362 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



winter the ground and the plants should be covered with 

 straw or marsh hay to protect the plants from freezing and 

 thawing. Keep the plants covered until all freezing nights 

 are over. In the spring an application of wood-ashes, if avail- 

 able, and nitrate of soda will be very helpful as a fertilizer. 



The barrel method. As an additional feature of this 

 project, the student may try- the barrel method of growing 

 the strawberries. 



Take any strong barrel, nail on the hoops, and clinch the 

 nails inside. Bore two or three holes in the bottom for drain- 

 age. Begin about eight inches from the bottom and bore two- 

 inch holes, ten inches apart, around the barrel. Make a simi- 

 lar row of holes six or eight inches from the top, and a row 

 of holes between the two rows just mentioned. Take land 

 tile or a hollow wooden tile into which holes have been bored, 

 through which the plants may be watered, and place this in 

 the center of the barrel. Use half soil and half well-rotted 

 manure ; fill up to the first row of holes. Set the plants inside 

 and pull the leaves out through the holes in the first row. 

 Fill the barrel to the second row and set the plants in the 

 same way; and so on with the third row. Always press the 

 soil firmly before setting the plants. Fill the barrel full and 

 set one-half dozen plants in the top. A single barrel pre- 

 pared in this way and well cared for will yield an abundant 

 supply of strawberries. 



Notebook records. The student carrying out this project 

 should record each operation, setting down the work and the 

 performance. A record should be kept of the expense and 

 the final harvest in connection with the strawberry crop. . 



