New York Agricultural. Experiment Station. 633 



twenty to thirty inches apart. Each plant produces two runners 

 which are trained to take root in the plant row directly in front 

 of and behind the mother plant. The " double-hedge " system has 

 the rows about three feet apart with the plants thirty inches apart. 

 The mother plant develops through its runners from four to six plants 

 trained to form three rows, one in line with the older plants and 

 a new row each side of the mother plant row. No other plants 

 are permitted to develop. There are many modifications of these 

 methods of planting. Of all these systems the matted row requires 

 less labor and the yield is usually greater. 



Setting the plants.- — After the plants have been dug they are 

 trimmed for setting by removing all dead leaves and runners and 

 all except one or two of the green leaves. The roots are usually 

 shortened back about one-third their growth. The land should be 

 marked both ways, or across the direction of the rows if the plants 

 are set along a line stretched from end to end of the row. The 

 roots of the plants should never be allowed to dry out. A trowel, 

 flat dibber, or narrow, well scoured spade may be used to open the 

 soil for the plants, the latter being most convenient for large plant- 

 ings. Insert the spade and press forward making a wedge-shaped 

 opening. The roots, spread out, may be inserted in this space 

 which should then be closed and the soil pressed firmly against the 

 roots. The crown of the plant should not be so deep as to be covered 

 with earth nor should it be set so high as to expose the roots. It 

 should be level with the surface. If too deep the crown may rot; 

 if too shallow the roots dry out. 



MANAGEMENT OF PLANTATION. 



Treatment during first summer. — Cultivation should begin when 

 the plants are set and be continued throughout the summer and fall 

 whenever necessary to keep down weeds and to maintain a mellow 

 soil condition. If possible, cultivation should be both ways until 

 runners begin to make plants. Cultivation or hoeing should never 

 be deep enough to disturb the shallow root system. The flower- 

 clusters should be removed as soon as they appear, to secure stronger 

 plants from which runners will develop later. The first runners to 

 start should be encouraged to root by " bedding in " or placing in 

 a position where they will root readily and will not be disturbed by 

 the cultivator. It may be necessary to thin out some of the later 

 ones to avoid crowding because most varieties set too many plants. 

 Some growers stop cultivation early, sowing among the plants oats 

 or barley which die down after the first frosts, forming a slight winter 

 protection. This practice, however, cannot be recommended 

 although a cheap one, owing to the large amount of moisture removed 

 by such a crop, which, in a dry fall, must decrease the vigor of the 

 strawberry plants. Such a winter protection is not sufficient to 

 keep the ground from frequently freezing and thawing. 



