1 68 THE HOME ACRE. 



tons to the acre is not in excess. A strawberry 

 plant has a large appetite and excellent digestion. 

 It prefers decidedly manure from the cow-stable, 

 though that from the horse-stable answers very 

 well ; but it is not advisable to incorporate it with 

 the soil in its raw, unfermented state, and then to 

 plant immediately. The ground can scarcely be 

 too rich for strawberries, but it may easily be over- 

 heated and stimulated. In fertilizing, ever keep in 

 mind the two great requisites, moisture and cool- 

 ness. Manure from the horse-stable, therefore, is 

 almost doubled in value as well as bulk if com- 

 posted with leaves, muck, or sods, and allowed to 

 decay before being used. 



Next to enriching the soil, the most important 

 step is to deepen it. If a plough is used, sink it to 

 the beam, and run it twice in a furrow. If a lifting 

 subsoil-plough can follow, all the better. Straw- 

 berry roots have been traced two feet below the 

 surface. 



If the situation of the plot does not admit the 

 use of a plough, let the gardener begin at one side 

 and trench the area to at least the depth of eigh- 

 teen inches, taking pains to mix the surface, sub- 

 soil, and fertilizer evenly and thoroughly. A 

 small plot thus treated will yield as much as one 

 three or four times as large. One of the chief 

 advantages of thus deepening the soil is that the 



