The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1862-03-13
Culture Of the strawberry.

Culture Of the trawberry.
At meeting of the Fruit Growers
Society of Western New York, held
at Rochester, Rev. Mr.. Knox, of Pitts
burgh submitted the following remarks:
Hethought rather light loam-what
might be termed wheat soil-prefer-
able to a sandy soil for the growth of
Strawberries. Any soil, however, that
would produce wheat or corn would
produce strawberries. 1t was not
necessary to make the soil very rich.
He had some parts of his plantation
where Strawberries were set out on land
plowed in the ordinary way, about
eight inches deep, and the plants sue
ceeded well. He preferred, however,
to subsoil some eighteen or twenty
inches deep, breaking up the subsoil
without bringing tito the surface. The
plants on this thoroughly pulverized
and SUBSIDIZED land produced crops for
ten to t,celce gears IN succession, with
out replanting in any way! He cuts
off the runners as fast as they are
formed. Plants in rows thirty inches
apart, and the plants ten inches apart
in the rows, making twenty thousand
plants to the acre. Prefers setting out
early in the spring. When he com.
menced strawberry culture, Mr.. x.
plowed between the rows, but latterly
has discarded all implements in his
strawberry plantations, except the hoe.
Weeds are taken out by hand. The
less soil is disturbed after planting the
better, as the whole ground is covered
with a net work of small, fibrous roots.
Never allows the vines to bear the first
year when planted, but picks of all the
fruit stems and runners. Protects the
plants in winter by wheat or rye straw,
put on in November. Dat straw is not
heavy enough, and blows off. Plants
bear much better for this protection.
1t also serves for mulch in summer,
and keeps the fruit from being soiled
by the ground. One-half the straw is
wasted each year, and needs TO be sup
piled every autumn. Two tons to the
acre is about the right quantity of straw
to commence with, but, after that, one
ton of new straw each season will an
swer.
Varieties that succeed in some SOILS
and situations fail in others. The
Hovey is good in Boston, and Mr.. K.
had seen it good in Cleveland, but with
him it never succeeds, no matter how
cultivated. Some varieties run out
after culture a number of years. Pistil-
late varieties seem to do better when
impregnated with some staminate sorts
than with others. On thhis subject he
is trying experiments. The strawberry
season ought to be heightened. 1t is
usually about three weeks, but with
proper selection of sorts may be ex-
tended to FIVE weeks. The sorts Mr.
Il. liked best were the following:
Edrly-Baltimore Scarlet, Jenny
Lind, Burr's New Pine.
Late-Trollope's Victoria, Kitley's
Goliah, Nimrod, Buist's Prize.
Mediuna-Brighton Pine, Boston
Pine, McAvoy's Superior, SCOTS Seed
ling, Moyamensing, Downer's Prolific.
Fillmore, Golden Queen, British Queen,
Vicomtesse Hericart dc Thury, Will
sons Albany, Triomphe de Gand.
For general crop, Wilson's Albany
and Triomphe de Gand are the most
profitable. The latter is the strawberry
of all strawberries, and possesses all
the exeellencies that can be desired
productive, beautiful, large, of fine
quality, berries shipping we'll and the
plants are hardy. 1t is not as product
i've as the Wilson, but an acre will
bring more money. Sent them to
Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia and
New York. Received orders from New
York for more than his whole crop. If
confined to one strawberry he would
plant the Triomphe de Gand. Although
not quite as productive as the Wilson
he could say with safety that it produces
more than three hundred bushels to the
acre. For canning, the Wilson is pre-
ferred. The only manure used is we'll
rotted stable manure. The same plant,
if runners are kept off, will bear ten
years. A good many crowns will start
and cluster around the original plant,
each bearing fruit stem, and all pro-
ducing very large amount of fruit.
Mr.. Wick expressed pleasure at the
remarks of Mr.. Knox. They show that
the very best culture is successful on
large scale. We are too apt to think
that good culture must be confined to
amateurs or garden culture exclusively,
and is unsuited to the orchard and
market garden. This is an error.
That system which is most profitable
in the garden will be generally found
IL