The Strawberry Book. 23 



hills. This is perhaps true also of some American vari- 

 eties, such as the Agriculturist, Russell's Prolific, and 

 Wilson's Albany, which do well in hills. The distance 

 between the hills in the rows, and the distance from one 

 row to another, differ according to the notions of different 

 growers. 



Two and a half feet between the rows, and one foot 

 from plant to plant, are the distances given by one of the 

 best strawberry growers in the country. Others set their 

 plants eighteen inches apart, with three feet between the 

 rows, while such monstrous stools as Triomphe de Gand 

 and some other varieties sometimes make, will not be too 

 far apart if they have two and a half feet each way. 



One very successful strawberry grower in this state 

 adopts a method of setting out his plants for hill culture 

 that seems very neat and satisfactory in its results. 



Instead of setting out as many vines as he means to 

 have hills, he sets in the spring one third as many, and 

 then allows each plant to make but two runners. These 

 are carefully layered one on each side of the old plant, 

 and in a line with it, and the soil being good and the 

 other runners suppressed, these two make vines by Sep- 

 tember hardly smaller or less vigorous than the plant 

 from which they spring. 



Hill cultivation does not necessitate so rich a soil as the 

 annual system ; but in all cases a good soil is needed, and 

 weeds and runners are to be treated alike, that is, de- 

 stroyed as soon as they appear. If the variety is valuable, 

 and new plants are much needed, one or two runners may 

 be allowed to root, but this interferes very much with 

 clean cultivation. A good, thorough covering is needful 

 to carry the vines well through the -winter (as we shall 

 see farther on), and an abundance of hay or some similar 

 mulch must be kept round the plants in the summer to 

 keep the fruit from contact with the soil. 



As the stools get older they tend to rise up more and 



