256 Agriotjlthbal Expeeiment Station, Ithaca, N. Y. 



J. H. Hale, South Glastonbury, Conn., is able to prolong the season by 

 mulching. 



I have never made any careful experiments, as to heavy mulching to 

 retard strawberries, but, in growing and mulching many acres in years 

 past, we have occasionally put on an almost excessive amount and left 

 it on until late in the season, allowing the plants to work their way 

 through, uncovering from time to time the spots where plants were 

 unable to force through the mulch, and, in every instance, this has ' 

 resulted in retarding the bloom from ten days to three weeks and the 

 fruit from five to ten days. I think it is safe to assume that, by 

 leaving on a heavy mulch of light material just as long as may be, in 

 the spring, Avithout entirely killing the plants, the strawberries may be 

 retarded, on the average, fully a week, in their time of ripening, and, 

 in many instances, two Aveeks or more. 



In this way the season of any one variety may be considerably 

 extended, and, as old plants will produce earlier fruit than young ones, 

 having an old bed to give the earliest fruit and a young bed, heavily 

 mulched, to give the latest fruit, would cause one variety to extend 

 over fully four weeks in picking. Adopting the same practice with 

 the earliest and latest varieties, the strawberry season on almost any 

 farm could be made to cover a period of about seven or eight weeks; 

 in fact, we always have about seven weeks of strawberry fruiting here. 



J. H. Halk. 



John Little, Granton, Ontario, retarded his fruit a xoeek. 



I had a very satisfactory experience this season, along the east 

 side of a willow fence running north and south. There were 

 varieties early and medium: Haverland, Wilson, and Saunders. 

 These were covered with a sheet of leaves which remained on them till 

 the warm days caused the leaves to make their way through them. 

 Micliael Early, Bederwood, Crescent and all other varieties were many 

 days ahead of these varieties named. 



The early varieties gave some pickings the 4th of June. The 



three varieties covered with the leaves gave no berries till the 



22d, All the other varieties finished giving any berries to speak of 



the first of July, while those varieties covered with the leaves produced 



berries till the 12th of July, and a scattering few of Haverland and 



Saunders for several days afterwards. 



John Little. 



