A B C OF STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 199 



Now, the above arrangement is all right for growing fruit 

 on the plan called the matted-row system, only we avoid let- 

 ting the plants stand near together, on the plan that Terry 

 recommends. 



If you want to grow extra large nice fruit, there is a still 

 better way ; but there are several objections to this "better 

 way." First, it is lots of work to do all the cultivating by 

 hand. Second, it is lots of work to keep the runners off. 

 Third, while you are growing fruit you can not grow plants for 

 sale ; and where the plants are rare and valuable, this is quite 

 an objection. But, dear friends, you must remember that in 

 strawberry -growing you can not grow the finest fruit and grow 

 plants for sale at the same time. In bee culture you can not 

 get great crops of honey and a great amount of increase of col- 

 onies in the same season. You will have to decide whether it 

 shall be more valuable plants, or simply grow big berries and 

 more of them. By the way, perhaps I should say that, while 

 you are growing plants, all fruit stems should be clipped off. 

 You can not get the finest plants if you let the mother-plants 

 that are sending out the runners bear fruit. 



We will suppose, then, that you have in your sub-irrigating 

 beds, and even in your very rich beds in the garden, kept off 

 all blossom-buds. You have got to the point where you have 

 hundreds or thousands of nice strong plants with great bundles 

 of roots. They ought to be potted transplanted plants. What 

 shall we do with them ? Well, in the first place we want a piece 

 of ground the nearer square the better, although this is not 

 particularly important. It should be at least an eighth of an 

 acre ; but if you have not that much we will try to get along 

 with less. Have it well underdrained, then work it up fine and 

 soft down 12 or 15 inches, or even 18 inches deep, if you can 

 afford the expense. If the patch is small, get some expert gar- 

 dener to spade it two " spits " deep, working in all the manure 

 meanwhile you can get hold of. If you do it with horses, 

 spread as much manure on the ground as can possibly be plow- 

 ed under. Have a man follow the plow to pull the manure into 

 the furrow ; and then after the ground is plowed and harrowed, 

 get some fine manure that will not clog the cultivators, and 

 work in a lot more in the surface. Harrow it or cultivate it un- 

 til it is fine and loose; then roll it until it is level ; and I would 

 take considerable pains to level it with a rake and shovel before 

 rolling it. 



In order to have surface drainage as well as underdrainage 

 I would have a good deep ditch all around the piece, and have 



