THE STRAWBERRY JUNE 1906 



ideal. The way to get a well-developed crown is 

 by layering the runners, and this is done by plac- 

 ing soil on the runner wire just hack of the node. 

 This soil will hold the runner wire in place, 

 preventing it from being moved about by the 

 wind. It also will hold moisture which will 

 encourage the roots to start more rapidly, and 

 will also encourage them to start directly from 

 the crown, while if the soil is not placed on the 

 runner wire, the wind will keep the young plant 

 moving back and forth and when it does take 

 hold of the soil it is almost sure to send roots 

 from one side of the crown only, which makes 

 a one-sided plant. 



The number of roots that start from the 

 crown is what determines the value of a plant, 

 and the more roots the plant makes, the more 

 chances it will have when reset. By filling the 

 soil with humus, these roots that start from the 

 .crown will send out a large number of laterals 

 which will feed the plant abundantly, causing 

 the crown to develop not only large but strong 

 plants of high fruit producing power. 



Another advantage of layering the runner is 

 the fact that it encourages roots to start imme- 

 diately, thus enabling the runner plant to draw 

 part of its existence from the soil which lessens 

 the strain upon the mother plant. Just as soon 

 as these roots take hold of the soil they begin 

 absorbing the moisture and plant food from the 

 soil grains. This, with the aid of the mother 

 plant, keeps the young runner plant in a vigorous 

 condition. When the roots of the young plant 

 get well established in the soil, nature provides 

 a way which weans the young plant from the 

 mother plant as is done in animal life. At this 

 time the young plant will send out runner plants, 

 becoming itself a mother plant, and so on until 

 several other runner plants will be made from it. 

 The luother plant also is kept in a strong healthy 

 condition, which enables it to start more runner 

 wires, which in turn should be treated in the 

 same manner as the first runner we have men- 

 tioned, that is, place soil back of the node. 



These runners should be so layered that they 

 will not crowd each other. This is done by 

 spreading them in all directions. If they grow 

 closely together the roots of one plant interfere 

 with others, which prevents all of the plants 

 from developing large root and crown systems. 



In marking tlie rows for a proi>agating bed, 

 they should be four feet apart, and the distance 

 the plants should be set apart in the row will 

 depend entirely upon the runner capacity of the 

 variety. Such varieties as Excelsior, August 

 Luther, Michel's Early, Bederwood, VVarfield, 

 Tennessee and Senator Dunlap make large num- 

 bers of runners, and these should be set at least 

 thirty-six inches apart in the row. We often 

 set them as much as four _feet apart, especially 

 if we get the plants set real early in the season. 

 But if it is late before the plants can be set, then 

 they should be set somewhat closer because they 

 will not make .so many runners. 



The plants in the propagating bed should be 

 cultivated and hoed more fre(iuently than in the 

 fruiting bed. Not a weed should be allowed to 

 grow. The plants should be given every possi- 

 ble advantage and they should have full access 

 to all the moisture the .soil contains. After 

 every rain, just as soon as the soil will crumble, 

 the cultivator should be started; likewise the 

 hoes. A sharp-pointed hoe is best. This can 

 be worked in between the plants, thus breaking 

 every particle of the crust which is bound to 

 form as soon as the sun shines on the soil after the 

 rain. Breaking up the soil holds the moisture 

 which has been placed there by the rain. It also 

 opens up the pores of the soil, furnishing air to 



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the bacterial germs, causing them to work 

 more earnestly. The bacterial germs work up 

 the plant food so the moisture can dissolve 

 it into available form for the plants' use. The 

 humus in the soil will also increase the bacterial 

 germs and make them more active. A propa- 

 gating bed should be cultivated until quite late 

 in the fall. In fact, the cultivation and hoeing 

 should be continued until heavy frosts come. 



Runners which form after October 1, should 

 be clipped off with a runner cutter or with hoes, 

 as a runner which starts at so late a date seldom 

 will have time to perfect itself. These are what 

 we call tip-runners or alley-plants, and this is 

 why we discourage the practice of taking plants 

 from a fruiting bed. When this is done, the 

 alley-plants only are used so as to leave the 

 larger plants for fruiting purposes, and where 

 this practice is continued, it is only a short time 

 until the variety will be much changed in its 

 characteristics. This is what a great many 

 growers call running out. We call it poor 

 management. 



After cultivation has been discontinued in the 

 propagating bed— and the time this should be 



Page 130 



done depends entirely upon the season — the bed 

 should be quite heavily mulched immediately 

 after the first hard frost. This will hold the 

 plants entirety dormant until setting time the 

 following spring, and the mulch should remain 

 on until it is absolutely necessary to remove it. 

 The way to tell when the mulch should be re- 

 moved is to closely watch the plants from under 

 the mulch, and if they show any signs of bleach- 

 ing, then it shows that the soil has warmed up 

 from under the mulching, forcing the plant to 

 start into a new growth; then the mulching 

 should be removed, lest the plants bleach and 

 become tender. 



However, it always is best to take up the 

 plants and set them out while they are in a per- 

 fectly dormant condition, although it sometimes 

 happens that this cannot be done. If the plants 

 must remain in the propagating bed until the 

 buds start or the bloom opens, be sure and re- 

 move these buds and bloom before the plants 

 are reset. If the plants are entirely dormant 

 when transferring to their permanent place, the 

 entire foliage can be removed and the roots can 

 also be pruned back one-half. 



