Strawberries . 415 



raking the mulch into every alternate row, and then, after the de- 

 nuded ' spaces are stirred, to rake it back again and do the other 

 rows. The mulch being replaced by flowering time, the berries 

 will be kept clean. Some cultivators, who have small plantations, 

 do not disturb the mulch in spring, but loosen the soil through it 

 with a pronged hoe but whatever course is adopted, see that the 

 weeds do not grow. 



Strawberry Runners. The formation of runners exhausts and 

 checks the plants more than a dense mass of weeds. If you 

 wish them to become strong, and bear large, excellent fruit, and 

 plenty of it, keep the runners cut off, and repeat the operation 

 once a week through the summer. Begin the work as soon as 

 the plants begin to form runners, and not after they have sent 

 them out in profusion which is usually immediately after bearing 

 time. If intended for increase, and to form new beds, a small 

 portion of the bed may be permitted to run and root. Some 

 varieties will often bear profusely for a single season, even when 

 the plants run thickly together ; others, and more particularly the 

 larger sorts, must be cleared of runners and kept well cultivated, 

 or they will bear small crops. 



Strawberries are injured in winter by severe winds, and by 

 the successive heaving of freezing and thawing. They will always 

 start earlier and fresher when covered. Sometimes snow will be 

 an ample protection, but it must not be relied on. A thin coating 

 of straw, evergreen boughs or even cornstalks, will shield and pro- 

 tect the surface of the ground, but it should not be applied till 

 winter is close at hand, and after the ground is frozen hard is not 

 too late. Do not forget to loosen up this mulching very early the 

 next spring, and stir and mellow the soil. 



Early Strawberries. The following method has been success- 

 fully tried in some places : Cover a good, well managed, clean 

 bed of strawberries, the runners of which have been kept off, so as 

 to form large vigorous stools, with dry forest leaves early in win- 

 ter, three or four inches thick. Remove these leaves in February 

 in the Middle StatesJ and in March in the North, and place over 

 the plants a frame with sash. Bank the sides with leaves, and 

 cover the sash in severe weather. The plants will start early, and 

 give ripe fruit at the usual blooming time. Airing and water 

 must not be neglected. 



For garden culture it is most convenient to provide beds about 

 five and a half feet wide, with walks or alleys two feet wide between 

 them. Four rows are then set in each bed, a foot and a half 



