92 Strawberry-Growing 



requires 35,000 plants to the acre, which is a large initial 

 outlay. Heavy manuring and fertilizing are necessary 

 and tillage is with the wheel hoe. The beds are fruited 

 but one year, as a rule. Gross sales of $1000 an acre are 

 not uncommon. This method is not practicable except 

 when a good local market, where fancy berries command 

 a price considerably above the average, is accessible. 



Theoretically, it is possible to secure much larger yields 

 to the acre from plants grown in hills than in matted 

 rows; practically, the spaced row or hedge-row usually 

 outyield hills. Strong hill plants set at this distance 

 should produce a pint to a quart to the plant, giving a 

 possible yield of 35,000 quarts an acre. It is seldom, 

 however, that a yield of over 20,000 quarts an acre is 

 reported. The berries from well-grown hill plants average 

 considerably larger than those from plants trained in 

 other ways. 



In recent years a method sometimes called the " Kevitt 

 system" has had much publicity. It has been described 

 as follows ^ : " Mark out beds four feet apart ; path be- 

 tween each bed one foot nine inches wide ; set out plants 

 in the four-foot beds one foot apart each way. This will 

 give you five plants to each row. Keep young runners 

 cut off as fast as they grow. Each season when plants are 

 through bearing earth should be ridged around each plant 

 as you would corn, taking it from the paths, thus giving 

 each plant some new soil near the old crowns where the 

 roots start from. Plants will continue to bear fruit year 

 after year in the same bed without renewing; that is, 

 the original plants may be retained. On my farm may be 

 seen Glen Mary plants nine years old still yielding a full 

 crop each season." Kevitt applies thirty tons of manure 



1 1910 Catalog of T. C. Kevitt, Athenia, N. J. 



