STRAWBERRY 



regular rainfall render summer planting on a large 

 scale an economic i.,i.si),iht> . Tins, tlu- stiff cUi\ s„il 

 of the interior, the ill 1. 1 ii ili.n m 1 un iiu i m 

 fall of early autumn ' I 



more economical u> i 

 especially as its coni| i - i i 



ditioni tend to proiluL^ .i m^oluu, .1. w I..j n., ui ..i ilu 

 summer- or fall-planted plat Ijj tliu tollowiug spiiug. 

 But, while the biennial rotation is recommended for 

 the interior of the state, it must not be understood that 

 a iipw 1)1. it is tn lif est.ililisbed only every two years. 

 Th. I I 111! hi I I t s, ..sons, It is true, but a new 



Ii IS commenced in 1899 under 



aliiMiniili Mil I mil I . planting effected in Novem- 

 ber of tdi-li year, tin- toUnwing diagram would illustrate 

 the necessary succession of plats : 



STRAWBERRY 



1741 



Xo. 1, fruited main crop, spring, 1901: plowed under No 

 her. 1001, after resetting No. ;i. 



No. 2, fruited lightly spring, 1901; cultivated through se 

 of 1901. 



No. 3, planted November. 1901, from runners of No. 1 



2 3 -4 



No. 2, fruited main crop, spring. 1902; plowed uudei \o\em 

 ber, 1902, after resetting No. 4. 



No. 3, fruited lightly, spring, 1902, and cultivated through 

 season. 



No. 4, planted November, 1902, from runners of No. 2. 



And so on, indefinitely. In this way, while each plat 

 runs two years, that is, biennially, a new plat is reset 

 every year, that is, annually; yet the rotation must of 

 necessity be termed biennial, though only one market- 



1 le croi re uit And this would be equally true foi a 

 similar rotation where the planting was done n Feb 

 1 lary or March instea 1 of November although no crop 

 — not e\eii a light one — coull be obtained the same 



prmg Of coui e if t ] I t eived for re etting 



iftei it 1 lb 1 on e I st 1 e culti\ ated 



more or 1 —at 1 I g— to prevent it 



fiom becoming to I nd uramer but 



the process of thi I leful cultnation 



necessir-( f r a cr i e i I ke a ^ aymg ret iin 



Strawberry Culture on the Plains. — The fact that 

 lie Strawberry has been growing wild from time out of 

 mill 111 lilt |iiairie regions of North America suggests 

 h It It III i\ III- cultivated there with success, and the 

 I >ii- II 1 -■ 1 I'.ir-loads of lielicious berries annually pro- 

 .n..liiiili IS, ii-u-iDusarepositiveproof of it. The Straw- 

 ., ii\ dill 11. .t ^i..w,i itin-ilh in ill sH.-ti..i,s ,,rsnils. but 



chittly 

 the margi 



along 



of thi 



the grow tliot \ 1 mill' South; 



turn. si i I 111. Ill snt., gii.« more thrifty 



uiil I I t Texas. Under cultiva- 



111.11 n - hut suh.iect to the same 



.ou.liii .1 n- n- n iturally, but the principle 



lit cuiisi i\ .itKiii (It iiiiiisture liv tillage has enabled man 

 to do much that nature could not, in growing Straw- 

 berries. Water is most essential in the culture of this 

 fruit. The soil should not he wot, but it must be moist 

 or the plants will not thrive: i,„r will tli.-v Leur fruit 

 abundantly or of good si ,. :,i,,i ,.,,,:,. ,, h, :, i.ieager 

 supply of water. DurinL re is a 



heavy draft upon the phii h to fill 



the berries to their projiir -i. .■. i u . i m... i ..f ih. Plains 

 region there is a sufficient amount of rainfall to produce 

 good crops of Strawberries in ordinary seasons, pro- 

 vided proper care be given to tillage. Nearly all the 



failures to grow reasonably good crops are due to ne- 

 glect of this all-important matter. The drier the cli- 

 mate or the season the more heed should be given to 

 tillage. 



The mere settiim ..f |. hints mid giving them ordinary 

 care is not sulli.i. i.r f..r il..- |.r...luction of a really profit- 

 able Strawberr\- .-f..!. in the ..].eii prairie country. It may 

 suffice where tiie rainfall is not only abundant but regu- 

 lar; but where the rains are fitful and often very scant, 

 especially in the latter part of the summer, this will not 

 do. The tillage should not be deep, but very frequent. 

 Once each week during the growing season will he .suffi- 

 cient. The finer the surface soil is pulverized, the less 

 water will escape from the subsoil, and this is the prin- 

 cipal point to be attained so far as the purposes of til- 

 lage are concerned. Rich soil is beyond doubt one of 

 the prime requisites of Strawberry culture. This is not 

 difficult to find in most parts of the prairie regions. 

 Some of it lies too Hat for the best results and some is 

 too steep, but very little is either too stiff or too sandy. 



The Strawberry is especially adapted to field culture. 

 As the Plains country slopes up to the Rocky Mountains 

 the climate becomes drier until there is so very little 

 rain that nothing but a scant native vegetation will grow 

 without irrigation. The soil is for the most part rich 

 enough for Strawberries, and where water is applied in 

 proper quantity as fine berries can be grown as in any 

 part of the humid regions. As a matter of fact, there 



