THE STRAWBERRY JUNE 1906 



and moisture, at which time nature has 

 provided a way to "wean" the runner 

 from its mother. 



3. Your method of growing the twin 

 double-hedge row is correct, and the 

 Lady Thompson should give you good 

 results. The Lady Thompson does not 

 build up a large crown system, and its 

 fruit stems are long and the berries are 

 borne in clusters similar to cherries. We 

 mention this fact to indicate that the 

 plants will not crowd one another. 



W. H. C, Kinross, Iowa. Would it be all 

 right to put fine manure on top of the ground 

 after I have the plants set out and work It in 

 the soil? 2. The varieties I have are the 

 Texas, Warfield, Parson's Beauty; are they 

 all good kinds and do they mate all right? 

 3. How is the best way to grow them — in 

 single or double-hedge rows? After enough 

 runners to form the hedge row are made, 

 should I keep all the other runners cut off? 

 There is nothing you could do that 

 would be better than to spread fine ma- 

 nure between the rows after the plants 

 are set. While cultivating the plants 

 this manure will be mixed in with the 

 top of the soil and the rains will cause the 

 liquids to leach down where the roots can 

 make use of it. Of course, the liquids 

 from this manure will ha\ e a tendency to 

 cause the plants to send out more runners 

 than If the manure were absent, but if 

 the runners are restricted, the crowns or 

 bud systems will grow relatively strong. 



2. The three varieties you grow will 

 mate well together. Set Warfield in 

 rows between Texas and Parsons' Beauty; 

 the flowers of both of these bisexuals are 

 exceedingly rich in pollen. 



3. The varieties named will give 

 good results when grown in single-hedge 

 rows. After enough plants are set to 

 make the single-hedge row, treat the 

 runners that come after as you would 

 weeds. 



W. E. A. , Glouster, Ohio. I am starting a 

 small strawberry plantation. It is high oak- 

 ridge, or clay, soil. I can get plenty of 

 stable manure at 25 cents a load by hauling it 

 from one to two miles. I will give local 

 quotations on commercial fertilizers: Bone 

 meal $2 per cwt., potash, $4 per cwt. and 

 Canada hard-wood ashes, $15 per ton. Now 

 for the questions; 1. Are those prices too 

 high? 2. Would it be necessary to use all 

 three of the fertilizers and manure at the same 

 time on the same ground? 3. Would one 

 load of stable manure be too much to the 

 square rod? 4. Would it pay to ship straw- 

 berries to a city like Columbus, a distance of 

 seventy-five miles? 5. How many pounds 

 constitute a bushel of hard-wood ashes? 



L The quotations you have on com- 

 mercial fertilizers are very reasonable. 



2. As you can obtain stable manure 

 we would advise you to apply a light 



dressing of that first; the commercial fer- 

 tilizer may be applied afterwards. Both 

 manure and fertilizers should be well in- 

 corporated into the soil before plants are 

 set. 



3. We are not clear as to just what 

 you mean by one load of stable manure 

 to the square rod; but if you mean one 

 two-horse load, it will be entirely too 

 much. A wheel-barrow load will cover 

 a square rod as thickly as it should be 

 applied. There is such a thing as getting 

 too much manure, causing an over supply 

 of foliage at the expense of fruit. 



4. It would certainly pay to ship 

 your berries to Columbus as it is within 

 a distance of seventy-five miles. We 

 have shipped our berries from forty-five 

 to 200 miles from the farm. 



5. It is rather difficult to say just how- 

 many pounds a bushel of wood ashes will 

 weigh, as they vary quite a little. A 

 bushel of unleached, hard wood ashes 



WE WANT A PHOTOGRAPH 



of your strawberry patch, be it little or 

 big — and this means every reader of The 

 Strawberry. We offer $10.00 in cash 

 prizes, as follows: 



First Prize Photograph, cash - - - $5.00 

 Second Prize Photograph, cash - - - $3.00 

 Third Prize Photograph, cash - - - $2.00 



All photographs submitted to be the prop- 

 erty of the Kellogg Publishing Co. 

 THE STRAWBERRY 



would not weigh more than from forty to 

 fifty pounds. Apply wood ashes at the 

 rate of forty bushels to the acre. 



H. B. W., Olathe, Kan. Where can I get a 

 small hand sprayer, or some form of sprayer 

 that can be easily handled and yet will do 

 good work? 



There are a number of sprayers of this 

 order made, and reference to our adver- 

 tising columns will indicate where they 

 may be obtained. One very convenient 

 "knapsack" sprayer is mady by the Lenox 

 Sprayer Co., 1298 1-2 Broadway, N. Y.. 

 and this company is just now making a 

 special ofFer of a very attractive nature. 



* it 



G. Q., Theodore, Sask. I set out some straw 

 berrv plants this spring. They were in fine 

 condition when I received them. They were 

 set out the same day they were received in 

 well-prepared soil. The day after they were 

 planted there was a good rain, but about a 

 week later we had some heavy frosts, which 

 pretty well wiped the plants out. Should I 

 have covered the plants over until the weather 

 became settled? 



It is scarcely possible that frost has in- 

 jured your plants. We have had the 

 ground freeze three and four inches deep 

 immediately after plants were set, and 

 while the hearts of the plants would look 



P»ge 137 



quite brown after the freeze, yet they 

 would come out all right and develop 

 into thrifty plants in a very short time 

 after such an experience. We would 

 advise you to continue cultivating and 

 hoeing these plants, and you will be sur- 

 prised to see what they will do in the 

 way of producing big red berries. 



C. F. P., Tecumseh, Mich. Will millet hay 

 make a good fall and winter mulch for straw- 

 berries? Am looking for something that may 

 easily be grown upon my own place, and 

 have known of its use frequently in onion 

 mulching. Please give me the benefit of 

 your experience on this question. 



There is no question but millet hay 

 will make an ideal mulch for strawberries 

 provided it is cut before the seed ripens, 

 and this should be done before it heads 

 out, because millet makes a large amount 

 of seed and would cause endless trouble 

 at fruiting time if not cut before maturity. 

 We also wish to say that millet is very 

 exhausting upon the soil and often leaves 

 the soil in a lifeless condition. However, 

 cutting before it ripens lessens the demand 

 upon the soil's resources. Sowed corn 

 makes an ideal mulching also, and leaves 

 the soil in much better condition than 

 does the millet. Sow about two and a 

 half bushels of corn to the acre, which 

 will make the corn so thick that the corn 

 will grow spindling, thus making it easier 

 to handle. 



^ '^ 



J. A. S., Columbus, Ohio. When you mow 

 over your strawberry patch, do I understand 

 that you use an ordinary lawn mower, or what 

 do you use? 2. When you burn over the 

 field after the mowing is done, does that de- 

 stroy the plants, or what benefit is it, other 

 than destroying the insects likely, to be pres- 

 ent? 3. You say one ought to pick off all 

 blooms the first year of bearing for new 

 plants, in order to make them the more pro- 

 lific and vigorous fruit-producers the next 

 year. That will necessarily deprive the 

 grower of one season's entire output, will it 

 not, unless he has another and older patch? 

 4. How long are plants supposed to be good 

 for bearing? 5. What is the very best 

 mulch? 



1. In mowing over the strawberry 

 patch an ordinary hay mower is used. 



2. Burning over the plants after the 

 fruiting is done does not destroy the plants 

 but simply burns ofF all the dead and use- 

 less matter that has accumulated about 

 the crown, leaving the crown clean and 

 free to do its best. 



3. Picking all bloom the first year 

 does not deprive the grower of one sea- 

 son's crop because he would not receive 

 a crop the first year if they were allowed 

 to fruit. The best he would get would 

 be a very small quantity of berries, while 

 the strength used in producing those few 

 berries would so weaken the plants that 



