Locations, Sites and Soils 9 



New Jersey to South Carolina. The strawberry fields in 

 this region are on flat land, and from twenty to seventy- 

 five feet above sea level. Immunity from frost is not 

 derived from air drainage but from proximity to the 

 ocean. Earliness is secured by warm soils and a tem- 

 pered climate. The advantages provided by slopes in 

 inland locations here are assured without the attending 

 disadvantages. Level land can be worked to better 

 advantage than sloping land; it is more economical to 

 till, there is less leaching and practically no surface 

 erosion. Unless it is frosty, level land with a warm 

 soil is preferable to a hillside, even though the slope has 

 richer soil; fertility can be supplied more easily than 

 the other essentials of a good strawberry soil. 



When the topography does not provide marked air 

 drainage and when frosts — not freezes — do little dam- 

 age, bottom land may be suitable; usually it is richer 

 and more moist than upland soil. In Florida, flatwoods 

 land is preferred for strawberries after it has been drained. 

 On the Delaware-Maryland peninsula, drained swamps 

 are used for late varieties, as the Gandy. 



Protection from ivind. 



In some sections, notably in the North Central states 

 and adjacent provinces, it is desirable to protect the 

 plantation from cold or drying winds. This region is 

 subject to sudden and great fluctuations of temperature, 

 severe winds and intense cold. One of the greatest 

 difficulties is the drying west or southwest wind during 

 the blossoming season. The wind and dust dry out the 

 blossoms so that they do not set fruit well. In winter, 

 drying winds are more likely to injure the plants than 

 intense cold. 



