Strawberries for the North. 25^ 



quence, and where it is some timesdifRcult to get help at a fair price, I 

 should set what gardeners call double rows; that is, to set two rows of plants 

 about 12 or 14 inches apart each way, then leave a space of 3^ to 4 feet, and 

 then set another double row, and so continue until the piece is finished. 

 This plan would allow most of the work to be done with the horse and culti- 

 vator. I would allow the plants to till their intermediate spaces, and about 

 one foot upon each side with their runners. 



This will give a nice double row, and if well manured and cultivated would 

 yield a good, though not as large a crop as closer setting and cultivation. 



Where land is expensive, worth from $200 to |500 per acre, and labor can 

 be obtained at a reasonable rate, I prefer to set in single rows, say two feet 

 apart, and the plants about twelve or fifteen inches apart in the rows. 



This is, of course, a more expensive method of cultivation, but it produce* 

 much the largest crop for the ground, and where the circumstances are fa- 

 vorable is, as I believe, much the more profitable. 



My own rule is to put my land in the best pcssible condition and then se- 

 lect nice, thrifty plants of the previous year's growth. Never set plants that 

 have borne fruit. 



Set them in rows as above indicated. I have experimented with them (the 

 Wilson) at dilTerent distances, and finally settled upon the above as about the 

 best. 



Some of the ranker growing varieties, like the Crescent, may safely be set 

 twice or more the above named distances, and they will cover the ground in 

 a short time. 



We are careful to set the plants fully as deep, and perhaps a little deeper 

 than they stood in their native beds, still being very careful not to cover the 

 crown of the plants with earth. 



The reason for the deeper setting is that the newly plowed land will settle 

 more or less, and although you pack the earth about the plants, as you cer- 

 tainly should do, it will still be very likely to settle from the roots unless the 

 above rule is adhered to; and when this is the case, the plant is always more 

 or less damaged. 



If the weather is dry, the newly set plants should be well watered. My 

 own experience tells me that one thorough watering, say one pint of Avater 

 to the plant, is much better than to put the same amount upon them at two 

 or three different times. 



I am also s vtisfied that it will well repay the labor of picking off all the 

 blossoms the lirst season, and thus keep the entire strength and growth of 

 the plant within itself, and have it prepared to give us the largest possible 

 crop the following year. 



All weeds should be kept down, and the young plants have every encour- 

 agement to do their best. 



One of the faults of the Wilson is that they do not always throw out as 

 many runners as we desire. I have found the following a good plan with 

 them : 



