74 Strawberry-Growing 



temporarily checked by the growing grass." It is evident 

 that this apparently slip-shod method has real merit 

 under certain conditions. It is inexpensive, and it gives 

 early berries, but it precludes the possibility of producing 

 a large crop, and there is danger that the grass will grow 

 so thick that the plants will be smothered. 



Varieties with tall, rank foliage, like the Gandy, should 

 not be cultivated as late in the fall as varieties with 

 scant foliage like the Clyde, unless this is necessary for 

 w^eed or moisture control. The method of training and 

 the dryness of the season will influence the decision to 

 some extent. At the last cultivation run a narrow furrow, 

 four or five inches deep, down each middle, so that surface 

 water may be drained away from the plants quickly. As 

 winter approaches, go over the field with a sharp-pointed 

 hoe and pick out all weeds between the plants, so that 

 they will be clean when laid by under the mulch. 



Early spring tillage. 



If the field has become very weedy during the winter, 

 especially with mouse-eared chickweed and shepherd's 

 purse, tillage in the spring of the fruiting year may be 

 necessary. Spring tillage establishes a soil mulch ; if 

 the fruiting season is dry, this may be a decided benefit. 

 Heavy clay soils, that bake and dry out easily, are bene- 

 fited more by spring tillage than sandy soils. When 

 growers depend on fruiting beds for plants to set new 

 fields, spring tillage is useful to smooth the surface after 

 digging the plants. The objections are the possibility 

 of injuring the roots, and the expense. The danger of 

 injuring roots by spring tillage has been greatly over- 

 estimated ; most of the rogts are directly beneath the 

 plant and are not touched by the cultivator. 



