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Rural School Leaflet 



CULTURAL DIRECTIONS 



H. B. Knapp 



Strawberries require a loose, rather light, warm soil. The soil should 

 also be rich and moist. The plants should usually be set in the spring. 

 Spring-set plants will produce a good crop the following summer. Straw- 

 berry plants may be obtained either from old patches or direct from the 

 nurserymen. They may be obtained in lots of one hundred for sixty to 

 seventy-five • cents. There are any number of varieties that are satis- 

 factory, but it is often the case that a single variety of strawberry, when 



grown alone, will 

 not set fruit. This 

 is because the blos- 

 soms are self-sterile, 

 as we say; that is, 

 the pollen from the 

 flowers of a variety 

 will not fertilize the 

 flowers of the same 

 variety. This is not 

 true of all varieties, 

 however, and those 

 that are self-fertile, 

 or perfect, are always 

 so designated in the 

 nursery catalogues, 

 being accompanied in this case by the letter " P," meaning perfect. 

 In the case of the self -sterile, or imperfect, variety, it is necessary to 

 set two or more varieties in the same patch in order to be sure of cross- 

 fertilization. 



The plants should be set early in the spring on land in good tilth which 

 has been occupied by a cultivated crop the previous year. In no case 

 should strawberries be set on sod ground, for the white grub, which is 

 one of the most serious enemies of this fruit, flourishes in sod. The 

 plants should be set in rows three and one half to four feet apart, and 

 about eighteen inches apart in the row. 



Clean and thorough cultivation should be given during the entire 

 summer, the purpose being to obtain a large amount of vegetative growth 

 the first year. If blossoms appear and fruit is set, it should be pinched 

 off. The amount of fruit that would be borne in any case would be slight, 

 and the vitality that would be used in developing the fruit might better 

 go into the plant itself. It is highly important that the patch be kept 

 clean and free from weeds; during the first year frequent hoeings wi-11 



A strawberry plant ready for the field 



