70 



GLEANI.NGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Jan. l.T 



^m'^^mm 



-.I'MING STRAWBKRKIES, ETC. 



T have once or twice mpntioiiod the difficulty 

 of getting strawbenit^s for tieid culture evenlj' 

 spaced over the ground without having it cost 

 mori' for labor than we could afford to pay. 

 Let us go over the matter briefly. 



Our sirawherry-book directs that the rows be 

 4 feet apart, and tiu' plants 2 feet apart in the 

 row. This is the plan Terry has decided on, 

 and he gets his tine even stands by letting the 

 runners go out and set pretty much their own 

 way: then in the fall he goes over the plot and 

 takes out the superfluous small plants so none 

 are left nearer than about G inches apart. I 

 believe he assists in getting a complete matted 

 row by spacing the runners while they are be- 

 ginning to root — that is, he assists nature by 

 placing the runners so as to cover the ground 

 evenly. When it comes time to put on the 

 mulch, the matted row is from 18 inches to 2 feet 

 wide; and none of the plants, as I have before 

 mentioned, are nearer than (j inches apart. 

 Well, a great part of our planting is done, as 

 you know, in the early fall, after some crop is 

 taken from the ground; and while our fall-set 

 plants put out runners to a considerable extent, 

 they do not. of course, produce so full a stand 

 as where they are planted in the spring; there- 

 fore it becomes c.rcrcdnKjly desirable to have 

 the new plants (evenly spaced. In fact, we get 

 finer and larger berries, because our plants 

 have more room. But it is exceedingly desi?-- 

 nhle, as I have said, to have what plants there 

 are. pretty thoroughly distributed over the 

 ground— that is, over this strip of ground, say 

 18 inches wide and the length of the field. 

 Now, I have for years been trying to find a man 

 or boy who would do this spacing, and do it 

 well. I hope none of our friends will feel hurt 

 when I say that I have been again and again 

 disappointed. I have said to myself, " Now, I 

 am sure this man or boy will understand, with 

 sufficient explanation, just what is wanted, 

 and that he will fall in love with the job. just 

 as , I love it." In fact, I do not know of any 

 prettier work in the world than to take a nice 

 piece of ground, with strong thrifty plants put- 

 ting outrunners rapidly, and train them so as to 

 have a nice even beautiful strawberry-bed. 

 You think the matter is very simple, do you ? 

 Well, let me explain some of ' the points that 

 the workman must keep constantly in mind: 



First, hy. must swing the runners around to 

 the right or left, so that the new plants shall 

 not all be on one side of the old plant, at the 

 same time keeping in mind that each new 

 plant shall be at least (■) inches from its neigh- 

 bor. 



Secondly, as we keep the cultivator constantly 

 running between the rows, the first thing to do 

 is to make a narrow row— that is. avoid stretch- 

 ing a runner out at right angles so it will run 

 out where the cultivator will be sure to dig it 

 up. Of course, the man who runs the cultiva- 

 tor can swing around a plant thusstuck straight 

 out. or he can jump his cultivator over it; but 

 I emphatically object to putting him to this 

 trouble. Ills business is to stir over every incVi 

 of ground possible, with the cultivator; and 

 the man who sets the plants must bear this in 

 mind and keep his row narrow — that is. he 

 must ijrddudUji widen the bed out to 18 inches 

 or 2 feet. Of course, some very thrifty plants 

 will make the row a little wider at some points 

 than it is at others; but it can be gradually 



widened as the growth of any part of the bed 

 demands. 



Thirdly, the one who spaces the runners should 

 keep constantly in mind that he is to fill up' 

 vacancies. If one of the original plants should 

 die. by stretching runners straight out toward 

 the spot it occupied, from each side, the vacan- 

 cy can very soon be filled up; and during a fa- 

 vorable time, say just after a rain, some of the 

 oldest and best-rooted plants can be taken up 

 with a trowel, and moved to a part of the row 

 wlu^re more plants are greatly needed. Now, 

 this is not a difficult matter, neither does it re- 

 quire a great amount of labor, to have a nice 

 stand of plants at no place being greatly crowd- 

 ed, and at no place having very many vacancies. 

 I said I had tried a great many men and boys. 

 I have not tried a smart rt'oma/i yet; but if [ 

 don't have better success, I believe I shall try 

 it. The trouble is this: Almost everybody I 

 set at it gets along too fast. He says the- 

 strawberries are all done. I go out and look at 

 a row; but before I have gone a rod I will find 

 plants taking root not two inches from each 

 other. I will find altogether too many plants 

 at one side of the old plant, and too few, or- 

 none at all. on the other side. Then there will 

 be runners sending out their white roots that, 

 have not been put in the ground at all: a good 

 many plants right out in the path of the culti- 

 vator, when there was plenty of room to place 

 them either at the right or the left — at least, 

 very much more out of the way than where I 

 find them. I suspect the trouble is this: The- 

 one who does the work is not particularly in- 

 terested in the strawberry business, and his 

 mind is on something else. Dear friends, it is 

 next to impossible to do any sort of work well 

 and thoroughly unless the work in question 

 occupies all your thoughts, all your time, and 

 all your attention. After the above prelude I 

 have something to tell you. 



Last week I had a splendid wheelride right 

 in the month of January. I was attending a 

 farmers' institute at Ada, Hardin Co., Ohio. 

 While there I got acquainted with Henry 

 Young, the originator of the Enhance straw- 

 berry. It is now one of the prominent straw- 

 berries before the people. It is a perfect berry, 

 very prolific, beautiful in color, a strong grow- 

 er, free from rust, and, in short, would be a 

 model berry were it not for its awkward shape, 

 and that some object to its tartness. This lat- 

 ter quality, however, makes it esjjecially desir- 

 able for canning. The shape, however, has 

 with many rather thrown it into the back- 

 ground, although the berries are about as large- 

 as any of the newer sorts. Well. I was greatly 

 pleased to see friend Young's plantation, even 

 in the month of January. This Enhance 

 strawberry is his pet— his child. He loves it; 

 and, as a consequence, it does wonderful things 

 under the training of his loving hands. He 

 too has met the same problem I have figured 

 above, and-he hiis solved it — at least, he has in- 

 vented a way by which even a stupid man, or 



FIG. 1. — MAHKING OUT THE GKOUNI). 



Please notice, the simplest and most accurate way of mark- 

 ini; the trround will probably be to mark your whole fielil. 

 marks IS in hes apart each way— that is, mark it length-wise 

 anil then crosswise. Now commence setting- your rows 

 lengthwise of the lot. Set two rows; skip one for a path; two 

 more; skip one, and so on. 



