Strawberry Culture 31 



common to take but a single crop and then plow the bed. This 

 method has its advantages. It prevents the spread of insect 

 enemies, fungous diseases and weeds. It also gives an oppor- 

 tunity to grow a crop after strawberries. Sweet corn, late cab- 

 bages cucumbers for pickles, turnips, late potatoes, fodder corn, 

 millet, cow peas and soy beans are some of the crops that may 

 be grown after strawberries. 



The best way to treat an old bed depends somewhat on the 

 method adopted before fruiting. If grown in wide, matted rows 

 there is no better way than to mow the bed as soon as possible 

 after the last picking. In a day or two the leaves and mulch 

 are stirred up, and as soon as the wind is favorable the whole 

 bed is burned over. This destroys insects and their eggs, fun- 

 gous diseases and weed seeds, if there are any, and in a few days 

 new growth starts, and not a spot of rust will appear all the rest 

 of the season. It will need the same cultivation that it did the 

 year before. This is substantially the way to care for any old 

 bed. When beds have been given hill culture and a heavy 

 mulch applied, it is just possible that the crown of the plants 

 may be injured by burning. If there is wind enough to do the 

 work quickly, there is no danger; but, to make it perfectly safe, 

 the material to be burned can be raked into the spaces between 

 the rows, or a little earth may be put over the crown of each 

 plant. When a bed has been burned over, comparatively few 

 runners are sent out during the remainder of the season, and 

 the foliage is so perfectly healthy that it is a pleasure to work 

 among the plants. 



