Small Fruits in Western Oregon. 105 



half feet apart both ways as this variety makes large tops and does 

 not bear well if the plants crowd each other. Marshall, Wilson, Oregon, 

 and Gold Dollar plants may be set three feet apart if cultivated both 

 ways, or three by two if cultivated one way. Clark's Seedling plants 

 may be set eight inches apart in rows three feet apart, or the plants 

 may be set two feet apart in the rows and each plant allowed to set 

 three or four additional plants lengthwise of the rows. 



When obtaining plants for setting one should take pains to obtain 

 young plants set from runners of plants that have not fruited, as such 

 plants are more vigorous than those developed from plants which have 

 been exhausted by bearing. The plants should be carefully handled 

 when taken up so as to keep the roots from drying out. As soon as 

 the planter receives them he should at once heel the plants in mellow 

 moist (not wet) soil. When preparing for planting straighten out the 

 roots and cut off about one-third of the length evenly with shears. 

 Cut off also all but two of the leaves. Be sure to keep the roots moist 

 from the time the plants are taken out of the ground until they are set. 

 The land is usually marked with a sied with runners which can be 

 adjusted to the desired width. In planting very large fields machine 

 planters are used. Ordinarily the work of planting is done by two 

 persons. One of these vises a spade which is set in the earth where the 

 plant is to be and is then shoved forward, leaving a space for the plant. 

 The other person who carries the plants takes a plant, spreads its roots 

 and inserts in the space left by the spade in such a way that the crown 

 will be just barely below the surface of the land. The spade is then 

 withdrawn in such a way as to avoid hitting the plant or its roots and 

 inserted back of the plant and pressed forward to fill the cavity in 

 which the plant was set. The eai'th should then be firmed around the 

 plant with the foot. Planting should never be done when the earth is 

 so moist that it will not crumble when compressed in the band and 

 then released. This applies to the planting of all plants and trees. 



Frequent cultivation throughout the growing season is necessary. 

 After every rain the land should be cultivated and clod-mashed äs soon 

 an it is dry enough to work. This should be supplemented by hoeing 

 around the plant to mellow the soil not reached by the cultivator. With 

 such varieties as the Magoon, Marshall, Oregon, and Gold Dollar cut 

 all runners as they appear. An old scythe bent into semi-circular form 

 and provided with a handle makes a good runner cutter. 



It is cönsidered the better practice to clip off all blossoms v/hich 

 appear the first year. The cultivation should be as thorough the second 

 year as the first. As soon as the crop is picked the plants should be 

 mowed and when the tops are dry burn them. As soon as this is done 

 cultivation should be resumed and kept up during the season. It was 

 formerly the custom to take four crops of strawberries from the vines 

 in Western Oregon before plowing them up, but since the crown borer 

 and other pests have been introduced it is not now common to take 

 more than two crops, and after the second crop is harvested the land 

 mav at once be plowed. If the same land is wanted for strawberries 

 again vetches should be sown early in the fall to be plowed under in 

 the following spring and be followed by a cultivated crop before straw- 

 berrv plants are again set. 



Commercial fertilizers have not yet been used to any extent in raisin^;.; 

 strawberries in Oregon, but in a few instances applications of potash 

 and phosphoric acid to crops preceding strawberries have proved decidedly 

 bei <^ficial to the strawberry crop. 



The familiär crown borer is the most common pest to be contended 

 w-^ih. If the methods described in this article are followed this pest 

 doe'^ not greatly injure the crop. The white grub, the larvje of the 



