A B C OF STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 217 



rows once or twice last season. In consequence of the strong 

 manure and abundant rains last fall, the plants put out runners 

 and covered the whole ground. It was not a matted row, ex- 

 actly, but it was a matted half acre. Well, these plants all 

 wintered without any mulch whatever, and not a plant was lift- 

 ed out by the frost. Why, the whole plantation looked more 

 like a thrifty field of clover than a strawberry -patch. The prob- 

 lem this spring was to provide paths for the pickers; for the ber- 

 ries will probably lie almost touching each other all over the 

 half acre. More than half the plants are Brandywine and Wm. 

 Belt. 



I advertised in the county papers that, if people would 

 come with baskets, and take the plants that were taken out in 

 order to make paths for the pickers, they might have them at 

 half the regular prices; and the thing is going on just as I write, 

 in a way that makes it another happy surprise. 



Where a path was wanted we stretched two stout cords. 

 These cords are 18 inches apart. Then a man takes a sharp 

 spade and cuts down along each cord. After this he takes a 

 spading-fork and spades up a block of dirt, plants and all; then 

 with a stout box to sit on (open on one side, about 16 inches square 

 and 6 inches high), he, sitting astride the path, separates the 

 plants from the dirt and puts them in the customer's basket. 

 These plants are about the strongest and thriftiest I ever grew. 

 Where they are too near together, of course there will be some 

 small ones; but these small ones are thrown in without charge, 

 and our customer can use them or not as he chooses. 



Now, if all the plants are sold at half the advertised prices, 

 our half-acre of strawberries will produce quite a round sum of 

 money. But there has been a good deal of labor bestowed on it 

 in the way of weeding, cultivation, etc. After the berries are 

 picked, the whole patch will probably be plowed up and plant- 

 ed to potatoes; and with the amount of manuring it has had, I 

 expect a wonderful crop of potatoes. 



There has been a good deal of fault found in regard to fall 

 planting; but this plantation was all made in the fall. The 

 plants were, however, put in with a transplanter. They were 

 manured and cultivated and weeded during one whole season 

 that is, last year. A small crop of extra-nice berries was taken 

 from them last June. With this method of working strawber- 

 ries they occupy the ground not quite two years. We would 

 commence planting them, if the ground were vacant, in August, 

 and in our locality the ground would be ready to put in a crop 

 of potatoes about the first of July; so it would lack about one 



