The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1880-05-06
lsTRAwBERRY CULTURE.

49, @~8~.~.~ - - -
A good many pcrsors ara Of the opln-
ION that It costs moro, to grow straw
Der. ics than they are worth but this
i not The case. There is NO reasonable
excuse for ill who have spare rod Of
ground for not having plenty Of this
delicious fruit in its season. We know
that many hsve tried to grow them and
failed. for various reasons. The straw
berry is placed in two classcs-hermaph-
rodite and pistillate varieties; the first
produce full crops by themselves, hav-
ing perfect blossoms, and the latter
needing few Of the former planted
with them to assist in fertilization.
Thousands of these pistillatc sorts have
been sold over the country by scalawag
tree agents which proved worse than
no plants at all to the planter. Well do
we remember our first experience.
Whom quite young an acre Of ground
was set aside for fruit garden;
neighbor kindly offered US what straw
berry plants we wanted to begin, saying
she had bought them of so-and-so, and
knew they were the best, as she had
paid big price for them. The plants
were set in the spring and well tended;
and by fall were . pretty sight. The
following spring the bed was ono mass
of bloom, and we counted on several
dishes of berries smothered in cream,
and even went SO far as to think Of hav-
ing strawberry festival free for the
whole ncighborhood. But alas! there
was not pint Of berries on the entire
bed. All our labor for nothing! But
VIC had set our heart on fine fruit gar
den, and we were not to be baked in
that way. So the the following August
we bought some Wilson's Albany from
4 reliable nurscryInan, and one dozen
each of about twenty other varieties,
and have had strawberries every season
since.
We prefer to set plants in the spring.
Land that has been cultivated some
years is better than fresh-plowcd sod.
1t should be made pretty rich, but on no
account apply any fresh manure. Ash
es and chicken manure are excellent for
top dressing. For garden culture, set
them two feet apart each way: for field
culture, set in rows about three apart
and ten inches apart in the row. Al
ways ''puddlc" the roots, before plant
ing. To do this, stir the soil in pail of
water to the consistency Of thick cream
and dip the roots of the plants in this
Set the plants into the ground the full
length of the roots, leaving the crown
of the plant even with the surface Of the
soil. Never set the plants on ridges
rather little lower than the level.
About two weeks after setting, sow
broadcast over the bed common salt at
the rate of ten bushels to the acre, and
each year following, just before they
bloom. We have noticed several benc-
fetal results from tins salt-sowing. II
tends to produce MOISTURE very i'm
portant item in growing this fruit. II
is sure death to grubs, which do damage
by eating the roots below the surface
The soil should be kept well loosened up
between the rows and around the plants
and all runners cut of until September,
then allow them to set some new plants
training them along the row, aiming
to form compact row of plants about
eighteen inches wide. A light covering
of prairie hay, or straw, as free from
weed seeds as possible, should be put
over them as soon as the ground freezes
DO not put ON too much-just enough to
hide the plants. Too much will smoth-
er them. In the spring, not too early
move the covering to each side of the
plants, leaving it between the rows for
mulch, to be removed entirely when
they arc done fruiting. Spade or pillow
between each row, tearing out most of
the plants, leaving only enough to grow
for another years Western Hor-
ticmltWrisf.