SOIL AND ITS PREPARATION. 29 



of flooding during the time of the usual overflow of 

 streams in winter and spring. But the Strawberry re- 

 quires a deeper soil than corn, and this may be rea(Jily 

 secured by deep plowing, or what is better, turning over 

 the surface soil shallow, and following with a subsoil 

 plow, and in this way avoid bringing the poorer subsoil 

 to the surface. The land, if naturally hard and compact, 

 should be cross-plowed in the same way, and, if manure 

 is to be applied at all, let it be spread over the surface be- 

 fore the first plowing, in order that it may become well 

 mixed and intermingled with the soil before the plants 

 are set out, that is, if ordinary kinds of composts or barn- 

 yard manure are used. When commercial manures are 

 employed they are usually applied in the form of top- 

 dressings at the time of setting out the plants, or at va- 

 rious times afterwards as the plants may show the need 

 of more stimulants and nutriment. 



Manures. The Strawberry is not so capricious as to 

 refuse nutriment in almost any form when presented to 

 its roots, but the quantity and quality may be varied ac- 

 cording to circumstances. * On the rich prairies of the 

 Western States, or on newly-cleared land in the East, no 

 manure may be necessary in order to secure a heavy crop 

 of fruit, but the plants require nutriment in abundance, 

 and, if it is not natural in the soil, we must place it 

 there in some form. As for the kind of fertilizer to 

 use, I have never, as yet, found anything to excel 

 thoroughly decomposed barn-yard manure. On light, 

 warm, sandy soils I prefer cow manure to that of the 

 horse, as it is of a cooler nature, but if manure from barn 

 yard or stables is left in the yard until it has become well 

 rotted, or is composted with muck, leaves and similar 

 materials, it may be used on sandy soils, and in liberal 



