EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS 161 



between the rows of plants, but are not advisable upon them, as they pack down too 

 closely. If they are used, a thin covering of straw will be necessary to hold them 

 in place and to' cover the plants. Where the land has not been properly enriched, 

 some think it advisable to put on a liberal dressing of stable manure, which will 

 also answer as a mulch. This should be thoroughly decomposed, as otherwise 

 there will be trouble from the gi-owth of seeds of grass and clover. Corn stalks 

 also make a clean mulch, but are rather unsightly. The amount of mulch that 

 .sliould be used, should depend somewhat upon the method of handling the plan- 

 tation the following summer. If the ground is not to be cultivated before the crop 

 is gathered, the covering should be thicker than when cultivation is to be given. 

 When the mulching material is abundant, it may be used to the depth of three or 

 four'inches, except over the plants, where it should be only thick enough to merely 

 cover them. A mulch of this thickness will not only prevent winter injury, but 

 it will serve to keep the weeds down during the summer, as well as to hold the 

 moisture. If the land is to be worked in the spring, a depth of two inches or 

 barely enough to prevent injury from freezing will be sufficient. Some growers 

 who are able to secure a good price for their fruit late in the season use an extra 

 thickness of mulch in order to delay the fruiting period. By planting upon a hill- 

 side sloping to the north, and by leaving the plants covered as late in the spring as 

 jiossible, considerable difference may be secured. However, care must be taken 

 not to leave the mulch over the plants too late, as they start into growth under the 

 mulch, and the blanched tender shoots are easily injured, either by frost or by the 

 Sim, when uncovered. It is often recommended to apply a heavy mulch and leave 

 it on in the spring to defer the starting of the plants, and thus render them less 

 likely to be injured by the frost, but except upon a north slope there is great 

 danger of the late and thick covering doing more harm than good. 



Ordinarily it will be found desirable to remove the mulch directly over the plants 

 as soon as growth has started. If the ground is not to be cultivated this may be 

 placed between the rows and allowed to remain undisturbed until the crop has 

 been gathered. Oftentimes if just the right thickness of mulch has been used over 

 the plants, it need not be disturbed at all, as the plants will find their way through 

 it. and the mulch will both aid in keeping the weeds down and prevent the baking 

 of the soil among the plants. If the field was kept free from weeds the first season, 

 they should give little trouble previous to the ripening of the fruit, but if any large 

 weeds appear, they should be pulled or cut out. 



Where a mulch is not used, and especially if the land has not been properly 

 treated the first year, it sometimes becomes necessary to work the ground in the 

 s])ring in order to keep it free from weeds. If this becomes necessary, the cultiva- 

 tion should be given as early as possible, and should not be kept up after the plants 

 are in blossom. Where the hill plants have not been mulched there will be even 

 greater necessity for spring cultivation. Some growers dispense entirely with the 

 mulch, but even though it is not used in the fall, the best fruit will only be secured 

 when the plants are mulched, and if they are not mulched in the winter, it should 

 be applied in the spring before the fruit has set. It will not only keep the berries 

 clean, but it will be of great value in conserving moisture if the season is dry. 

 Many growers who mulch in the fall find it advisable to cultivate their plants, 

 however, in the spring and to do this the mulch must be taken off and again re- 

 placed after th^ cultivation has been g-iven. By throwing the mulch from four or five 

 rows together it can be done with but little labor. 



PREVENTING INJURY FROM FROST. 



Although Jack Frost is' continually showing freaks, the injury that is done to 

 the blossoms can be greatly lessened if proper care is taken to secure a location 

 with thorough air drainage which can be best obtained on an elevated rolling site. 

 While this is quite essential in the interior of the State, less attention need be paid 

 to it near the lake shores and along rivers. When the air is well charged with 

 vapor the injury from frost is greatly reduced, and where water is available, a 

 <-rop can often be saved which would otherwise be destroyed, by sprinkling the 

 ]ilants just at night, or, better yet, very early in the morning, when the temperature 

 drops to 32 degrees. With a supply of hose and an ordinary lawn sprinkler a con- 

 siderable area can be covered. When the ijlants have been mulched during the 

 winter, this material may be placed over the plants when a frost is expected, and 

 if the temperature does not drop too low, the blossoms can thus be saved, but if 

 the frosts continue for a number of days there is a probability, that unless the 



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