. 
It is only from us that you can get the genuine 
and the supply is limited. Order early. See 
what others have done with it. 
Chaplin, Conn. 
I have raised Eureka Corn for several years and find 
it superior to any other for silage. Grows very large. 
Some 18 feet. Will want more this spring. 
Wm. J. Lee. 
Meadow Brook Farm, Chili Station, N. Y. 
I had remarkable success with Eureka Corn, though 
the season was bad. Got an immense yield. Please 
reserve my usual amount of seed. Geo. E. Peer. 
Monticello, Fla. 
Planted Eureka Corn on my poorest soil but it pro¬ 
duced better than other varieties grown for fodder. I 
happen to know that at one stage it grew 3 feet in 12 
days. H. A. Barrows. 
East Antrim, N. H. 
The season was a dry one but my Eureka Com was 
the best in my town. Casimir Haefeli. 
Such are the reports we get from all quarters 
on Eureka Corn. You’ll report the same if 
you try it. 
Corn for Afil Purposes 
Remember, we have a complete line of the 
finest varieties of corn for all purposes—and 
quality seed of all kinds. 
Our Free Book will give you good hints and 
money-making and money-saving suggestions. 
Also illustrates and describes our large line of 
Farm Machinery, Implements, Garden 
Tools, Etc. Write for a free copy today. Better tell us right 
away to save you some Eureka Seed. 
ROSS BROS. GO., _ Worcester, Ifflass. 
Trade 
Mark 
Regis¬ 
tered 
Only One Seedsman srsrs^ 
the results of the tests on the label. When you buy HARRIS’ SEEDS you know just how 
thick to sow each kind to get the right number of plants. We raise the seeds on our own 
farm and sell direct to gardeners and farmers at wholesale prices. We have some very 
fine improved varieties of Oats, Corn and Potatoes as well as Vegetable Seeds for truck 
gardeners. Ask for catalogue and wholesale price list. 
JOSEPH HARRIS CO., Coldwater, N. Y. 
at ONE-HALF 
City Seedsmen Prices! 
■■ Let us send you our catalog of seeds=*~It’s 
different. It tells you facts, and why we can save you money, and give you a guaranteed 
SQUARE DEAL. Just drop a postal today and see the difference in buying your seeds in 
country or City. FORREST SEED CO., Box 34, Cortland, N. Y. 
GERMANY, a country smaller than Texas, grows more oats than nearly the whole of Eu¬ 
rope put together. Why! She has no better soil than anybody else, but she sows only pedigree, 
big yielding varieties. 
EMPEROR WILLIAM OATS. 
Some years ago when In Germany, we picked up this remarkable oat In a rich side valley of the 
Rhine. Thousands of American farmers tried it last year and are loud and earnest In Us praise. 
Trial package 6 c. _ 
REJUVENATED WHITE BONANZA OATS. 
Salzer’s White Bonanza Oats, 21 years ago, took the world’s prize of $500.00 In gold for the 
heaviest yielding oat variety, (Our catalog tells the Interesting story.) We have rejuvenated 
this oat and Oder it again as something quite above the ordinary. 
HEADQUARTERS FOR AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE SEED 
Such as Minnesota No. 6 and No. 26 Oats. Wisconsin Swedish Oats, Oderbrucker (Wis. No. 65), 
Minnesota No. 6 and No. 105 Barley, Minnesota No. 25 and North Dakota No. 155 Flax, Com, 
Wheat, etc., etc. _;_ 
We have by all odds the largest SEED POTATO trade in the world; 
one of our cellars alone holds 60,000 bushels! 
BIG SEED, PLANT AND TOOL BOOK FREE. 
We publish the most original seed catalog in America. It brle'les with seed thoughts. 
Or if you remit 10c in postage we will send you a remarkable lot of farm seed samples, in- 
eluding Billion Dollar Grass, the 12 ton Hay Wonder, Speltz, the 80 bu. cereal and hay prodigy, 
Silver King Barley, yielding 173 bu. per acre, together with clover, timothy, grasses, etc., etc., 
worth $10.00 of any man’s money to get a start therewith. 
Or, remit 14c and we will odd a package of aNew Farm Seed Novelty never before seen by yoo. 
A SALZER SEED CO. 
LA CROSSE. WIS. 
