130 Stt'awbcrry-Cultiire in Illinois 



the last of April, or first part of i\Iay, will be found the best time. The 

 beds are laid off in rows two feet wide, and the plants set a foot in the 

 row, leaving a strip of five feet at each dead furrow for the purpose of 

 keeping open the drains. This will give to each bed fourteen rows, and 

 require eighteen thousand four hundred and eighty plants to the acre. 



Some may desire to plant at two feet, so as to work the plants both 

 ways ; but to this is the serious objection, that the cost of mulching is 

 double for the same number of plants. 



Any of our prairie soils will grow the strawberry ; but a sandy loam is 

 the best, next a clay loam, like the most part of Central Illinois. In the 

 preparation, trench-ploughing is better than subsoiling : and the land, if not 

 naturally rich, should be manured ; for the strawberry requires a genial 

 soil. 



In setting the plants, the roots may be shortened, and set with a common 

 steel dibble : this will save a large amount of labor, and the plants do 

 better than set in the old way. During the first year, the plants must be 

 kept clear of weeds, and the ground stirred with a skeleton plough, such as 

 is called at the West a ball-tongue, or a Mapes's subsoil-lifter. Wheatley's 

 garden-plough is also useful if the land is free of rubbish. In weeding, 

 L. Rose's wheel-weeder or the Hess garden-weeder will save a large 

 amount of work. These cost about six dollars each, and should be in the 

 hands of every man who has a garder.-patch. 



For mulching, prairie hay is the best ; but straw and sorghum begasse 

 can be used. The slough hay is the best of the prairie hay, and is the 

 cheapest : its cost here is four to five dollars a ton, and four tons are used 

 to the acre. This is evenly spread on after the ground begins to freeze, 

 and is not removed until the crop is picked. 



When the plants are grown in rows, the mulch is turned off the plants, 

 and placed between the rows : this allows the weeds to make full headway; 

 and we soon have the rows filled with weeds and blue grass, which are 

 difficult to eradicate, especially the latter. In this new hill-system the 

 mulch is not removed from the plant, but a small opening made with the 

 fingers to allow the plant to come up through it. The operator gets down 

 on his knees? moves along the row like an onion-weeder, and makes 

 q small parting with his fingers just over the plant. It is necessary 



