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conveniently used to finish the work, as the}' pull the plants 

 less than a knife. Since the dogs have exterminated the sheep 

 in New England, the old sheep- shears may be utilized for this 

 purpose. 



MULCHING. 



Mulching consists in covering the plants in autumn with straw, 

 sedge from low meadows, hay from salt-marshes, leaves, saw- 

 dust, spent tan, or long, strawy manure. Evergreen boughs 

 are an excellent winter protection, but are not always available, 

 and do not meet all the requirements of a mulch. Corn-butts 

 are sometimes recommended, but unless cut short are too heavy, 

 coarse, and awkward for convenient application and removal. 

 There are other materials that may be used as a mulch, and the 

 grower will be likely to select such as are most convenient and 

 least expensive. 



The object of a mulch is not simply to keep the plants warm, 

 or, in other words, to prevent fatal injury by frost, for the 

 foliage of the strawberry is not usually sensitive to the cold, 

 but also to prevent the frequent freezing and thawing of the 

 ground in fall and spring, by which the plants are lifted, and 

 the roots broken and exposed to sun and wind. Mulching 

 should be removed in spring from directly over the plants, and 

 carefully arranged around and under them till after the fruit 

 has been picked. If in sufficient quantity to cover the spaces 

 between the rows, it will keep the ground from becoming dry 

 and parched, smother the weeds, and prevent the fruit from be- 

 coming soiled and spoiled by violent showers and protracted 

 rain-storms. Soiled berries are of very little value. It is true 

 that the fruit can be washed, but it must be at the expense of 

 its flavor and keeping quality, as well as its appearance on the 

 fruit-stand and table. 



The objects of mulching having been given, any one will be 

 able to decide at once what available material it will be for his 

 interest to employ. The objection to leaves is, that it will be 

 found impossible to keep them in place. The strong winds pre- 

 vailing in fall and spring, when protection is most important, 

 are sure to drive them into windrows under some neighboring 

 fence. There is the same objection to oat and barley straw, 

 unless weighted in some way. Evergreen boughs cannot be 



