Iconic Norwich

Did You Know That ….

Are you thinking of adding a strawberry bed to your garden this year?  In 1866 Norwich resident Reuben B. Fuller patented a new vase for cultivating strawberries. Perhaps Mr. Fuller’s strawberry pot, patented design, can help you.

In the words of the inventor, “The object of the present invention is to improve the cultivation and raising of strawberries and other plants and vines … This vase, when to be used in a strawberry-bed for instance, is inserted by its tube or spout B in the ground around such strawberry plant or plants as may be desired, and to which it may be applicable, when, by the flaring side or rim of the vase, the rains and dews falling and gathered upon the vase are thus conveyed directly to the roots of the plant or plants, thereby causing the fruit to become riper much sooner or earlier, the vase also serving to protect the fruit from the dirt, as well as to greatly protect the plant from weeds, worms, and other in sects, and, when it (the vase) is made of earthen or pottery ware, also imparting a great amount of heat and warmth from the rays of the sun to the roots of the plants, as is obvious without any further explanation.”