Rotations, Manuring and Fertilizing 59 



increased but little.^ Gains of 500 to 1000 quarts an acre 

 from a spring top-dressing of nitrate of soda are not 

 infrequent. It is applied as the plants come into bloom. 

 If used late in the spring, there is danger that it will pro- 

 duce a rank growth and the berries will be soft and of 

 poor quality and flavor. This danger is greater in the 

 South than in the North. Varieties that are weak in 

 vine growth, like the Clyde, respond best. 



Experiments in southwest Missouri by W. H. Chandler 

 yielded the following results : ^ " Nitrogen in the form of 

 either sodium nitrate or dried blood, when applied in the 

 spring before the crop is harvested, has, in every case, 

 given very injurious results. It causes excessive plant 

 and weed growth and greatly reduces the yield of the 

 fruit. While the berries are larger, there are fewer of 

 them, they are soft, and they have poor color and quality." 

 In Florida and the Gulf states it may not be practicable, 

 to apply nitrogen at any time, as it makes the berries 

 soft. Throughout the South, three or four applications 

 of fertilizer commonly are made; the first when the 

 plants are set, and the last four or five weeks before 

 the plants bloom. 



Methods of distributing fertilizer. 



The roots of the strawberry do not forage much be- 

 yond the spread of the leaves. When quick action 

 is desired, the fertilizer must be placed close to the roots, 

 if 1000 pounds or less are applied at one time; larger 

 applications are broadcasted. Furrows may be opened 

 where the rows of plants are to stand, and a bull-tongue 

 used to mix the fertilizer with the soil before setting the 



J Report N. J. Exp. Sta., 1891, p. 141. 



2 Bui. 113, Mo. Exp. Sta. (1913), pp. 304-5. 



