The Gem state rural. [volume], April 15, 1897, Image 1

About The Gem state rural. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho) 1895-1910

Image provided by: Idaho State Historical Society

                
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VOLUME ii.
CALDWELL, IDAHO, APRIL
1 5 - *897.
NUMBER
7 *
Raster,. Strawberrie^ Under Wester,,
Any farmer in the state may
have a supply of this appetizing
and healthful fruit fresh from the
vines throughout the season if he
willing to sow a few square
rods less of wheat and devote
uch time to the cultivation of
1 '
as
,;lthese few rods in strawberries
SBwouId be required if they were
ll| lplanted to potatoes or pumpkins.
The strawberry is found grow
ing wild in about every neglected
field and sunny hillside in the
■■United States. Even the fruit of
Jpl 'its wild progenitor, deficient in
^Spisize and high in seed contents,!
■Lvhen ripened in the sun is rather
Hidilicious. But one need not cul
Hmvate any of the wild species,
as
V:
HBThere are 100 or 200 varieties,
Hpi each one of which is perhaps an
»improvement on its wild brother.
fit is unnecessary to say that
these varieties are not all equally
good. What then shall we do?
Order a few of each and try
■pi them ? No! Horticulturalists of
aBthe stations, as well as practical
■I g rowers, agree closely on a dozen
B$or so which are best suited to
I
eneral culture.
The really good
LBvarieties of the strawberry, like
sfithe best varieties of other fruits,
SB have a wide range of adaptability.
In order to ascertain the best
1 'varieties for the conditions of soil
Band climate in Idaho 38 varieties,
• including the best then in culti
^vation, were bought of an Ohio
A
firm in the spring of 1895.
■ number of good varieties, among
■[which the Leader and Lady Rusk
|||are conspicuous, have been intro
Bduced since then
■B found in the list.
and are not
But none of
■ these new varieties claim superi
prity to the best of the old ones. |
[About a dozen of the best new
ivarieties are to be planted at this
.station next sprin 0 ".
Pi fty plants of each of these
^ÿ38 varieties were planted in row
|I00 feet long, making plants two
lllp feet apart in the rows. They
jÿwere trained into matted-rows
b
about 18 inches wide.
# drought quite a number of some
varieties died,
that
Owing to
Those varieties
grew and made a good stand
thereby proved their
hardiness,
.and from these it is possible, in
the face of the yield for the past
season and their good record else
. where, to select 10 or 12 which it
; is safe to recommend. It is to be
Regretted that some such standard
varieties as the Havcrland and
peder Wood made such a poor
stand that it is impossible to
fudge them.
The strawberry patch is on a „
eas ' ern s Inpe, a heavy clay loam,
TIIE SEASON OF 1896.
Owing to the abundant rams
1 °I May there was sufficient moist
until the ripening period;
during the latter part of this pe
r 'od the lack of rain was apparent,
but on the whole the
ure
satisfactory,
Pickings were made every two
days by the same man.
1° this paper the names of the
imperfect flowering varieties are
in italics,
During the seasoB Burt Seed -
Pug ar >d Parker Earle appeared,
to superficial observation, to be
the best yielders, perhaps partly
because one was the most con
crop was
:
spicuous early and the other the
most conspicuous late variety. It
vviP be seen, however, that others
cam e close to them in total yield.
Following are the best 10
yielders with the approximate
number of quarts per row of 100
The order in which they
come W >H, no doubt, vary another
y^ ar and some in the seeond
best lot will perhaps equal some
of these:
Burt Seedling ". .
Par ker Earle.
Saunders.
Stayman .
Lovett.
Bisel •.
Crescent
33
3i
27
30
30
2 9
.
Enhance.
Princess .
Princeton Chief.
Following are eleven good va
I rieties:
25
26
Greenville , Shuckless, Szvin
^ e * Wilson, Beder Wood, Tim
hr ell, Ganey, Bubcich , Sharpless,
E ever ly, Marshall.
None of the 21 varieties named
are ranked as inferior at other
stations, and GreenvillCy Sharp
^ e;,s an< ^ Bubach are generally
considered the very best. .
BERRIES
The pistillate
FOR THE KITCHEN
GARDEN.
or imperfect
flowering varieties are a little
more productive than the stami
nate, but in the home garden
where yield is not a very import
ant consideration, a few of the
best perfect flowering varieties
may be selected, as for example
Saunders, Sharpless, Parker Earle.
A too great variety should be
avoided. The Crescent is a little
earlier than Saunders and if this
is substituted the Lovett or some
variety that blooms at the same
time should be planted alongside.
The Timbrell is an excellent
late variety; but is disqualified
for market on account of not col
oring up uniformly when ripe. It
may be planted with the Sharp
^ ess<
CULTURE OF THE STRAWBERRY,
The ideal soil is a sandy clay
loam retentive of moisture but
with good drainage, but they will
succeed on any soil which will
grow a good crop of corn or po
tatoes. If natural drainage is not
sufficient the soil must be ditched.
In localities where there is
danger of late spring frosts a
piece of ground with sufficient
elevation to protect against frost
should be selected. Pistillate va
neties are least subject to injury
' /° ^
T i • Li
• l a .f d L IS t ,° be p owed uncier
it should be done the previous
fall and replowed again in the
spring before setting the berries,
If the ground is infested with
weeds it should be cultivated in
ure should be applied to the corn
or potatoes so that it becomes
incorporated with the soil,
well rotted manure or commercial
corn or potatoes the
year. A liberal amount of
previous
mar.'
If
fertilizers are applied just before
setting the plants they should be
scattered on top and thoroughly
worked in with the cultivator.
There should be at least one
row of staminates to three rows
of pistillates. Varieties to fur
nish pollen should be of similar
shape, size and color to the one
to be fertilized, not only that the
berries when marketed may have
a uniform appearance, but also
because the male varieties influ
ence the form and color of the
female. The reason they should
be of the same season is manifest.
THE FIRST YEAR.
Set plants in rows three and a
half feet apart and two feet apart
in the rows. Cultivate both ways,
keeping all runners cut off until
July. Then cultivate only be
tween rows, and train runners to
make a matted row about two
not allowing sets to
root closer than eight to 12 inches,
depending on the rankness of
growth peculiar to the
When enough plants have been
set to fill the row pruning should
be resorted to to prevent too
close matting, which condition
will cause small berries.
feet wide,
variety,
until
They aie kept pruned
July so that the original plants
may' root deeper and thus become
less subject to drought.
Strawberries should be mulched
MULCHING.
with swamp hay or manure, three
or four inches deep, but where
lifting by frost is not too bad it
had better be deferred until New
Year's. The mulch should always
be applied when the ground is
frozen, the deeper the better,
the mulch will cause them to
start too early in the spring and
there is thus a chance to lose the
whole crop by late spring frosts,
If mulched when frozen the
ground will not thaw out so soon
' n the spring and plants will not
start so early,
Rake aside mulch, carefully
working some under the plants to
keep fruit clean, removing some
If mulched when not frozen
SECOND YEAR.
of necessary, but unless neces
S ary to cultivate on account of
u - ee ds, leave as much
between the
as you can
rows; pinch back
runners until July. Itisnotgen
erally considered profitable to
longer than
the second year, but if this is
done the vines should be mowed
keep a bed
as scon as the crop is harvested
and burned to the ground to de
stroy leaf blight, then cultivate
winter, keeping the plants
thinned,
till
Respectfully submitted,
K. C. Egbert,
Supt. Ag'l Exp. Station,
Moscow, Idaho, Jan. 18, '97.
Q .
Society.
SECRETARY'S ANNUAL REPORT.
[B}' Robt. Millken, Sec.]
Mr. President and members of
Horticultural
the Idaho State
At this the close of the second
year of our organization, we have
assembled to deliberate upon the
results of our efforts as members
in the field, and as an organized
body working in the interests of
the cause of fruit
during the interval
cultivation,
which has
passed since our last meeting.
In making this report I will pre
sent for your consideration a
brief statement of my efforts to
organize our state, and make
some general suggestions upon
the work before us. What we need
most is more men at the wheel,
more active workers, and I am
pleased to see so many have evi
dently interested in the efforts
this society is making to advance
the horticultural interests of our
orchard
state. It is not only' of the
we have to do, but all
departments of horticultural work
demand our attention. Primarily
it is the fruit man w ho keeps up