Tillage and Irrigation 67 



ward, and all but the merest fraction of them were con- 

 tained within the first foot of soil/' ^ The soil was a 

 light clay loam overlaying a sandy clay subsoil. In the 

 same soil the roots of raspberries extended five feet deep. 

 These observations show why the supply of water and 

 plant-food must be abundant and quickly available. 



Weeds. 



Few persons would till a strawberry field as thoroughly 

 as it should be, in order to conserve soil moisture, with- 

 out the incentive of weeds. Weeds are tangible and 

 concrete evidence that the soil needs attention. Some- 

 thing may be done to lessen the number of weeds by se- 

 lecting a clean field for planting and not using fresh 

 manure. The most troublesome weeds in the strawberry 

 field are purslane, crab-grass and chickweed. Purslane 

 and crab-grass are summer weeds, and exceedingly tena- 

 cious of life. Some southern growers make the best of a 

 bad situation by letting crab-grass grow after midsummer 

 and use it to mulch the berries. Chickweed is a cool 

 weather plant; it makes most of its growth during late 

 fall, winter and early spring, while the crop is laid by. 

 Where the winters are mild, as along the South Atlantic 

 seaboard, it is a serious nuisance. A field that apparently 

 was quite free from weeds when laid by in the fall may be 

 a mat of chickweed in the spring ; not infrequently, such 

 fields are plowed under, as not worth picking. Spraying 

 chickweed with iron sulfate gives fair results, but costs 

 too much. L. J. Farmer, of New York, prescribes the 

 following treatment: "If mouse-eared chickweed or 

 other fine weeds come late in September or early October, 



1 Rep. Wis. Exp. Sta., 1897, p. 289; Rept. Wis. Hort. Soc, 1896, 

 p. 250. 



