The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-01-28
strawberries in Florida.

;r,DOrtauce. 1t IS alreduy d ouASo VI ~
10 70 many Florida gardeners. which
ND he seriously missed if it were cut Off.
h,,siress which puts from 200 to $50
ooo IN cash into the hands of the growers Of
~ If a number of small settlements in the
80 within the short space of three or four
.,or+hs is not to be despised. The supply
:. Increasing, however, more rapidly than
.ba demand. Yet it is true of the straw
tarrr business. as of every other-''there is
..oo,n At the top" The demand for choice,
M ripe fruit, in good condition, always
GOODS the supply. Those who grow such
t-uit and see that it reaches the market in
,,ood condition, always reap a rich reward.
mt those who sell culls and green or over
Vino berries, often have freight blu topay
80 +ba result of their carelessness. The art
~ growing the best crop of No. fruit,
sovs w c. Steele of Switzerland, Fla, in
tho Florida Agric1tlturiSt, has not yet
reached the point where it can be called an
eract science. There are no rules which can
ba nublished with the assurance that if they
ore strictly followed the result Is sure to be
satisfactory. Yet without the observance
If certain conditions success is impossible
If they are complied with success is reason
sbIv sure. provided the season is not too I'M
favorable.
In the selection of soil there is quite a
wide difference of opinion as to which is the
best suited to produce the most profitable
cron of Strawberries. In view of the fact
that very large supply of water is neces-
sarv to mature a good crop of strawber-
ries. many growers prefer moist soil,
either low hammock or well drained fat
woods land. Others prefer to drain the
land thoroughly. Dig bitches every 90, 80
or 40 feet, as may be needed. Make them
from lB inches to 2 feet deep according to
the amount of fall you can get. Plow the
Iapis between the bitches always toward
the middle, 50 that they will slope gently
from the center to the bitches on each side.
On these lands set your plants in such a
manner that the crowns will be even with,
or perhaps little below, the level of the
surface of the soil. This arrangement gives
all the advantages of the ridged rows in
time of food. In case of severe drought the
drained beds do not suffer so soon nor so
much as the bedded up rows.
l do not believe that it is possible to make
an ordinary Florida soil too rich for straw
berries Whenever it is practicable he
native Floridian's method of enriching the
soil 10y cowpenning) is an economical and
very efFectual means of securing the requi-
site fertility. For Strawberries, however, 1
should advise the addition of from 400 to 600
pounds of potash per acre to the cowpenned
land before setting the plants If it is not
possible to cOwpen heland on which you
wish to set your Strawberries, the best sub
stitute is a liberal application of well rotted
stable manure. If no stable manure can
be obtained, make the compost of muck,
cotton seed meal, ground bone Tor acid
phosphate and potash. Such a compost
should be made several weeks months
would be BETTER before you will need to ap-
ply it TO the land. If no muck is to be had =,
the next best fertilizer, in my opinion, is a
mixture Of equal parts by weight of cot
ton seal NEAL home meal and potash-from
10 to 10 pounds of the last to each 100
pounds Of the other two. This mixture
should be made aud applied to the land at
least five or SIX weeks before you wish to
set the plants Otherwise there is great
danger that cotton seed meal will burn the
roots Of the pants. There is also a differ
ence OF opinion as to the proper quantity
Of fertilizer that should be used per acre.
But up to the present time 1 have never
seen a strawberry bed that seemed to be
suffering from too much fertilizer
Most Of the berries which are shipped to
northern markets are sent in refrigerators
or refrigerator cars. 1t is best to get the
lrult INTO the cars or refrigerators as soon
as possible. Every hour the berries are ex-
posed to the warm often hot outside air
causes deterioration from which they never
recover Within tho last two or three
years attempts have been made to ship the
berries to market without the use of ice in
"nat are called ventilated crates. From all
tNe reports it is evident that the results
nave not been very satisfactory. This
method Is not likely to supersede the re-
"'ee!a1or lines. During cold weather the
O"".ue air, after leaving Florida, may be
e1'nlied TO the car in sufficient quantities
answer the same purpose as the ice in the
ie.lSerators. But when warm weather
INES On there Is no means of staying the
"''loh OF natural causes and the fruit al
i'os' invariably reaches market in q more
VI less decayed condition.
ne variety most generally planted In
WIS S'a1e' Tor market, is the Neunan. 1t is
'0'Io.sIy known in different localities a
,''' wilson, improved Wilson, Neunan and
approved Neunan. The latter rame is
'aiUuSly spelled Noonan, Newman, as well
90 Nelnan' Several years trial of all these
0'led varieties, procured from the best
"e'S and nurserymen In widely separ-
parts OF the slate, have shown that there
0 Inference between them, either in
~ prodactiyeness, or any other point.
reader doubts this statement, let him
,ue experiment as did. Procure some
We plants offered under all those names.
T. 'e'aole parties, and test the matter
panied SIDE by side on good soil and all
lam, t. a'lKe' no one can distinguish one
49,. w." another at any time, either in fruit or
." any way except by looking at the
i.I oA the stakes. HoTman's Seedlings
u, ing planted quite largely in some parts
H. '-' ''ate' have never seen the fruit
MI p'ro' are very diverse, some recon-
- 'i' very highly, while others condemn
oo 5'''e As decidedly. Besides the Neunan
III. WV HOLMAN, there are one or two M
'oAlhgs which have ecouirad co,s;a