Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-05-16
Strawberries.

The expression. .'Doubtless God could
have made a better berry (than the
strawberry, but doubtless God never
did, is very generally attributed to good
old Isaac Walton, who was as devout as
be was fond of fishing, but although it
occurs in his "Complete Angler it
was not originally made by DR.. Boteler
CDR. William Butler, who died in 1920,
whom Dr.. Fuller, in his book of
worthless. styles s'the E%sculapius of our
age" and whom Roger Williams called
lone of the chic. est doctors of England"
We are willing to endorse the proverb
of these ancient worthless, but even to
give it q wider range of comparison.
We do not know any fruit that is supe-
rior to it Ii obligedt to make our choice
OF oil the fruits of the earth for a steady
dessert, we should be inclined to choose
the strawberry. 1t is not only delicious
and refreshing at all times, but to most
persons it is equally wholesome. There
rs occasionally one who is poisoned by
cating even a single strawberry, but
such eases are exceptional. We have
eaten Strawberries quite steadily through
six months of the year, by making q
change Of latitude, and have enjoyed
them as much in August as in March.
We often wonder at the little labor
and pains that those who are possessed
OF even half an acre of ground are will
ing to take, in order to have an abund-
ant supply in the season Of this luscious
berry. 1t requires some toll and some
care to have a bed that will vie plen-
tifully, but it does not involve much ex-
pense. and the fruit that one picks from
his own vines, fresh in the early morn
which is bought in the market.
strawberries may be grown success
fully in any rich soil that is not wet.
The kind of is not so import
ant, D divided it be fine and we'll incor-
;poraled with the soil. Nothing is bet
Ter than thoroughly rotted stable or
barn-yard manure which has been pre-
pared in a compost heap. Bone dust
and ashes may be aided with advan-
Gage. but the soil of the strawberry bed
should be kept light, even at the cost of
draining and of large additions from
the compost heap.
The spring is not the best time for
be inning cultivation. but it is a good
timeto prepare the bed. Some early
cop of vegetables that will not exhaust
the strength of tie soil may be grown,
and this will afford a good opportunity
to subdue the weeds and to make the
bed ready for the strawberry plants,
which should be set out in favorable
weather, about the first of August. Or
if the ground is in good condition and
free from weeds by previous cultivation,
.nlpntS NAV no cot nJ1t in no,.lr mil, ~
and a larger crop secured for the next
year than if the transplanting were
done in July or August.
In setting out a bed it will be much
safer to use plants that have been start
ed from layers in p is, rather than to
depend on their starting in the open
ground. Having once commenced to
form roots and to grow, if they are
carefully set out without distu bing the
earth OF the pots, their growth need not
De checked, and early and abundant
ruit at the proper season may be ex-
ccted with the proper culture, which
1nusts not be neglected at any part OF
,4e season. The plants should not be
s"l less than fifteen inches apart, and in
rovs with not less tlan fifteen inches
between them, so as to afford plenty of
loomssfor working the soil.
In regard to the choice of plants we
do not propose to give a catalogue of
those to be chosen. The varieties most
desirable will depend somewhat upon
the locality, and upon the nature OF
the soil; but we enter our protest
against the general disposition to ex-
'clude the Wilson from such a choice.
There is no berry that has stood the test
of time and cultivation better than this;
in some respects, especially for trans
port ton to market. it has no superior.
1t is strongly oh .ected to by some on
account Of its acid,ty, but this is easily
counteracted by the use OF sugar, which
rs essential to the development of the
flavor of many fruits. It is we'll to
have a variety to suit different tastes,
but from the long catalogue of choice
fruit which the various gardeners have
to recommend. this should not be left
out; and a well-developed, thoroughly
ripe Wilson strawberry is not to be de-
;spised.-N. Y. Observer.