• A Few Words About Strawberries. 
TRAWBERRIES were at their best last season, so far as yield of ber¬ 
ries was concerned. There had been abundant bloom, with dry 
weather to aid the pollenizing and the plants set heavily to fruit, but 
at the ripening there was too much rain and hot muggy weather, 
bringing the berries rapidly to maturity and spoiling not a few on the 
vines before fit to pick. In such a season there is more or less waste 
with many sorts and the quality is not so high as \n normal seasons. 
The writer spent the time almost entirely in the plat, picking 
berries. This plat is where we grow a few plants of all the varieties we list, 
and others. It is always regularly reset each spring and always near the 
packing house, where we can run out at any time to dig a few plants to finish 
out an order, or make up collections of the different sorts. Here we have op¬ 
portunity to compare varieties growing side by side on the same soil and under 
like conditions, and it is from daily observations here, throughout the growing 
and the fruiting season on which we most depend, for we always get sold out 
of some sorts, often early in the season except a few plants here reserved for 
fruit; and last year with its large increase of trade was no exception. 
It is our business to secure for trial and for sale the most promising of 
the new varieties. This to many of our customers is the most important fea¬ 
ture of our catalogue, of greatest interest to them each year. Varieties that 
were best once are far outclassed to-day, and so it goes. The best we have to* 
day may be outclassed in the future. We want the best, and having satisfied our¬ 
selves by thorough trial, we grow the best in largest quantity. We want to speak 
about this in particular. Orders for varieties that get sold out must be returned 
or substituted for. Some sorts are grown in less amount for a more limited de¬ 
mand, but we nearly always have a surplus of a few best sorts, grown especially 
for fruit which, if sold out of others, we can often substitute to our customers' 
advantage, when orders carry or imply such permission. Again, new beginners 
often are in doubt what to order, aside from new varieties for trial, there are 
so many others. If in doubt about the main planting, or if ordered late, give us 
a good idea of what is wanted, if for shipping or for home use, the soil, etc* 
and we will make selection for you if desired. Many order in this way and are 
often pleased to find something new and valuable for trial included free. We 
want to please, and do not want to disappoint a customer by return of order 
when too late to order elsewhere. If brief in our replies, when substitution is 
not desired, and money is returned, remember that we are not indifferent, but 
lack the time to write long letters. Please read our catalogue all through. It 
is written for your information. Write us fully early in the season, but if late, 
be brief as possible. If but few plants are wanted, it is all the same. The 
little orders bring the big ones by and by, but order early, and have your 
plants come early if you can. If sold out of anything, or in any case that our 
selection is desired, be assured that we will do our best to get you started right 
and please you. 
Perhaps the most successful variety to-day the country over is the Senator 
Dunlap. But a short time since this was a new variety. We recognized its 
merits from the first, and we plant it in larger quantity each year. And there 
are old time favorites hard to beat. The good old Gandy grows in favor every 
year. The tendency of most varieties is to set too many berries, but not so 
with Gandy. For the broad matted row system, which is best for this variety, 
a half dozen berries to the plant means a good crop, if the berries are as large 
as Gandy. Its single fruit stem is stout enough to hold the berries well up 
from the ground where the air can circulate and no matter how wet or hot the 
fruiting season, like the last, the Gandy is always firm and bright. Seven hun¬ 
dred dollars is our record of Gandy berries sold from one acre, grown especially 
for fruit. Two hundred dollars for one day’s picking, hauled 17 miles to mar¬ 
ket in spring wagons. This was several years ago when the variety was new 
and nothing then upon the market half so fine. It is as fine to-day, but there 
are other good late berries now. The Aroma is quite similar in size, shape and 
color, but is of a different type and of a still different type is our Uncle Jim. 
Some claim this is the best late berry. We say the best big berry of its type, 
such as the New York, Maximus, Morgan and others that preceded it. It was 
