METHODS OF PLANTING STRAWBERRIES. 137 



transplanting' the most successful method is to remove a portion of 

 the top. We have got to balance the tops with the roots. The 

 method in strawberries is to take away a portion of the root and a 

 portion of the top, but if you have all leaves and no roots, or take 

 away a portion of the roots it draws too much on the substance of 

 the plants. 



The President: The chief requisite in successful planting is 

 moisture. Now the best way to secure that is by firming the plant. 

 That is the main point, to get the ground firm around that plant, and 

 that holds good with regard to strawberry, cabbage, tree or any 

 other kind of planting. We have often repeated this instruction to 

 our planters; to practice setting a plant firmly in loose ground, and 

 keep on until they can set the plant so firmly that it cannot be pulled 

 up without breaking. That is the whole secret, to set the plant 

 firmly in the ground. If they will do that perhaps it will not make 

 so much difference if you do let the leaves remain on the plant. I 

 do not think those leaves furnish a great deal of food to the plant, 

 but rather they exhaust the moisture and vitality in the root. That 

 is the theory. Anyway the practice is that if you take a thousand 

 plants and take off the tops and take another thousand and leave the 

 tops on, those that have been topped off will do the best after plant- 

 ing. 



Mr. Hartwell: In regard to firming, I will state that my practice 

 has been after setting the plaints to go over them with a three-horse 

 roller weighing 1,500 pounds. Then I follow with a Breed weeder. 

 What you want to furnish is a dust blanket. As soon as you make 

 the surface hard, evaporation goes on faster, and on a dry, hot day 

 the plant will dry out before it gets any moisture. If you leave the 

 surface of the soil loose, but the roots set in firmly, loose soil on top 

 around the plant, or a dust blanket, it will keep the ground from 

 drying out. 



Mr. Sampson: Did he say he used a trowel in transplanting? 



Mr. Hartwell: Yes, but I would like to know what kind of a trowel 

 he means. I have a trowel that I got the pattern of from Mr. Scho- 

 field, of Wisconsin. The trowel is eight inches long and four inches 

 wide; the handle is set at right angles with the trowel; it is flat and 

 made out of an old disc. I find it very convenient in transplanting. 



Mr. Latham: That is the kind to use. 



Mr. Hartwell: I can set 500 plants a day myself with the help of a 

 boy. The boy carries the plants and drops one in advance. 



Mr. R. A. Wright: Do you work that on your knees? 



Mr. Hartwell: Yes, sir. 



The President: I can suggest a different way by using a dibber. 



Mr. Hartwell: What do you mean by a dibber? 



The President: If you would take off that short handle and put 

 on a long handle and let the boy do the knee work, and after he has 

 put in the plant if you take that dibber and insert it again you can 

 make that plant very firm, you can do it a great deal easier and you 

 can do it more comfortably than by any other method. The man 

 with the dibber does the firming; he has got both hands, and he can 

 work to good advantage, a great deal better than if doing the work 

 on his knees, as I think you will find out if you use the other system. 



