236 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



keep the bed clean and in high culture; for the farmer as long as it pays 

 and one year more, but he should not fail to set out two rows or more 

 every year— and keep those clean the first year, whatever might befall 

 them afterward. Often an old bed will winter without mulch and ripen 

 up a clean, nice lot of berries three or four days earlier than a new bed 

 right beside under the best of treatment, and covered with mulch. All 

 rows should be long enough to cultivate with a horse, saving time and 

 labor. 



Winter mulching should be applied as soon as the ground freezes to 

 bear a team, or if not necessary to drive upon the beds as soon as it will 

 bear a man; cover the plants and paths just so you can't see a leaf or the 

 ground with marsh hay, begasse, cut corn stalks or forest leaves held in 

 place by brush or evergreen boughs. Use nothing on the new bed that 

 contains grass, clover or weed seed. 



Spring treatment of the strawberry bed has two sides to the question. 

 If 1 was on high ground I would not move any mulch if the plants could 

 push through— just enough so they could do this, and if weeds did ap- 

 pear, would pull them up by hand or use a butcher knife instead of a hoe 

 up to picking time; if I wanted to do anything to avoid frosts I would re- 

 move the mulch from the paths and one-half from the plants— cultivate 

 the paths lightly and hoe shallow as little about the plants as possible 

 (avoid working among anything while in bloom), stop cultivating long 

 enough before picking to replace all the mulch in the paths and tuck it 

 nicely under the berries. The cultivation warms up the ground and 

 hastens the ripening a day or two and frost does not settle as badly when 

 the ground is not mulched. 



Picking is best done by day help and when picking is over give them a 

 chance to weed. In hiring by the quart pay one-half Saturday night, 

 balance at the close of the season. Pay double price on showing days 

 and on the forenoon of the Fourth of July, when it comes on Saturday. 

 We have used a picker's card for many years with a conductor's punch. 



Pick the plantation four times a week, picking everything on Saturday. 



Box making can be done any time during the early spring, but if you 

 have to hire it done it is better if help is plenty to make them as needed, 

 not more than a week ahead, then they are clean and free from cobwebs 

 and everything else. 



Beds after picking— If the plants have exhausted themselves by a heavy 

 crop, burn and plow under immediately and put in some other crop, such 

 as sowed corn, cabbage, beets, celery or turnips. If it is desired to keep 

 the bed another year choose a windy day and burn it over, do not burn if 

 there is not a strong wind, as the fire will work too deep by burning. You 

 get rid of very many of the insect pests and it is the best thing you can do 

 for the rust. 



Now put in the cultivator and loosen up the paths and make them 

 mellow and fine, hoe and cut out many of the old plants, keep clean and 

 let the runners fill the spaces, give a good dressing of well rotted manure 

 either before or after the cultivation or plowing. The plow may be used 

 if rows were four feet apart, after turning a light furrow turn back and 

 reverse by flowing deeply the same furrow, go over the plantation in each 

 space, then put on the harrow and drag it and cross drag till there is 

 nothing in sight but a mellow field. The plants will come through and 



