The Small Fruits. 1G9 



The hill system. The runners of strawberry plants are 

 sometimes removed as they form, thus causing the plants 

 to remain single or in '' hills/' 



Plants thus pruned form large, ranny-hrauched rhizomes, 

 which produce more fruit than individual plants that are 

 permitted to form runners. But the aggregate yield from 

 plantations thus grown is usually less than from matted 

 rows. The fruits are, however, often superior in size and 

 quality.- This method of culture is little j)racticed except 

 by amateurs. 



Duration of the 'plantation. More than two crops of 

 fruit are seldom taken from a strawberry plantation. Many 

 growers take but one. While the plants renew themselves, 

 and thus make it possible to continue the plantation in- 

 definitely, the labor required to keep out weeds is so great 

 that it is commonly regarded wise to renew the plantation 

 on other ground once in two or three years. 



254. Winter protection is essential to the highest success 

 in strawberry culture in climates where much freezing oc- 

 curs in winter. A thin covering (one or two inches) of 

 clean straw, marsh hay, leaves, or some other litter that is 

 free from weed seeds should be applied before hard freezing 

 in autumn. This covering tends to retain frost in the 

 ground in spring, and thus retards the growth of the plants 

 somewhat, unless promptly removed. It is often left on 

 for a time to hold back the growth of the plants, and thus 

 to retard the ripening of the fruit. 



255. Protection from frost. The low habit of the straw- 

 berry plant renders it possible to protect the blossoms from 

 frost to a greater degree than is practicable with the taller- 

 growing fruits. A light covering of the litter used for 

 winter protection, applied ou the eve when frost is ex- 



