Special Methods of Culture 251 



hold up fairly well in size. Pollination is likely to be 

 poor in the fall, resulting in many buttons. The crop 

 of the first season is rarely over 4000 quarts an acre, for 

 all pickings between July and October. Everbearing 

 varieties are not given a fruiting mulch, since it is neces- 

 sary to continue tillage throughout the season in order 

 to maintain moisture and provide favorable conditions 

 for the rooting of runners. Hence, the berries will be 

 sandy on some soils and must be washed in a colander, 

 or in the device described on page 177. The berries 

 should be dried before being packed for market. A 

 limited quantity may be sold in most of the larger cities 

 and towns for twenty-five to thirty-five cents a quart, 

 which gives a fair profit. 



The everbearers should be mulched with unusual care 

 during the winter; they are more tender than common 

 sorts, having been exhausted by recent fruit-bearing. 

 This weakness is more than offset by the freedom from 

 frost injury of the blossoms ; they are much superior to 

 spring-bearing sorts in this respect. Even if the blossoms 

 are killed, another crop appears shortly after, as is the 

 ease with common varieties in the South. For this 

 reason, everbearers are of special value where there is 

 likely to be serious loss from late spring frosts. The 

 second spring, — a year from the time the plants were 

 set, — they bear a heavy crop at the same time as com- 

 mon varieties, but ripen over a longer season. This 

 is one of the most valuable features of the North American 

 race of everbearing varieties. Yields of 10,000 quarts 

 an acre in the spring are not uncommon. Usually it is 

 best to plow the bed under after this crop is harvested ; 

 if the spring crop is heavy, the plants do not bear well 

 the remainder of the season. 



