13 



few days until well rooted. If runners are thrown into a pail 

 of water as they are taken off they are more certain to grow than if 

 kept in a basket until they can be set out in the bed. 



Varieties showing decided merit in the plots are then planted in 

 the field and are grown in both the close and the open matted row. 

 In the former the plants are allowed to produce all the runners they 

 will until August or September when they are thinned out to from 

 three to five inches apart, while in the latter the plants are located as 

 they grow at a distance of from four to six inches apart and all 

 other runners are removed as soon as the rows are full. 



The runners of desirable varieties are removed from beds grown 

 under either system and are heeled in and rooted for the next season's 

 planting or for sale and we consider them much more valuable than 

 plants that have not been transplanted. This practice is a great 

 advantage, for the field crop is very much improved by the removal of 

 the surplus runners and if the plants are not needed for setting in 

 the spring they will produce a larger crop of fruit that will more 

 than pay the cost of transplanting and winter's care. In case they 

 are to be fruited it would be best to set them in rows or beds not 

 over three feet wide with paths of about two feet wide between 

 them. 



Fertilizers used. The plots were fertilized, first by deeph' plough- 

 ing under about eight cords of stable manure to the acre and then 

 thoroughly fitted, using 200 pounds sulfate of potash, 200 pounds 

 acid phosfate and 150 pounds nitrate of soda per acre. The 

 strawberry field was fertilized with about five cords of stable manure 

 deeply ploughed under, then dressed with two tons of Canada ashes 

 and 100 pounds nitrate of soda, 165 pounds sulfate of potash and 

 165 pounds acid phosfate, per acre. Tlie following table gives the 

 behavior of the ten varieties that show the best results : 



