Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1891-05-07
More Strawberry Talk.

From the abundance Of the heart
the mouth speaketh" Though fruit
culture in general occupies large
room in my heart, ! Think feel
certain-that its chords of affection
draw more closely around that nobest
of all small fruits-the strawberry
1t seems to exercise a charming in
fuence over me, demanding utter
ances in words of praise in its behalf
Its command is this: 1.-The overrul-
ing power has so guided and governed
things. that your eyes have become
open as to see my true value therefore
proclaim it to your people, and assist
in every lau,lable way to make Inc be-
come welcome visitor in every house
hold" In obedience to this command
| act. The past winter has been the
most unfavorable one for the pro-
lection of the strawberry plant here in
tins county, that has ever been my
lot 10 witness and if | should live to
continue the business thirty wears, ac-
cordlng TO the nature OF things, |
should not again expect to see its
equal. Light aud frequent snow
storms ending in rain. followed by
sudden cold formed coating Of ice
every where, G, cept where the lay
ot the land was sucl, as to allow all
water TO pass off quickly. Ordinarily
perfect drainage. which is essential
for the protection of the plants in an
ordinary winter. availed nothing
Neither was mulching Of any benefit
Two nelghbor- of mine. who had
nearly an acre of plants on ground
with good natural drainage. and
made better Ivy artificial, which in
common winter must have wiutered
we'll, now report that the plants are
, nearly all dead. The av Of the land
prevented perfect drainage in such
winter, thus forming solid ice upon
the plants. which i fatal, A. 10 my
beds the ground was selected and thcy
We're prepared, planted and protected.
10y making full use OF all that know
ledge had gathered. from the many
singular seasons | had witnessed.
from the written experience OF the
leading fruit-growcrs in the country.
aud from my own experience in the
business (ihoueh limited. vet by far
the most practical benefit to mel but
vet. lost about one-half my plants
Had at that time the full knowledge
that this past seasons experience has
gwen me. am very certain could
have reduced my loss To minimum
And here come in those advoracie-.
which daily wish to keep il mind
hHowiedg' Is Fomsr. Experience j.
arr best tutor. Power. bv directing
application best tutor, because so i'm
pres>lve in its methods of teaching ~
to he lasting and etitctua. But
knowledge, even though impaired by
thl, teacher, does not ALWAYS prove
10 be power; because not always
properly applied. knowledge. with
out direct application, is of little value
Should that fruit-grower, who has
been unfortunate Oh this wear, give up
the business in disgust. tie would be
throwing away that valuable know
ledge. which has cost him so much,
(tor il cannot be denied but that
experience is a costly tcacher) and
which ii properly applied wonld Weld
him n good profit. These stumbling
blocks, that are placed in our paths of
prosperity. are all put there. | believe.
for our good and for wise purpose
have stumbled over and against
many Of them. but am thankful that |
have thus far escaped with nothing
worse than headers, and a thorough
ly good shaking up now and then. |
know that they are there now, am
on the lookout for them. | pick my
way carefully till can see a clear
path ahead. then push with all my
might. | take it that | have Just
stumbled over a block in the straw
berry path; but still | do not feel
s'ieved. in fact. feel rather rejoiced
that | came upon this block SO early in
my walk in this path. If it had been
placed further along. might have had
a disastrous fall As it is. | have
sounded around it, marked out its
hearings and am pretty certain that
eau steer clear from it 10 the future
What other useful knowledge have |
gained. besides learning what are the
most favorable conditions under which
strawberry plant will live through
such winter as the one we have lust
had: | have learned that some of the
varieties that ] have are much more
hardy than others. Foremost among
these. and the degree Of hardness in
about the order named, are Warfeld.
Haverland, Pineapple, Bubach and
Jessie. | shall plant largely of all
these varieties this season, except the
Pineapple. which am led to believe
will not prove good fruiter. The
Jewel also seemed quite hardy, while
Chas. Downing. Prince. MAY King and
Wilson were nearly all winter-kllled.
My advice would be to select plants
from the first named varieties, aud to
plant very sparingly, if at all, from the
latter +. W. w.
South Hancock, April 30
Senator Arthur P. Breed. of Lynn,
Mass, said in the recent LEGISLATIVE