PLANTING STRAWBERRIES 429 



flat culture is unquestionably the best. Others lay out in double rows 

 a foot and one-half to two feet apart, and between each pair of 

 rows the soil from the center is drawn up to each side, making a low 

 ridge or level a little higher than the surface on which the plants 

 are set. This level serves as a walk between the beds and holds 

 back the water upon the bed when irrigated by flooding. Another, 

 and generally adopted plan, is to have the plants in double rows on 

 a slight ridge, while between the beds is a furrow which serves as 

 a walk and for irrigation. This is accomplished by throwing up the 

 soil with the plow into ridges about two feet wide, with a double 

 furrow between. On the sides of these ridges the plants are set, 

 and often on the top of the ridge between the rows of strawberries 

 a single row of onions or lettuce, or some other vegetable, is grown 

 the first year. In irrigation the water is drawn up from the trenches 

 by the roots and by capillary attraction, and the upper surface does 

 not bake, as it would by flooding if the soil be heavy. In hoeing out 

 weeds and in fruit gathering, the workman walks in the ditch and 

 does not pack the soil around the plant by tramping. This is the 

 best method for laying out for large plantations. The rows are a 

 uniform distance apart across the field, whether the space between 

 be a ridge or a ditch. The method of making the beds a little lower 

 than the general surface of the ground answers best on free, open 

 soils with perfect drainage. Cultivation can be reduced by cover- 

 ing the depressed surface of the bed with mulch of fine, clean litter, 

 such as chaff, cut straw, etc. This retains moisture and gives the 

 berry a clean surface to rest on. Such a bed is an excellent ar- 

 rangement for the home garden. 



In all arrangements the plants are set at less distances in the 

 rows than the rows are from each other. Probably the prevailing 

 distance is one foot between the plants ; the range is from eight to 

 eighteen inches in the practice of different growers, and determined, 

 of course, largely by the habit of the variety. A vine with a spread- 

 ing growth and long fruit stem needs, perhaps, sixteen inches which 

 some growers give it, while the smaller, more compact growers may 

 do well with half that distance. 



Planting Strawberries. Strawberry plants are set out either in 

 spring or fall, or at any time in the winter when the ground is( 

 warm or in good condition. Fall planting usually gives a fuller 

 spring crop, though planting as late as February has brought two 

 crops the following spring and summer, and planting in April has 

 secured fruit the same year, but it is better to prevent it and induce 

 more growth. Spring planting is in April and May. In the drier 

 parts of the State, early fall or winter planting is more essential than 

 elsewhere. If the ground is dry, water should always be used in 

 planting. This may be given by thorough irrigation of the ground 

 before planting, or a little water may be used in setting each plant. 

 At planting it is usually best to remove all leaves from the plant, 

 shorten the roots to three inches or less, and be sure the plants do 

 not dry while planting progresses. As with handling rooted grape- 

 vines, it is advisable to carry around the plants in a vessel which 



