34 THE STBAWBEERY CULTUKIST. 



Manchester, will yield well either in narrow rows 01 

 wide beds, and where the plants become matted. 



In the " hill system " the plants are usually set out 

 in rows about three feet apart, and the plants eighteen 

 inches to two feet apart in the row. The ground is kept 

 thoroughly cultivated among the plants during the en- 

 tire season, and all runners removed as soon as they ap- 

 pear, or at least once a week. This treatment will in- 

 sure very large and strong plants, with numerous crowns 

 or buds, from which fruit-stalks will push up the follow- 

 ing spring. In cold climates and where the plants are 

 likely to be exposed to alternate freezing and thawing, 

 or to cold winds during the winter, they should be pro- 

 tected by a light covering of hay, coarse manure, or 

 some similar material just enough to protect the crown s 

 from injury but not enough to prevent freezing. In 

 the spring the materials used for protection may be re- 

 moved, and the plants given a good hoeing or a cultiva- 

 cor run between the rows to soften up the soil, which may 

 have become hard and compact during the winter; but 

 this cultivation in the spring will depend somewhat upon 

 the character of the soil, for, if it is light and of a sandy 

 nature, it will not be necessary, but it will certainly do 

 no harm and may prove of great benefit to the plants. 

 After the beds are cleared up and before the plants come 

 into bloom, the entire surface of the ground should be 

 covered with long straw or some similar material as a 

 mulch to keep the soil moist and the fruit clean when it 

 ripens. It is almost a waste of time to undertake to raise 

 the large varieties in hills without mulching the plants, 

 for the largest berries are almost certain to become 

 splashed with soil during heavy rains. 



"When grown in single rows the plants may be set 

 about twelve inches apart in the rows, and for garden 



