418 BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



where the plant is to stand, is pushed forward, and the plant is in- 

 serted with the left hand into the opening thus made. The dibble is 

 then raised out of the ground and the soil firmed heavily about the 

 roots with both hands. This firming is important. The man then 

 moves forward on his knees to the position for the next plant. 



It is highly important to observe in setting plants that, they be not 

 placed too deeply in the soil, nor yet too shallow. If they are placed 

 so deeply that the crown is covered with soil, the plant will not grow. 

 If they are placed so high that the crown is well above the soil, they 

 will dry out and die. The correct position is to have the bud or crown 

 exactly at the surface. Planters require constant watching on this 

 point. 



General, Culture. 



After planting, the strawberry beds require the best sort of tillage. 

 This is a crop which can never be profitably neglected. The culti- 

 vator should be kept going between the rows, especially in dry weather. 

 Such cultivations should follow one another every week or ten days, 

 some soils, of course, requiring more tillage than others. On large 

 plantations a double two-horse cultivator can be used to advantage; 

 on ordinary plantations the single one-horse cultivator will usually 

 be employed. The light frame with harrow teeth will be most useful 

 in soil which is in proper condition. 



Tillage should become less frequent towards fall and may cease 

 altogether after September 10. Before heavy freezing occurs the beds 

 should be mulched. At least, mulching is generally considered to be 

 necessary and on the whole seems to be worth while, though we have 

 seen excellent crops of berries grown on unmulched beds. Here again 

 a great deal would depend on the character of the soil, drainage, ex- 

 posure, etc. 



It should be distinctly understood that rapid rotations are essential 

 to the successful culture of the strawberry. The crude, old-fashioned 

 plan of setting strawberry beds and leaving them to themselves for 

 eight or ten years at a stretch is merely a waste of land. It is still 

 unfortunately customary in many parts of New England to leave 

 strawberry beds for three or four years, with the idea of taking two 

 or tliree crops from one planting. The most successful growers, how- 

 ever, undertake to secure only one crop from any one plantation. 

 The plants are grown one year, are fruited the next, and the beds are 

 plowed up immediately after the berry harvest. This method not 

 only gives the best fruit, but proves to be the most profitable. 



Mulching. 



It is customary to protect strawberry plants through the winter 



by covering them with mulch. This mulch is raked off the rows in 



spring, as soon as the snow is off, allowing the plants to grow freely. 



Some very conscientious growers rake the mulch entirely out of the 



