Insects, Diseases and Frost 281 



is to select an elevated site (page 6). The principal 

 means for securing protection for established plantations 

 are actually to cover or screen the plants with straw, cloth 

 or other material; to prevent rapid radiation of heat 

 from the earth by making an artificial cloud or smudge ; 

 to warm the air; to create a draft or current of air; to 

 apply water. 



Mulches. 



One of the objections to a winter or spring mulch in the 

 North is that it increases the danger from frost. The 

 chief reason for this is that bare soil absorbs heat during 

 the day and radiates a portion of it at night, while a 

 straw mulch reflects much of the heat of the sun, leaving 

 the soil beneath it cold. Mulched plants are somewhat 

 more succulent, also. A difference of several degrees has 

 been noticed on a frosty night between mulched and un- 

 mulched fields. This disadvantage is slight, compared 

 with the benefits of a winter mulch in the North. 



The winter mulch may be used for frost protection in 

 two ways. If it is left on the plants late in the spring, or 

 until they begin to bleach, the blossoming season is re- 

 tarded and the danger from frost lessened thereby (page 

 121). Some growers remove the winter mulch from half 

 of the field early and leave it on the other half as late as 

 they dare. The mulch, also, may be used to cover the 

 plants when a frost is threatened. This method has been 

 used more than any other since 1557, when Thomas Tusser 

 wrote in his " Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandrie " : 



"If frost do continue, take this for a law, 

 The strawberries look to be covered with straw, 

 Laid overly trim upon crotches and bows, 

 And after uncovered as weather allows." 



