208 SCIENCE OF HOME AND COMMUNITY 



from the time of planting, the first berries may be picked. 

 If they are offered for sale, they are usually put in pint boxes, 

 and will bring about twice as much as the spring berries. 

 If one plans to sell the berries it is well to put some straw 

 between the rows to keep the berries clean. But this straw 

 has the disadvantage that it interferes with cultivation and 

 so enables the weeds to grow. 



These plants will also bear the following spring if given 

 proper care. In the late fall they should be covered with 



b a 



FIG. 68. Setting out strawberry plants, b, too shallow ; c, too deep ; a, just right. 



straw to a depth of two or three inches. This protects them 

 from the alternate thawing and freezing of the winter and 

 early spring that injures the roots. In the spring, about the 

 time that the gardens are planted, the plants are uncovered. 

 The danger of uncovering too early is that the late frosts 

 may kill the blossoms. If the strawberry patch is small, the 

 straw may be taken off and the bed cultivated till the berries 

 are nearly ripe, then the straw should be placed back to 

 keep the berries clean. If the patch is too large to remove 

 all the straw, that over the plants may be parted and placed 

 between the rows. 



