The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1889-03-29
srRAwBERRrEs.

The strawberry may justly be called
1.-THE Queen of fruits. The late Marchall
P. Wilder once said, God might have
made better berry but he never did. ;"
/ To the horticut urist there is fascinat-
ing charm about the culture of straw
berries that draws out his thoughtful
attention, and as he studies the re-
qulrements of the different varieties
under his care, he finds 1t a pleasant
duty providing for their wants. The
day has gone by when the progressive
fruit grower is willing to accept the
theory that land that will produce
some kind of crop of corn is good
enough for strawberries. The soil
should be rich in all the elements of
plant growth which on old and worn
land can be obtained by liberal ap-
plication of manure plOwed under.
The ground should be plowed to the
greatest possible depth and thoroughly
pulverized with the harrow and clod
crusher. Land that has been gener.
ously MANFRED and thoroughly Guilt
waited the year previous, will give the
best returns when set to strawberries.
If the plants intended for setting out
are to be procured from distance
they should be ordered at least a
month before they are wanted that
there may be no delay in getting them
out as soon as the ground 10 in con-
dition to work nicely. When the
plants are received they should have
the utmost care and the roots not be
allowed to become dry before setting
them out. IF the ground is not yet
ready for them, unite the punches OF
plants and heel them in some shelter
ed situation and wet the soil about the
roots. For field culture the rows
should be four feet apart and the
plants set from fifteen to twenty inch
es apart in the rows according to the
varieties. If it is dry, mark off only
one or two rows at time go the soil
will be fresh and not dried out. This
is very important when setting plants.
We find small hand garden pillow
very useful tool for marking off the
rows, but any kind of marker will
do that does not make too much Of q
furrow. When everything is ready
take enough plants to set one row and
puddle the roots in thin mud, place
them in bucket and take each one
out as wanted. Take garden trowel
for making the holes which should be
Of sufficient depth SO the roots will not
be crumpled up when set, take the
plant i'm the left hand and with the
fingers spread the roots out fan shape,
now hold it against the opposite side
of the hole with the crown on level
with the surface of the ground; with
the right hand press the moist soil
against the roots and level the surface.
1t is very important in setting out
plants that the crown is ON a level
with the surface for if set too deep the
plant will smother and soon die, if set
on mound. as L have had incompe.
tent help set them, the first rain will
wash them out. Cultivation should
begin as soon as the plants become es-
tablished and continue every few days
through the growing season. When
the plants begin to throw out runners,
trail them along the row and fasten
them in place with small stones or
clods to keep the wind from throwing
them around. AS fast as the new
plants fill up the rows the cultivated
space between should be gradually
narrowed. The strawberry is the
most productive of all fruits. Very
few persons realize its enormous pro.
ductiveness on good ground with gen.
erous care, or the present extent of its
cultivation. / quote from Matthew
Crawford of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
"Judge Miller of Button, Mo-,
raised at the rate of 1900 quarts to
the acre. J. NJ. Smith of Green Bay
Wis. raised Ill bushels on an acre of
sandy soil. A gentleman of Mansfield
Ohio, raised IS bushels on a quarter OF
an acre. E. w. Durand, the well
known horriculturist of New Jersey
rrised at the rate of 10000 quarts to
the acre. G. Chase now living in lola
Kansas, raised near Independence,
Mo-, Cumberland Triumph aud Cres-
cent Seedlings at the rate of 32S BUSH
els to the acre." In an address deliv-
cred by B. F. Smith before the Mis-
souri, State Horticultural Society at st.
Louis, January, 1880, he gives his
tory of the growth of the strawberry
trade over the Illinois Central Rail-
road for twenty years commencing at
1860. Mr.. Smith was in the employ of
the company as baggageman between
Cairo and Chicago. In May 1860 the
first shipment of strawberries was
made over the road which consisted of
about three gallons in goods box
shipped from Ullin Station twenty
miles north of Cairo, and consigned to
w. H. Newhall of Chicago. In 1851,
Jonesboro and Golden shipped few
packages daily. In 1922 as many IS
100 10 200 crates were shipped daily
from the same points. The largest
strawberry farm in the world ia locat-