DIFFERENT MODES OF. CULTIVATION. 35 



culture the rows should be about three feet apart, but 

 for field culture I prefer to allow a little more space be- 

 tween the rows, or four feet, but the distance may be 

 varied according to the habit of the plants some of the 

 rank-growing varieties requiring more room than those 

 of a medium growth, but it is much better to allow the 

 plants plenty of room than to have them crowded. 



During the first season the plants must be given good 

 cultivation, and the more the soil is stirred among them 

 the better, provided the roots are not disturbed by the 

 implements employed in this work. In the field a one- 

 horse cultivator is the best implement to use for keeping 

 the soil loose and free from weeds between the rows, 

 and, while the hoe may be used early in the season to 

 stir the surface about the plants, it will have to be 

 abandoned later on when the runners push out, for these 

 are to be allowed to take root in the row, and form a bed 

 about one foot wide, and all that extend out beyond 

 this may be cut off or torn up with the cultivator. Some 

 cultivators allow the runners to take root over a space of 

 eighteen to twenty-four inches wide, leaving just room 

 enough between the narrow beds to give a path in which 

 to stand in gathering the fruit the following season. It 

 is doubtful, however, if any more fruit will be obtained 

 from a larger number of small plants than from less but 

 of a stronger and more vigorous growth, as they are more 

 likely to be, if restricted to a narrow row. 



If protection in winter is necessary and usually it is 

 in our Northern States it should be given as soon as 

 the ground begins to freeze in the fall or early winter. 

 If applied before the weather has become cool and the 

 nights frosty, there is danger of the plants sweating and 

 bleaching. Still, it is not well to delay covering up un- 

 til snow falls and prevents it. 



