Vermont State Horticultural Society. 79 



then turned again a little later on, and by early spring it is well 

 rotted, and this is well worked into the soil before setting the 

 plants. It has been our experience, the best time to plant is 

 -early in the spring as soon as we can work the soil readily. 

 "The reason being that at that time the air is moist, the soil is 

 moist, and the strawberry plants are more liable to take hold 

 very quickly. 



You can't have very good success by planting in the summer 

 or early fall unless you are a strawberry specialist and can give 

 your attention to the plants ; as you know in the fall or late sum- 

 mer we are very liable to have a drouth, and that is very hard 

 on the strawberry plants. 



By planting the strawberry plants about the month of April 

 it is possible to get a good growth of plants by autumn. 



We find the most economical system for general cultiva- 

 tion is to set about i8 inches apart and the rows from 33^ to 4 

 feet apart; by setting them at that distance we have a row in 

 autumn at least 2 feet wide, and filled with plants, and these 

 should give you a crop the following season. 



You were told this morning to pinch off any flowers which 

 appear on the plants after they are set. This is very good advice 

 in most cases, because any strength which goes from the plant 

 before it is properly rooted is going to injure the plant, because 

 sometimes if the plant is not properly rooted before dry weather 

 comes it may suffer and perhaps die. 



We prefer taking off the first runners if we can, but it is 

 not a very important matter. At the time the first runners 

 appear, the plants are usually well established, but if there is 

 a dry time it pays to take off the first runners, and get the 

 old plants well rooted, so that afterwards they will make a great 

 "many runners, which is necessary in order to get good strong 

 plants. 



There are a great many systems recommended for growing 

 strawberries, the matted row, the hedge row, and the hill system 

 being the principal. We have found for general culture the 

 ordinary matted row system is the most economical. But if a 

 person is making a business of strawberry culture and can give 

 his time to it, some of the other systems, which require the plac- 

 ing of the plants at a certain distance apart, and limiting the 

 number, are advisable. These special systems are sometimes 

 better because you will get larger berries by having fewer plants. 

 If you you have a large mat of plants the berries will not be quite 

 as large, but when you are sending your berries to the general 

 market you are not catering to people who want large berries 

 and berries of especially fine quality. I think it is better to have 

 a matted row, 2 feet wide and renew the plantation every year ; 



