THE STRAWBERRY AUGUST 1906 



feeders, and for this reason it is hard to 

 make an arsenical spray strong enough to 

 Icill them without at the same time de- 

 stroying the foliage. However, five 

 pounds of arsenate of lead, dissolved in 

 three gallons of hot water, adding enough 

 water to make fifty gallons, will safely do 

 the work. One consolation lies in the fact 

 that the rose-bug remains only four 

 weeks. They go in pairs and as soon as 

 through mating the male dies, shortly 

 after which the lonely female, tired of 

 struggling with life's problems by herself, 

 goes to join her deceased spouse. Do 

 not use arsenate of lead when berries are 

 in fruit. The surest and best way is to 

 prevent the coming of the insects by clean 

 cultivation and by keeping clean all the 

 fence corners. 



7. There is no publication, so far as 

 we are aware, that treats upon the rasp- 

 berry and blackberry, or any other of the 

 small fruits, as does The Strawberry in 

 the case of its particular subject. 



8. Scatter forty or fifty bushels to the 

 acre of hardwood ashes at the time you 

 mention. The rye will take up the larger 

 part of the fertilizing element in the ashes, 

 as well as the plant food which the lime 

 in the ashes will make available, and hold 

 it in reserve for the use of the plants the 

 succeeding spring. And let us compli- 

 ment on your interesting way of asking 

 questions. 



E. R. K., Sussex, N. B. Will you kindly 

 describe rust in The Strawberry? Do the 

 stems of the leaves darken and become hollow 

 for an inch or more from the crown? I have 

 lots of berries, but deficient in foliage. The 

 ground is not lacking in nitrogen, as it has 

 been rotated in clover for a number of years. 



Rust is a fungous growth that spreads 

 by spores, and, like all other affections of 

 this nature, generally attacks the weaker 

 plants, and for this reason rich soil is 

 necessary to force a vigorous growth 

 which, to a certain extent, will fortify the 

 plant against its attacks. Some varieties 

 are more susceptible to fungi than are 

 others because they are more tender in 

 the leaf tissues. We have proved con- 

 clusively that rust may be bred out of 

 plants having this tendency by selecting 

 runner plants from mother plants that 

 show the greatest powers of resistance, 

 and that it may be kept out by careful 

 selection and continuous spraying. Rust 

 is first observed in the appearance of 

 small brown spots on the upper side of 

 the leaves of the olant. The injury is 

 scarcely noticeable until it eats into the 

 tissue of the leaf and comes into contact 

 with the chlcophyl cells, at which time 

 it works down mto the leaf stems and 

 body of the plant, and this is what causes 

 the brown spots. As time goes on rust 

 will spread until the leaf dries up and 

 becomes entirely useless. There is no 

 cure for rust, so far as known, but a com- 



plete preventive is found in Bordeaux, as 

 no fungi can take strong hold upon a 

 plant when it is "copper-plated" with 

 Bordeaux mixture. We have demon- 

 strated this beyond doubt by experiments 

 in the experimental beds of the Corres- 

 port,dence School, where more than fifty 

 varieties are under observation. Those that 

 are sprayed fairly glisten with health, 

 while those which are not sprayed are less 

 bright and an occasional leaf-spot appears. 



A. F. B. , Cedarburg, Wis. I set out about one- 

 half an acre of strawberries late in May and a 

 dry, hot spell followed the planting, killing 

 nearly half of the plants. I intend to grow 

 the runner plants now forming in pots to fill 

 out rows (single and double hedge) where 

 runners from the established plants cannot 

 reach. Shall I be able to secure a profitable 

 crop in this way, next season? 2. Does it 

 pay to let the pot-grown plants, set out in 

 August, form runners? 3. What is the 

 best way to prepare land now in clover and 

 timothy of several years' standing, for straw- 

 berries to be set out next spring; soil is a 

 black loam with clay subsoil? 4. Are forest 

 tree leaves any good for mulching? 5. In 

 answer to a question in July number you state 

 you never heard of mice injuring strawberry 

 plants under mulching. I used corn stalks 

 one winter and had the plants eaten off clean. 

 Have also had this happen under leaves and 

 oat straw. Mice usually keep out of cut 

 corn stalks. Would this make a desirable 

 mulch? 6. If mulch is put on in winter 

 should it be removed in spring and ground 

 cultivated and mulched again before fruiting, 

 or should mulch be left between rows with no 

 cultivation? 



Your plan of letting the runner plants 

 take root in small pots is an excellent one, 

 but let us suggest that you fill these pots 

 with loose, rich soil, then sink them in 

 the soil near the plants that are to furnish 



the runners. The sinking of the pots 

 will keep the soil in the pots from drying 

 out. Place the node of the runner wire 

 on top of the soil in the pot, and lay a 

 small stone or quantity of soil on the 

 runner to hold it in place. In two or 

 three weeks the roots of these little plants 

 will have penetrated the entire mass of 

 soil, at which time it may be transferred 

 to its permanent place. In doing this it 

 will be well to select a day following a 

 rain. A hole should be made large 

 enough to receive the entire contents of 

 the pot, and if you will take a common 

 case knife and run it around the edges 

 the soil will come out in a compact mass, 

 holding every root in its proper place. 

 After it is placed in the cavity the top of 

 the pot-soil should be on a level with the 

 surface of the land, then the soil should 

 be firmed in around it. While these may 

 not produce a large crop of berries the 

 following spring they will yield more than 

 enough to pay the expense of setting 

 them, besides filling in your rows and 

 greatly improving the appearance of your 

 field. It also fills out the beds for a 

 bumper crop the second year. Let it be 

 understood that luider normal conditions 

 we do not favor pot-growing in strawber- 

 ry production; but an emergency fre- 

 quently exists, as in the present case, and 

 we must do what we can to meet it. 



2. Do not allow them to make run- 

 ners, but pinch them off as soon as they 

 appear, which will give the plants many 

 advantages in their work of self-devel- 

 opment. 



3. Your clover and timothy sod should 

 be broken up as soon as possible after the 

 hay is cut, and the soil thoroughly pre- 

 pared by several harrowings. The only 

 fall crops we could recommend so late in 

 the season would be turnips or late cab- 

 bage. If it were earlier, potatoes would 

 be an excellent crop. Neither can we 

 recommend the sowing of rye on newly 



THE BUSINESSLIKE STRAWBERRY FARM OF JOSEPH Ml LLS. GALION, OHIO 



Page 169 



