1 Aprrt, 1898.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 279 
Naturally enough, the struggle the early settlers had was a desperate one. 
It was against odds, and often, indeed, against hope. But they were stout- 
hearted, stuck to their guns, and last season the strawberry crop rewarded: 
their faith, and has opened up a bright vista for the future. 
Now the secret of success in strawberry culture is to have early fruit. 
You must catch the first market, or, better still, create it by having the first 
ripe berries of the season. In the course of a few days, or in a week or so, 
the glamour and glory of the first flush is gone. The price rapidly falls—or 
did last season—from 2s. to 1s. per quart. Then, when the excitement of 
getting the first yield of ripe berries for table purposes has abated, the time 
has arrived for picking the surplus fruit for jam. hese berries—all sorts and 
conditions—haying the “ nib’’ removed, are thrown into kegs provided by the 
jam-makers of Brisbane. It is called“ pulp.” For pulp the growers receive 
4d. per lb. This pays well, and the demand was so steady last season it is 
expected that the price will keep up. 
The strawberry is a delicate fruit, and when needed for table use requires 
careful packing. This will be better understood when one keeps in view the 
fact that Sydney is sometimes the destination for the first crop. The packing 
cases used are very shallow, and made of pine, split in the “scrub” adjacent 
to the strawberry plots. The cases usually hold from 3 to 6 quarts. 
Packing is what some would term a finicking job, and, perhaps, better suited 
to women than men. But “all hands and the cook” usually turn out when 
the strawberry season is in full swing. The juvenile members of the com- 
munity are at a premium at such times, and those who have large plots under 
culture bespeak all the available labour. In California the general fruit 
harvest is a time of exceptional activity; and as it is not accounted infra dig. 
for ladies of refinement to take part in picking, the fruit season is a time of 
social intercourse. Similar conditions may prevail some day at Razorback. 
The strawberry is a wonderfully prolific plant, but, in order to keep up pro- 
ductive activity, experience has taught the growers of Razorback to plant anew 
each season. The great fertility of this marvellous little plant is demonstrated. 
about two or three weeks after the first ripe berries are picked. If one happens 
to visit a grower’s place when he is watching, with almost breathless excitement, 
the few fast-ripening berries which herald the approach of the season, he will 
be given to understand that the order of the day is, “ Hands off.’ But if he 
returns when the season is at its height, the grower will almost implore him, 
and his friends, to come and eat to their hearts’ content, so as to prevent 
waste. Yet, in spite of the incessant picking for market, and the incursions of 
yisitors and friends, it is usually impossible to cope with the supply, and 
quantities of berries are lost through decay. 
The following facts were supplied by a Razorback grower, who has made 
strawberry culture a decided success :— ; 
Six thousand plants to the acre. 
Kinds—Marguerite chiefly, being early and good bearers. 
Commence planting in February. 
Continue to middle March. 
Turn soil with fork to depth of 10 inches; reduce to a fine tilth. 
This is especially needful where soil is porous. 
Plants commence to bear first week in August. 
