The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1905-02-25
FoR THE UNION"
CULTIVATION OF THE STRAWBERRY.
By CHARLES E. FrSDALL, OF rowsoS.


Strawberries are recognized as the
queen of fruits" They are undoubt-
eddy better known and more universally
liked than any other Their great popu-
larity, perhaps, arises from the fact that
they ripen first in the spring, and come
at time when our systems, after long
fast, are thirsting for something fresh
and new. And, indeed, what is more
beautiful or appetizing on the breakfast
table than a splendid dish of luscious
berries just gathered from the vines in
the garden? The mere sight of them
braces you like tonic and gives you
the keenest of appetites. You exclaim
with great pleasure, why, mother, this
is a feast for the godsl Away with the
bacon and eggs, beefsteak and other
eatables of coarser grain; | will have no
more Of them; give me the berries J"
and you begin to eat with great relish,
ever and anon admiring the big ones and
discussing their flavor with those about
you. And the children, why they have
simply gone wild No Christmas toy
ever invented gives half the JOY you
see heaming in the faces of the little
ones. With great gusto they cut the
big fellows in two and crush them in
their little mouths, and when the first
supply is finished how longingly they
look at the dish and tenderly plead for
morel
want to say here, there is no COM
parison between the berries we get from
the garden and those we buy in the mar
kets. The one is fresh and sweet, the
other often sour and tasteless; the one
is picked on the day we use it, the other
is gathered several. days before reach
ing the market, and in order to stand
hundreds of miles of travel by boat or
rail, is picked little green. Thus you
see that although you may find some of
the same varieties in market that you
cultivate in the garden, you will never
find them in as good condition, I'M
less it be at the time when the markets
are supplied from neighboring counties,
and even then you will find they have
been more or less bruised in transit.
Again, when man desires to go into
the business of raising strawberries for
the market he looks around for berry
that will ship we'll, or hold up" as they
say, even when roughly handled. To
meet these requirements he must neces-
sarily select a very firm berry, and this
quality, when prominent, generally ex-
lists at the expense of flavor and sweet
ness
When an amateur of experience wishes
to set out plants and desires to try
something new he generally sends for
half dozen of five or six varieties of
the recent introductions, and tests them.
After fruiting he selects one or two of
the six which do best and discards the
others: or if none of them come up to
the varieties already in cultivation, he
discards them all In this way he keeps
abreast of the times, without mitch loss
or disappointment | fear many Begin
ners are often misled by the hourishing
''ad" of some enterprising dealer in
plants, whose only desire is to sell,
with very little regard as to the truth
of the descriptions sent out They plant
the variety recommended and are Bit
terly disappointed because it does not
come up to their expectations. There
fore / really think if some responsible
nurseryn1an would select the varieties
best for the home garden, and those best
for the market, and classify them under
respective heads in his catalogue, he
would certainly confer great favor up
on the general public, and in all proba-
bility largely increase his sales.
| know of no fruit or vegetable that
will respond to kind treatment as quick
ly and as lavishly as the strawberry.
In good soil, and with ordinary care,
it will produce a good crop, but if you
really want to see something fne-some-
thing to be proud of, put it under high
pressure. The berries will not only be
of a superior quality, but the ground
along the rows will be literally covered
with splendid specimens, and the yield
about three times as great
Now, if you wish to be successful in
the cultivation of this delicious fruit
you must not be afraid of getting the
ground too rich, and you can not be too
careful in the preparation of the soil
Indeed you can not do this too well, as
mitch of your future success depends
upon the thoroughness of this work In
fact, in this as we'll as in other matters
it is we'll to follow the old adage:
What is worth doing at all is worth
doing we'll Nearly thirty years ex-
perience has taught me to adopt the fol-
lowing plan as the best for one with
small area a plan which l have invar-
iably found productive of good results:
In the spring select plot of ground
SAY twenty-four by forty feet-top
dress heavily with we'll rotted stable
manure, pillow or spade this in as deep
as possible; then scatter fifty lbs of
pure bone meal and about six bushels
of unleached ashes; harrow or rake
thoroughly; lay the plot off for crop
of early peas or potatoes; dig all the
potatoes from the 5th to the 10th of
July; then pillow or spade, turning the
soil as deep as possible; spread about
four cart loads of very fine, wel1-rotted
manure; thoroughly mix this in the
soil by harrow or rake Now lay off
eight rows, three feet apart, and plant
sugar corn two feet in the row. AS
soon as the corn comes up begin to
cultivate; do this at least once a week,
or after every shower of rain, taking
special care to work the ground as level
as possible. By the Goth of August the
corn will have shaded the ground toll
erably we'll Now select your plants
from the propagating bed. If begin
ner get your plants from a neighbor;
some we'll tested varieties, or send to
some reliable nurseryrnan for the fol-
lowing ported plants: One hundred and
twenty Michels Early; one hundred
and twenty Nick Dinner; one hundred
and twenty VIM. Belt and one hun
bred and twenty Candy. This will give
you two rows of each variety eight inch
es in the row. Now cut the roots back
to three or four inches and remove all
the outside leaves, reducing plant of
five or six leaves to two. Take trowel
or a small narrow spade, plunge it in
the soil to the depth of four or FIVE inch
es, push it back and forward until you
have an opening about two inches wide;
place the plant in the opening, at the
same time spreading its roots carefully
If the plants are potted merely tap the
bottom of the pot with the handle of
the trowel; then insert the plant, with
the ball of earth attached thereto. in
the opening as florists do when setting
out a bed of flowers Now bring the
crown of the plant level with the top sur
face. place your foot on each side of
the plant, throw your body forward and
press with all your weight with an in
ward motion This will tighten the soil
around the plant and assist it in recov-
erinq from the shock. of removal. Plants
at this season should be set out late in
the afternoon, we'll drenched with water
and covered the next morning with old
berry boxes or newspapers held in place