Semi-weekly herald., 1913-05-15
WHERE strawberries ARE
NUGGETS.

One of the largest strawberry cen
souri,. 1t annually ships out hundreds
of carlodas of this fruit which COM
mands a ton price on the market.
This region became prominent in ber-
ry culture on account of its favorable
climate, its accessibility to central
markets and it's fertile soils, on which
the strawberries mature into large
sized fruit
Lven with these favorable natural
conditions the berry industry of the
Ozark fruit belt would have never
attained its existent prominence were
il not for the organization of a CO.
operative marketing society which
renders possible the shipping of a
product of uniform type and quality
to the best markets and in conse-
quence of obtaining for it the highest
prices.
An Average of $3.50 per Crate
Last year the members OF the Ozark
Fruit Growers association received
an average price of $3.50 per crate
for their berries, whereas the inde-
pendent producer the country over
was glad to market his fruit at S1.50
to $1.75 per crate. This extra high
price paid for the association berries
was on account of this fruit being OF
a uniformly superior quality and also
because it was so carefully sorted
and graded.
The stamp of the association on a
box of fruit was guarantee of its
excellence. At present there are ap-
proximately one thousand Missouri
strawberry growers, who are annual
ly producing something like eight
thousand acres of berries, and who
are marketing their fruit under the
direction of the association.
The average producer raises from
five to ten acres of Strawberries each
year, in many cases he is general
farmer, poultryman or orchardist who
grows the berries merely because they
constitute an excellent cash crop to
be produced as a side-line. Practical
ly all the soil upon which these ber-
ries are produced is of loose or
sandy loan origin. These soils, in
the main, are virgin in nature, be-
ing in cut-over areas and accordingly
especially rich in humus. The ber-
ries are grown on a given piece of
land only once every five or six years,
other crops being used in rotation.
In some cases it is necessary to ap-
ply phosphoric acid to the strawberry
soil in the form of raw rock phos-
phate or bone-meal after the first crop
is produced, but aside from this and
the use of well-rotted stable manure,
no resort has to be made to artificial
fertilization. In case the land is not
stony, it is necessary to mulch the
crop with wheat-straw in order to con-
serve soil moisture and to insure Wig
orous and rapid growth of the young
strawberry plants.
Stones as a Useful Mulch
Peculiar as it may seem, the stones
and small rocks which are SO preva-
lent in the Ozark districts are benefi-
cial, in that they rapidly absorb heat
and radiate it to the soil, while in a
similar manner they conserve soil
moisture by preventing wasteful sur
face evaporation, as they form pro-
tective covering over the land. OF
course if the stones are extremely nu-
merous they are detrimental to straw
berry culture, but where care is used
in selecting the berry site this con-
dition rarely occurs.
Throughout this berry belt the prof
its obtained annually by the growers
are very attractive, the average range
being a good return of from 500 to
$500 per acre. A man can gain a
pleasant and profitable livelihod from
his 800 per acre crop, as the cost
Of production is not at all exorbitant
in the case of the berry crop. There
is a notable example of one expert.
enced grower who recently conducted
an experiment on his home berry.
patch to ascertain just how large q
profit it was possible to obtain pei
acre.
This producer used the best and
most vigorous of plants for his sets
and started them in well prepared
seed-bed Of excellent condition and