438 
THE RURAI> N JZ W -VO R KEH 
Mn y 1(5, 
Ruralisms 
Raise Strawbkrrv Seedlings. —We 
urge strawberry lovers everywhere to 
take opportunity the coming season to 
raise some seedlings, using for the pur¬ 
pose perfect fruits of the best obtainable 
local varieties. It is generally admitted 
that as acceptable berries for home use 
may be grown on seedling plants as on 
named or commercial varieties. Good 
quality, fair size of frufts and productive¬ 
ness in the majority of plants are almost 
assured if seeds of superior varieties, 
whether naturally or artificially pollcn- 
ized, are sown. The feature most often 
lacking is that of firmness. Our com¬ 
mercial strawberries have been selected 
from myriads of seedlings more for the 
shipping quality than for any other spe¬ 
cial characteristic. Apparently nature 
cares little for firmness in ripe straw¬ 
berries, and this feature, as we now have 
it, is the result of persistent and con¬ 
tinued selection of what may be termed 
an almost accidental quality in straw¬ 
berry development. The bright coloring 
and agreeable flavor of wild berries serve 
to attract fruit eating birds and thus in¬ 
sure wide dissemination of the mature 
seeds. Firmness is not needed. It is 
well known that high table quality rarely 
accompanies firmness in strawberries. 
The best shippers are without exception 
deficient in palatability. 
The seedling grower must expect the 
vast majority of his products to prove 
tender in texture, and he must also 
reconcile himself to conspicuous lack of 
uniformity as regards size, color and 
shape of berries as well as time of 
ripening. With the above drawbacks 
in mind one may expect a lot of inter¬ 
esting plants of the greatest vigor, bear¬ 
ing throughout a long season berries of 
most agreeable quality, suitable for do¬ 
mestic uses and home market. There is 
an ever-present chance of getting a 
choice local variety and a faint possi¬ 
bility of developing one of general 
utility. Strawberry, like potato va¬ 
rieties, do not appear to possess great 
permanence as profit-makers, and the 
old kinds must continually be replaced 
by new blood. At the same time it 
must be remembered that it is far from 
easy to improve on some of our present 
standards, while they retain anything 
like their original vitality. Grow seed¬ 
lings, then, rather for interest and 
pleasure than with anticipation of breed¬ 
ing a world-conquering novelty. You 
will be well repaid if nothing turns up 
of greater commercial utility than the 
parent kinds. 
Preparing and Sowing Seeds. —Much 
has been written as to the best treat¬ 
ment for strawberry seeds. One 
grower thinks that they need a “touch 
of Winter” to insure quick germination, 
and packs the cleaned seeds between 
ice cakes in the family refrigerator over 
night before sowing; another is averse 
to coddling, claiming that only the most 
vigorous should survive, and prepares 
his beds by removing the top soil for a 
depth of 10 inches or more, and simply 
crushes the selected berries on the hard 
under-surface beneath, giving the seeds 
no covering nor further attention until 
the little plants arc ready to handle. He 
claims never to fail in securing a good 
stand of seedlings within a month by 
this method, without being bothered 
with weeds as if sown on the surface. 
Others take excessive care in handling 
and pricking out the seedlings as soon 
as they have made characteristic leaves. 
The strawberry is perhaps more readily 
grown from seeds than any other fruit, 
and nearly always bears the second year 
after planting out in the fruiting beds. 
The main requirement is to sow when 
freshly separated from the fruit. If al¬ 
lowed to dry germination is immensely 
reduced. Only three to five per cent of 
the dry imported seeds, occasionally 
sold by dealers, can be expected to grow, 
and entire sowings may fail even with 
the most favorable treatment. For this 
reason, and to gain size in the seedlings 
pare and sow the seeds as soon as the 
selected berries ripen. The old advice 
to crush the berries between folds of 
paper or cloth does not work well with 
the large modern fruits that are likely 
to be chosen. There is so much pulp 
and fiber that the little seeds are not 
easily separated. We find it convenient 
to pare the surface, using a sharp thin- 
bladed knife, thus removing the seeds 
with a minimum quantity of pulp and 
only short fibers attached. The parings 
are kneaded in stout cloth under water 
•f.o work out the enclosing pulp, and the 
mass of seeds, after draining, is mixed 
with dry sifted sand, which is stirred 
until the seeds are seen to be evenly dis¬ 
tributed. They are then ready for im¬ 
mediate planting. If a considerable 
quantity of seed is prepared a well-fined 
bed in the border or garden is suitable. 
The soil should be light and rich, as it 
is well to gain as vigorous growth as 
possible. The seeds, sand and all, should 
be sown in shallow drills about 10 
inches apart, lightly covered, and the 
surface well-firmed with a board or hoe. 
Unless the soil is particularly moist, 
which is not always the case in mid¬ 
summer, the bed should be thoroughly 
watered, using a fine sprinkler, and cov¬ 
ered with wet burlap or bagging. Plants 
may be expected by the end of the third 
week. They arc easily distinguished, and 
should be carefully weeded and culti¬ 
vated from the start. By late August 
the strongest will be ready to set in 
the fruiting-beds, prepared in the usual 
thorough manner. We find it best to 
give seedling plants plenty of space. 
Two feet by three feet apart is none 
too much in good strawberry soil. At 
this time we have in bloom a plot of 
several hundred seedlings that were set 
four feet apart each way in September, 
1906. The ground is now solidly 
covered with plants that stand almost 
too thick in many places. The treat¬ 
ment after setting is that for all Fall- 
set strawberry plants; good culture for 
the succeeding 18 months and a Win¬ 
ter mulch of litter or manure as the 
climate demands. A few seedlings may 
fruit the next season after setting, but 
it is at the expense of vigor, and the 
buds are best picked off as they appear. 
A full crop is, of course, to be ex¬ 
pected the second year, when the most 
promising plants may be propagated for 
further trials. 
In Pots or Boxes. —Tf there is only 
space for a limited number of plants 
seeds from a dozen berries may be pre¬ 
pared and sown in well-drained pots or 
boxes containing a depth of about five 
inches of light compost. Seeds and sand 
together are sown as in garden plant¬ 
ing and a covering kept over the soil 
until germination begins. When the 
seedlings can be handled they are best 
pricked off in two-inch pots, or trans¬ 
planted a similar distance apart in boxes, 
to be planted out in the fruiting beds 
when large enough. Those who plant 
without expectation of startling results 
arc likely to be pleased with their ex¬ 
periment. 
A Handsome Azalea. —The Azalea 
shown in Fig. 189, page 435, is the 
progeny of the wild Pinxter flower, A. 
nudiflora, hybridized with a yellow- 
bloomed variety of the Oriental A. mol¬ 
lis. The plant is five years from the 
seed, is nearly four feet high, and began 
to bloom when two years old. Tt flow¬ 
ers in early May, and a considerable 
show of foliage accompanies the bloom 
instead of the buds opening from bare 
twigs as does the Pinxter flower. The 
color is cream white with a touch of 
salmon in the throat, and there is faint 
but pleasing fragrance. Though not as 
showy as Mollis varieties these hybrids 
of Nudiflora are extremely attractive in 
their way. We have them in almost 
every shade of coloring from pure white 
to deep rose and reddish salmon. They 
are far more vigorous under garden cul¬ 
ture than any other Azaleas we know, 
gaining in stature and floriferousness 
each year, while most other kinds 
dwindle and die out. Though nearly 
sterile an occasional capsule of fertile 
seeds is produced, and a second genera¬ 
tion, both self-pollinated and crossed 
with other species and varieties, is soon 
expected to bloom. w. v. f. 
“For the Land’s Sake use Bowker’s 
Fertilizers; they enrich the earth and 
those who till it. Est. 1873. For prices 
or agencies address Bowker, Boston or 
New York.” 
GET PARTICULARS 
ABOUT OUR NEW 
$50.00 
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for Potatoes, Grapes, Strawberries anil 
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It is a great proposition. 
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CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS. 
KNOX-ALL ro bogs 
The only spray in tho world that kills them. Used 
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When you write advertisers mention Tnn 
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GET THE BEST 
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big profits and lasts for years. 
THE ECLIPSE 
is a good pump. As 
practical fruit grow- 
• ers we were using common 
t sprayers in ourown orchards 
i —found their defects and 
invented the Eclipse. Its 
™ success forced us to manu- 
i wV ¥ t y facturing on a larj ?2 scale. 
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have done all the experi¬ 
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and Treatise on spraying FREE. 
MORRILL & MORLEY, Benton Harbor, Mich. 
-A N E W- 
SPRAYER 
Thoroughly Tested Has No Equal 
For Potatoes, 
Strawberries, etc. 
Double Cylinder High Pressure 
Index Plate Shows Pressure. Has Vibratory 
Syphon Agitator and Pedals to guide nozzles 
over uneven rows and against side winds. 
Spray nozzles in front — No straining of 
eyes and neck as with a rear spray. Write 
Asplnwall Mlg. Co., 312 Sabin St., Jackson, Mich. 
The World’s Oldest anil Largest Makers 
of Potato Machinery. 
Mr. Fruit-Grower! 
Is the maker’s name and 
the word " Patkntkp ” 
Stamped upon the spray 
Nozzles you are using? 
o.s. pat. not, why not? 
Mj'h'™-*’- Think it over. 
"FRIEND” MFG. CO., 
PAHXT5 PUlOOrc. 1 
GASPORT, H.Y., U. S. A. 
QPR AY POTATOES ?£? 
i£- Watson—High Pressure 
—Automatic —including Agitator and Strainer Cleaner— 
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Yield fokcjs pump co.. * uth hl, Kimira. *. i 
Increase Crops Id Orchard and Field with 
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11 Is guaranteed to be the most power¬ 
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Pop Nozzle It Is equal to large opera¬ 
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agency. Spraying Calendar Free. 
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THE PERFECTION SPRAYER 
Spray. Everything—troos, potatoes, etc. Furnished 
complete with Cart and Darrel. Combined hand and 
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MANATEE COUNTY 
SEABOARD'S^ FLORIDA. ^'SEABOARD 
AW LINE RAILWAY 
AIR LINE RAILWAY 
WE Wilt SEND TO YOU FREE. 
Thin handsomely illustrated, fifty-patre. 
booklet containing a most interesting de¬ 
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being a reproduction of a series of ar¬ 
ticles written by the editor of one of the 
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pionths and we have embodied same in 
an attractive pamphlet, illustratimg it with 
dozens of interesting and instructive 
scenes from actual life. This handsome 
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will be sent free, together with pamphlet 
containing a list of properties available 
in the L.nd of Manatee upon receipt of 
five cents in stamps or currency to cover 
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should not delay, but write at once. 
J. W. WHITE. 
General Industrial Agent 
Geaboard Air Line Railway. 
Dept 18 . Portsmouth, Va, 
l l . I I 
ONE MAN DOES 
WORK OF TWO 
With Iron Age Riding Cult!' 
▼ators. You can do it easier and 
better, because they are built on 
lines that make this possible. 
Hoes are under perfect 
control. Can regulat 
depth and keep hoes 
desired distance 
from growing 
plants. More 
advantag 
es In our 
Iron 
Age 
BATEMAN MFG. CO.,Box I 02 C Grentoch, N.J. 
BinderTwine 
8<5 lb. Sample free. 
Farmer ag’ts wanted. 
Then.Burt A.Sons,Melrose,0 
Saw Mills 
If you need anything In saw mills or wood working ma¬ 
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(Joods highest quality and prices reasonable. 
Aoirican Saw Mill Mch. Co., BJfl Hopest.,Hackett*town,N. J. 
New York Office, 610 Esgineerlng Building. 
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Buy direct from factory. Get better Harness, 
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Some now in use wore made more than 20 years 
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“K” Street, Owego, Tioga Co., New York 
.FIVE YEARS’ USE OF 
Stanley’s Crow Repellent 
jtroves that it prevents crows pulling corn, is non- 
poisonous, easily applied, needs no drying. Corn 
can be used immediately after applying, and in 
any planter. Price, $1.00 per can delivered, 
enough for over two bushels or seed. 
Tlieo. A. Stanley, New Hritnin, Conn. 
Wire Fence 90 r 
48-in. stock fence per rod only “ — 
Best high carbon coiled steel spring wire, 
Catalog of fences, tools and suppl ies FREE. 
Buy direct at wholesale. Write today. 
MASON FENCE CO. Box«7. Leesburg, O. 
NIAGARA BRAND LIME SULPHUR SOLUTION 
Must effective winter and summer spray there is, for all forms of sucking insects and fungus. 
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NIAGARA ARSENATE OF LEAD for chewing insect*. 
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TARGET BRAND, BOX 721, MARTINSBURG, W. VA. 
