240 Strawberry-Growing 



is more practicable in commercial operations than in the 

 home garden, where space is limited, especially if the 

 plants are in hills or hedge-rows. , 



Method of training. 



Hills or hedge-rows are fruited longer than matted or 

 spaced rows, except where the climate forces annual or 

 semi-annual cropping. The cost of establishing a planta- 

 tion under hill training is large ; usually it is cheaper to 

 keep the plants for several years, even though weeds and 

 pests become troublesome, than to set out a new field. In 

 matted row or spaced row training, on the other hand, the 

 cost of setting a new field may be small compared with the 

 cost of renewing an old field and fighting weeds. Prac- 

 tically all of the very old plantations are hill plants. 

 Experiments in England showed that the total weight of 

 the fruit from hills increased with the age of the plant up 

 to five years, but that the size decreased somewhat. The 

 value of the crop for each of the five years was indicated 

 by the ratios 34, 100, 117, 111 and 110 respectively.^ 

 Nearly all the evidence favors a life of three to seven 

 years for hill plants. There is no reason why matted row 

 plants could not produce profitable crops as long as hill 

 plants, if renewed each year. 



Variety. 



Some varieties reach maturity slowly ; they bear heavier 

 crops the second or third years than the first. Gandy and 

 Sharpless are conspicuous examples. Most of the va- 

 rieties preferred for hill training are of this class. Others 

 reach maximum production the first season ; this was one 

 of the many valuable traits of the Wilson. Varieties 



1 Rept. Wobum Exp. Farm, 1900, pp. 35-82, and 249-51. 



