358 Elementary Principles af Agriculture 



rows 3 feet apart. The runners or stolons put out by 

 the plants are pinched off at regular intervals. This 

 causes the formation of strong stocks which produce heavy 

 crops of large berries. The hill system requires a great 

 deal of care. Where large plantings are made the bed 

 or matted row plan is followed. The plants are set 

 in rows 3 or 4 feet apart. The first runners are cut off 

 as in the hill system in order to produce stronger plants. 

 The late runners, however, are trained to a bed 12-24 

 inches wide and are allowed to root. 



527. Mulching. In the North it is usual to scatter 

 a layer of straw three to five inches deep over the straw- 

 berry plants late in the fall. This gives protection to 

 the plants against the injurious effects of rapid freezing 

 and thawing through the winter. In early spring the 

 straw is raked into the middles and under the leaves. 

 If late frosts are threatened, the plants are covered for 

 the night with straw. The straw in the middles acts 

 as a mulch to retain moisture. In the lower South the 

 plants grow through the winter and the straw is used 

 largely as a mulch and for keeping the berries clean. 



528. Selecting Varieties. There are many varieties 

 of strawberries differing as to the quality of the fruits, 

 time of ripening, and their adaptability to particular 

 locations and soil. Some varieties of strawberries produce 

 only pistillate flowers (1f 171) and will not produce fruit 

 unless varieties having stamens are planted near them. 



529. Blackberries, Raspberries and Dewberries are 

 closely related and have similar fruiting habits. The 

 roots are perennial but the stems grow one season and 

 fruit the next. Through the first season the stems grow 

 up and produce a number of lateral branches, especially 

 if the shoot has been headed-in in the summer (|f 177). 



