422 CALIFORNIA FRUITS I HOW TO GROW THEM 



during the bearing season should never be allowed to show any leaf- 

 shriveling from drouth. Frequency of irrigation depends upon local 

 conditions. Irrigation at intervals of four to ten days, according to the 

 soil, are the outlines of prevailing practice. 



Constant removal of runners from all plants except those it is de- 

 sired to multiply to furnish new plants or to fill the rows. Pinching of 

 runners should always accompany picking or hoeing of weeds, and on 

 the garden bed there can be no excuse for neglect in this respect. The 

 young plants should be faithfully freed from runners to strengthen them 

 up for bearing. 



Though, as already stated, strawberries may in some locations be 

 had all winter, it is better practice, as a general rule, to lay the plants 

 away for a rest. The market season in the regions supplying the San 

 Francisco market extends from April to December, and fruit is con- 

 tinuously shipped during that period. At the approach of winter in the 

 last-named month, it is usual to go over the beds with a sickle, cutting 

 off the old crops of leaves close to the root crown, carefully cleaning 

 up the plantation for the heavy rains. In most cases it will be a great 

 advantage then to cover over all with a light coat of good manure, 

 which the winter rains will leach down into the soils. The result of the 

 fall clipping and enriching will be an early and strong start of the plant 

 in the spring, and a most abundant fruitage. 



Duration of the Plantation. Strawberry plants well cared for 

 and not visited by insect pests, have a long, productive, and profitable 

 life in California. Twelve-year-old plants are sometimes reported as 

 still producing abundantly. It is customary to count from five to eight 

 years as the profitable life of a plant, though some growers replant after 

 two bearing years. The effective duration depends directly upon pre- 

 venting growth of plants and too close matting of the rows. 



Varieties of the Strawberry. Though all new varieties are tried 

 by California growers, and quite a number may be considered success- 

 ful either for market or for home use, only a very few may be said to 

 be widely grown. In the Watsonville district, which largely supplies 

 San Francisco, the Melinda, which some growers hold to be indis- 

 tinguishable from the Dollar, is chiefly grown, with Brandywine as a 

 distant second. In the southern Alameda County district the Banner is 

 grown exclusively by some large growers. In the Florin district, near 

 Sacramento, growing berries to ship all through the northern States of 

 the coast and eastward to Colorado, the Dollar is grown almost ex- 

 clusively, with a few Jessies for extra early. Other varieties which do 

 well in the interior valley are : Longworth, Lady Thompson, and Ten- 

 nessee Prolific. In the Fresno district, Marshall and Jessie are chiefly 

 grown. 



In the districts near Los Angeles, the Brandywine prevails. It is 

 best for shipping and is held to be sweeter than at the east ; and next to 

 it, in the commercial fields at the south, are Excelsior and Klondike. 

 The Arizona Everbearing is declining in popularity although still 

 favored by some growers in Southern California. 



Three old kinds which still hold favor for home use and local sale 

 are the Longworth Prolific, the Sharpless, and the Monarch of the 



