12 THE CANADIAN HOKTICb'LTUIltS'f. 



and very much encourage the lieart of our Editor. Many of you too 

 can hell) him and henefit the rest of us with your pen. Try it, 

 friends. 



PEOTECTIOls^ TO STKAWBERPJES m WINTER 



BY A. M. SMITH, DHUMMONDVILLE. 



iDoes it pay to cover strawberries in winter ? When should it be 

 done ? What material is it best to use ? are questions which are 

 frequently asked me, particularly by persons just beginning their 

 cultivation. 



To the first question I would say yes ; cover by all means. To the 

 " when," — -as soon as convenient after the ground freezes up. Ereez- 

 ing and thawing and the heaving out of the plants is more to be dreaded 

 than a continued heavy freezing. " The best covering" depends upon 

 circumstances. Good barn-yard manure, if your ground is not already 

 rich enough, is the best covering to use. Do not put it on thick 

 enough to smother the plants, but just thick enough to protect them, 

 and in the spring rake it off the crown of the plants around the roots, 

 and let it serve as a mulch, and you will derive a thribble benefit from it, 

 first, as a protection from frost; second, as a protection from drouth, 

 and third, as a fertilizer. But if your ground is already in good con- 

 dition, and manure is scarce, get any rough material that is convenient 

 which will protect them, or retain the snow so that will form a protection, 

 such as pine or any kind of evergreen brush, cornstalks, buckwheat or 

 pea straw, marsh or swamp hay, wheat or oat straw (if free from grass 

 and other seeds), or leaves from the woods, with a few" brush thrown on 

 them to prevent the winds blowing them aw^ay. Eemove the covering 

 in the spring as soon as the frost is permanently out. My practice with 

 straw is to rake it off in piles till after I cultivate and hoe my plants, 

 then run it through a cutting-box, so as to make it fine enough to 

 work it in amongst and under the plants, and then put it around them 

 to protect the fruit from the dirt. Leaves will be partially decayed in 

 the spring and can be used for the same purpose. 



Use any of these means, even as late as midwinter if you can not 

 do it before, and if it does not pay you, your experience will be different 

 from mine. 



