26 Strawberry Culture 



This stirring produces two or three inches of fine soil, through 

 which moisture from below cannot pass. As soon as rain falls 

 this loose surface becomes packed, and in the right condition to 

 absorb moisture from below and conduct it to the surface where 

 it is carried off by evaporation. For this reason the surface must 

 be stirred as soon as possible after .every rain. Bven if no rain 

 conies, the water from the firm soil underneath will moisten this 

 loose soil and soon put it in a condition to conduct the water to 

 the surface where it is carried off in vapor. When there is too 

 much water in the soil it is sometimes best to let some of it es- 

 cape from the surface by leaving the ground firm. 



It is well known that all our crops would be much more abun- 

 dant if there was plenty of water in the soil at all times. In view 

 of this fact how inexcusable it is to permit the loss of twenty-five 

 tons in a day. This is equal to a rain fall of one-fourth of an 

 inch nearly two hundred barrels. This amount of water cannot 

 be obtained in any other way at so little cost as to stir an acre 

 with the cultivator. 



Cutting Runners 



First growth, then productiveness, is the rule with all fruit 

 bearing plants, and the strawberry is no exception. It produces 

 its fruit on plants that made their growth the year before. If the 

 conditions for vigorous growth were supplied the plant will con- 

 tinue to grow and make runners rather than develop fruit buds. 

 If the grower wants fruit instead of plants, he endeavors to pre- 

 vent superfluous growth by cutting off the runners, just as the 

 grape grower cuts off the laterals to cause the vine to develop 

 fruit buds. Now it makes no difference how this work is done 

 if it only be attended to promptly, before the runner has in any 



