122 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



is well rotted, as this is the best for the land and is not likely to 

 contain any foul seeds. Plough the ground deep arid then harrow- 

 it until every part of it is made loose and level. Be sure that it 

 has a natural drainage and that too much water from the sur- 

 rounding land does not drain onto it. 



When you are ready to plant select about five hundred or 

 one thousand plants of good, strong varieties, set the plants fifteen 

 inches apart in the fow and put the rows four to five feet apart. 

 Before planting cut off the tip ends of the roots and dip the 

 roots in water just before putting them in the ground. Take 

 a bright spade and sink it in the ground about six inches, press 

 it forward and drop your plant in behind the spade, removing 

 the spade and pressing the dirt firmly against the plant by again 

 sinking the spade six inches ahead of the plant and pressing 

 backwards. In this way your plant is well set. 



To set one thousand plants will take a piece of ground eight 

 reds long by two and one-half wide, and this will give an 

 ordinary family all the berries they can use during the straw- 

 berry season and furnish plenty for preserving purposes besides. 

 Some will say that one thousand plants is too much for one 

 family. Some years it is, but ordinarily very few berries go to 

 waste. Then again, it is very little more work to take care of 

 one thousand plants than it is to take care of five hundred, and 

 where a bed contains less than a thousand it is very often stuck 

 away in some corner where it is neglected. 



Now about caring for this bed. Be sure and keep the ground 

 well cultivated and clean from weeds. That is the great fault 

 with many farmers, they neglect the strawberries and other 

 fruits just when they need the most attention. A horse and 

 cultivator can be used to cultivate, and they should be cultivated 

 once every week up until harvest time. When the plants begin 

 to runner out, it is best to go over them and see that the new 

 plants are well down in the dirt, so they can take hold and help 

 the mother plant in the work of making the bed. Do not let 

 the runners grow all the way across the rows, but when they get 

 over twelve inches long turn the ends aside so as to help thicken 

 up the row. If the plants are thick enough in the row, cut off 

 the ends of the runners which grow out too far. The rows 

 should not be over two feet wide, and eighteen inches is gen- 

 erally considered wide enough, and this leaves about two feet 

 of space between the rows, which should be kept clean with the 

 soil well loosened up. 



