THE STRAWBERRY CULTURIST. 17 



but we have never found the plants as much injured by hoeing or 

 forking among them as they were by neglecting to do either , 



Take off all runners as they appear, so that all the strength of the 

 plant shall be concentrated, and not distributed among several, as a 

 dozen small plants will not produce so much or so fine fruit as one 

 good strong one. When plants are wanted, make a separate planta- 

 tion for that purpose. 



At the approach of winter, the entire surface of the soil, plants and 

 all, should be covered with straw, hay, or some similar material, to 

 the depth of one inch ; the object being not so much for the purpose 

 of keeping out the frost as to prevent the frequent freezing and thaw- 

 ing during the early part of winter and the approach of spring. So 

 soon as the plants start in the spring, the covering should be 

 pushed aside, so as to allow the plant to grow up through it. The 

 question is often asked, whether it is necessary to cover the hardy va- 

 rieties in this locality during whiter ? and if we should judge from the 

 difference in the appearance of the plants in the spring, we might 

 doubt the expediency of such a practice ; but I have found it highly 

 beneficial to cover all varieties, having tried several experiments the 

 results of which were that on an average we obtained about one quar- 

 ter more fruit when the plants were covered than when they were not. 



The embryo fruit buds are formed in the fall, and are often injured 

 during the winter and spring, and of course if there are but a few fruit 

 stems put forth, there is but little call on the plant to support them, 

 and consequently the leaves have more food. 



Usually the plants grow strong or weak in proportion to the quan 

 tity of fruit they bear. This would often lead cultivators to suppose, 

 from the luxuriant growth of the plants, that covering was of no bene- 

 fit, if not positively injurious. 



Keep off all runners at all times, and pull up all weeds that come 

 up through the mulching. No stirring of the soil is needed if a good 

 depth of mulch is sustained. It will generally be necessary to add a 

 small quantity of mulch every fall, depending, of course, upon the na- 

 ture of the material used. Salt hay is a material that is much used 

 near New York, and it is cheap, lasting, and easily applied ; but straw, 

 hay, carpenters' shavings, leaves, tan-bark, etc., are all good. Straw- 



