12 STRAWBERRY HAND-BOOK. 



Plow the middles to within six inches of the plants with 

 a light small toothed cultivator, and stir around the plants 

 with hand hoes. This method of cultivation must be kept 

 up as late in the fall as the weeds and grass continue to 

 come. Whether the matted row or the stool system is 

 followed, clean culture is indispensable to success. It is 

 not only a matter of destroying weeds, but also of keeping 

 up the proper supply of moisture. 



MANURING. 



Correct fertilizing is far more important than the selec- 

 tion of the soil, for almost any soil will make fine berries if 

 properly manured. No soil can make them for any length 

 of time without judicious and liberal manuring. Some of 

 the reasons why it pays to fertilize strawberries are: 



(i) it vastly increases the yield, (2) gives larger berries, 

 (3) a better color and flavor, and (4) firmer fruit. The last 

 named quality firmness enables berries to be shipped 

 long distances to a market and arrive fresh. 



Several of the best known varieties were at first con- 

 sidered almost worthless, owing to a lack of firmness to 

 carry them to the market, and freshness to sell them after 

 they got there. The remedy for all this has been found in 

 the liberal use of the mineral fertilizers. A strawberry 

 crop on one acre needs for its development during three 

 years on an average, 223 pounds of nitrogen, 375 pounds 

 of potash, and 83 pounds of phosphoric acid. If liberal 



