SUCCESS WITH STRAWBERRIES. 13 



the strawberry planting. In selecting the location for a strawberry 

 plantation avoid, if possible, low wet land or narrow valleys where 

 frosts form frequently. Second bottom land, reasonably well drained 

 from both water and air, would be my choice. 



Preparation of the soil is quite an important element of success. 

 Fall plowing with subsoiling is the first step to be taken. If manure 

 is needed, apply it lightly on the surface of the plowed land, using 

 fine, well rotted — cow manure preferred. In the spring, cultivate the 

 manure into the surface soil and finish with a thorough harrowing, 

 clod crushing, and leveling. A disc harrow is an excellent tool for 

 going over the ground for the first harrowing, and if manure is ap- 

 plied it will be the best tool for mixing the manure with the soil. 



After ground is nicely smoothed, go over with a hand marker of 

 three or four runners set three and one-half to four feet apart. If 

 you have not young plants of your own growing, secure them of the 

 nearest reliable grower, and if possible have them arrive at the proper 

 time for planting. April is the best month for this important work, 

 and the exact date will be determined by the nature of both the soil 

 and the season. I would never set a plant when the soil is wet enough 

 to pack about the roots, preferring rather to set in a dry time and water 

 about the roots, dressing around the crown with dry earth. 



The common method of planting is with the spade, a man handling 

 it, while a boy places the plants in position. My plan, which I like 

 better, is in the use of a broad dibble for making the hole, the man 

 setting the plant without any boy assistant. These dibbles I have 

 made to my order by a blacksmith. They consist of a steel plate 

 three inches wide and eight inches or ten inches long, tapering to a 

 broad round point at lower end, and with a wooden handle set at a 

 right angle to the upper end. With this sort of a tool a competent 

 man can set 1,500 plants in a day, and do the work well. The plants 

 should be carried, 100 or 200 at a time, in a dish holding enough 

 water to cover the roots. Opening the hole with my dibble in the 

 right hand, I take a plant in my left and place in position, holding it 

 by the crown while I fill and press the earth about the roots with the 

 point of the dibble. The pressing of the earth about the roots is a 

 very important matter and one quite generally neglected by careless 

 planters, who simply press lightly about the crown of the plant, leav- 

 ing the roots with an air space about them. Where watering is given 



