Strawberry Culture jj 



planting to save the labor of applying it after. If manure can 

 not be spared, ten pounds of a complete fertilizer may be put 

 on to each square rod in two weeks after planting. It should 

 be scattered along the row, but not on the foliage. This seems 

 like an excessive application, but it must be remembered that 

 plants cannot send their roots a very long distance in search of 

 plant food in the short time they have to work. 



If the bed is to stand more than one year the plants may be 

 set in double rows fifteen inches apart, and the same distance 

 between the plants in the row. A thirty-inch space should be 

 left between each two double rows. If only one crop is to be 

 taken, the rows may be twelve inches apart, and the plants ten 

 inches in the rows, with a twenty-four inch space. 



Whether to use potted plants or layers will depend on cir- 

 cumstances. The former are more costly, but they are safer in 

 the hands of unskilled persons. If the .soil is dry and no signs 

 of rain, I have found it a good plan to make a hole with a pointed 

 stick where each plant is to stand, and fill these holes with 

 water the evening before the planting is to be done. The soil 

 must be pressed firmly against the roots, and even some shade may 

 be necessary. It is an advantage to set the plants so that all the 

 runners will run across the wide spaces, to facilitate cutting 

 them off. Frequent stirring of the soil and cutting off the run- 

 ners will be necessary until the end of the season. The stirring 

 should not be deep enough to cut the roots, which come near 

 to the surface during the damp, fall weather. If a quantity of 

 manure, no matter how fresh and strawy, could be scattered 

 over the surface between the plants, but not on them, it will 

 protect the roots from the first hard frosts. If this manure or 

 litter is moved up towards the plants, the regular winter cover- 

 ing may be postponed until the ground freezes; but it is better 

 to cover in November. 



