168 Lessons in Fruit Growing. 



The matted-row system. Since the strawberry plant 

 multiplies without assistance, and the young plants are 

 formed near the parent, it is most conveniently cultivated 

 in narrow beds (matted rows), leaving sjiaces 1 to 2 feet 

 wide between the beds for cultivation and to serve as paths 

 for gathering the fruit. As the plants rapidly lose vigor 

 with advancing age, they are commonly permitted to re- 

 new themselves more or less completely each season. This 

 is accomplished by removing the larger part of the plants 

 in the matted beds after fruiting, and permitting runners 

 from those left to refill the bed with young plants for 

 fruiting the following year. Before this is done, the bed 

 is often mowed over, and the cut-off material dried and 

 burned between the rows. The spaces between the matted 

 rows are kept well cultivated to conserve moisture and are 

 mulched during the fruiting season to keep the fruit clean. 

 The amount of thinning given the plants after fruiting 

 should depend upon the vigor of the variety. The more 

 vigorous varieties, as Warfield, on good soil, will furnish 

 abundance of young plants if a row only 6 or 8 inches 

 wide is left in the center of the matted bed, and if the 

 plants in this row are fully one-half removed. The matted 

 rows may be narrowed by turning a shallow furrow from 

 each side, with a plow having a sharp, revolving coulter. 

 The soil overturned may then be worked down level by a 

 cultivator having narrow teeth. In small strawberry beds, 

 the rows may be narrowed with the spade. 



If the plantation does not suffer from lack of moisture, 

 the young plants are likely to grow too thickly, in which 

 case they should be thinned out late in autumn or early 

 the following spring. As a rule, plants should not be 

 permitted to stand less than 4 to 6 inches from each other. 



