222 FRUIT-GROWING 



from the very start. As the season advances 

 they throw out runners which root at the joint 

 and form new plants. These runners may 

 either be trained to follow the row and thus 

 form what is called the "matted row system" 

 or they may be kept cut off and force all the 

 strength of the plant into the parent stool. 

 This last, called the hill system, produces the 

 finest berries, but probably not so many of 

 them to the acre. There is always a temptation 

 with a matted row to allow it to become too 

 wide, thus providing too many plants for a 

 given area of soil. The inevitable result is a 

 short crop of small berries. If the rows are 

 kept narrow, say not more than a foot wide, 

 they may obtain considerable nourishment 

 from the feeding roots which extend into the 

 cultivated spaces. 



After the first severe freeze in the fall the 

 strawberry bed should be covered with a light 

 layer of straw to prevent winter injury. This 

 covering should not be put on too early as the 

 extra warmth might start the buds and later 

 cause them to be injured. Also a certain 

 amount of freezing is essential to good fruit- 

 ing the next year. In the spring of the year fol- 

 lowing that in which the plants were set, the 

 mulch is partly lifted and pulled away from 

 around the plants so that they can readily force 

 their way through. Some growers remove the 



