148 ELEMENTS OF FARM PRACTICE 



inches thick and extend over the entire bed. In the spring 

 most of the mulch is taken from over the row and put in 

 the spaces between, where it preserves moisture and keeps 

 down weeds. The portion left on the row aids in keeping 

 the fruit off the ground. 

 Questions: 



1. What is the best soil for strawberries? 



2. How should the soil be prepared? 



3. What can you say of the plants to be set? 



4. When and how should plants be set? 



5. What care should the strawberry bed receive? 

 Arithmetic: 



1. If strawberry plants are set in rows 4 ft. apart and plants 2 

 ft. apart in the row, how long will four rows need to be to accommo- 

 date 200 plants? How much space will they occupy? 



2. If strawberries yield 3,000 quarts per acre, how much is the 

 crop worth at 10c. per quart? 



3. If strawberries yield 3,000 quarts per acre, how many quarts 

 should 4 rows 100 ft. long and 4 ft. apart yield? 



RASPBERRIES 



Adaptability. — The raspberry, like the strawberry, has 

 some species which are adapted to almost every locality. 

 One type of the red raspberry extends over a territory from 

 Arizona to Alaska. There seems, however, to be no variety 

 adapted to conditions in the western Dakotas, eastern 

 Montana, and Wyoming, or for parts of California, New 

 Mexico and^Texas. 



Varieties. — The name raspberry, as we use the term 

 to-day, embraces four, species of plants, the European, a 

 foreign species, the Native Red, the Black Cap and the 

 Purple Cane, a cross between Black Cap and Red Rasp- 

 berry. 



Soil. — In their wild state, raspberries are frequently 

 found growing upon a variety of soils, but, like other crops, 

 they thrive better and yield more abundantly upon moderate- 

 ly rich soil. The varieties of red raspberries seem to require 

 for best production a richer soil than most of the varieties 

 of black raspberries, the former giving larger yields on moist 

 clay loam and the latter on sandy loam. Preferably rasp- 

 berries should follow a cultivated crop. Beans, peas, and 

 potatoes are good preparatory crops. 



Propagation. — The red raspberries are propagated by 



