THE STRAWBERRY SEPTEMBER 1906 



maintained during that period, it should 

 be in very fine condition for strawberry 

 plants after the treatment you purpose 

 giving it this fall. Hut if its fertility has 

 been affected by cropping, it will be all 

 the better if you will apply the manure 

 liberally this fall and then during the 

 winter scatter a light dressing on the rye 

 and plow all under next spring. 



2. Bisexual plants are in no degree 

 affected by the presence of the pistillate 

 varieties and yield equally as well when 

 they are present or absent. 

 ^ <^ 



L. W. F. , Penticton, B. C. As manure is 

 hard to get here, what shall I do to enrich 

 the soil in my new berry patch so that I may 

 get fruit next year? Prices for berries are 

 high here — no trouble to get 18 cents for all 

 we can raise. The Strawberry certainly does 

 "deliver the goods." It is the best ever. 



It is difficult to get soil into ideal con- 

 dition without some manure, but if 

 manure positively may not be had, we 

 would recommend the growing of cow- 

 peas for humus. These could be turned 

 under in the fall and you should be care- 

 ful to see that they are not too deeply 

 turned under, as it always is better to 

 have the vegetable matter sufficiently near 

 the surface to cause it readily to decom- 

 pose. Then in the spring the soil should 

 be replowed, after which sow 400 pounds 

 of finely ground bone meal and 200 

 pounds of potash to the acre. This 

 should be incorporated with the soil be- 

 fore the plants are set. The cow peas 

 will be so thoroughly decomposed that 

 they will work up into the soil and make 

 a loose, spongy bed for the plants. The 

 strawberry grower must never lose sight 

 of the fact that humus is as necessary in 

 the soil as is plant food. The price your 

 berries bring certainly justifies you in 

 setting out several acres. 



E. M. S., Thornvilje, Ohio. We raised over 

 8,000 quarts of strawberries last year. Xhey 

 were large and well-shaped, but did not keep 

 well. We have Clyde, Haverland, Senator 

 Dunlap, Luther, Aroma, Sample, Dornan 

 and a few others. Our soil is clay with con- 

 siderable sand, enriched with stable manure. 

 They were raised mostly in narrow half- 

 matted rows. What can be done to make 

 them firmer and better keepers.' Will keep- 

 ing the plants thin and free from weeds alone 

 do it, or is there something lacking in the soil 

 or in the varieties named? 



The main causes of your berries' failure 

 to hold up well appear to be an over- 

 supply of manure and your plants being 

 in a half-matted row. The manure fur- 

 nishes nitrogen in excess of potash, which 

 tends to make the berries soft. As your 

 soil is a sandy loam we would recommend 

 fifty bushels of wood ashes to the acre. 

 This may either be scattered between the 

 rows now and cultivated in, or you may 



spread it over the ground you intend to 

 set to plants next spring after it has been 

 broken up; then work thoroughly into the 

 soil. We would also advise >'ou to grow 

 your plants either in single-hedge row or 

 in a wide double-hedge row. By the 

 latter we mean to leave plenty of space 

 in the row between plants. Either of 

 these methods will allow enough sun and 

 air to penetrate the foliage, which will aid 

 greatly in firming up the fruit. Your 

 varieties are all good ones, and by follow- 

 ing these suggestions you will secure ex- 

 cellent results with them. If ashes are 

 not available you may use 200 pounds of 

 either muriate or sulfate of potash and 

 400 pounds of finely ground bone-meal 

 to the acre, applied in the same manner 

 as are the ashes. But be careful that 

 these fertilizers are not thrown directly 

 upon the plants, as to do so would result 

 in burning the plants. 



G. W. L. , Sioux Falls, S. D. 1 want to say 

 for the benefit of other readers of your val- 

 uable magazine that I have found at the 

 horse-shoeing shops what I conceive to be the 

 ideal manure — the winter accumulation of 

 horse manure, free from all coarse hay or 

 straw and weed seeds, and full of decaying 

 hoof parings. I have visited all the leading 

 shops in this city and found large piles of de- 

 composed manure which I get for the asking 

 and have hauled many loads of it. What do 

 you think of this manure for strawberries? 

 2. I have one and one-half acres of raw 

 prairie sod broken up this spring and planted 

 to navy beans. Would you advise setting 

 this to strawberries next spring, or would it 

 be better to put it to potatoes next year and 

 let strawberries follow? If put to berries next 

 spring how can I best prepare the land? 



The manure of which you speak will 

 be ideal for strawberries However, we 

 would suggest that you use it quite 

 sparingly, as it is very rich in nitrogen. 

 The best way to apply such manure as 

 this is to spread it on the surface of the 

 ground after it has been broken up and 

 mix it thoroughly into the soil with har- 

 rows and discs before setting the plants. 

 If tliis may not be done it will be all 

 right to apply on top of the ground dur- 

 ing the winter the same as other manuie, 

 and turned under. When used as a top 

 dressing four or five tons to the acre will 

 be sufficient. 



2. The fact that you have grown a 

 crop of beans on this sod land is evidence 

 that it will be all right for strawberry 

 plants next spring. After the beans are 

 harvested it would be well to break this 

 ground up, and by doing this you will 

 bring the old sod up to the surface so 

 that the air will come in contact with it 

 and cause it to decompose and thus to 

 work up finely with the other soil. Five 

 pecks of rye to the acre sown this fall 

 will make an ideal winter covering. Then 

 next spring replow the ground. This 



Page 186 



will put it into fine condition for the re- 

 ception of the plants. If you have other 

 ground that is better than this piece, then 

 plant potatoes where your beans were 

 grown. In this case the soil should re- 

 ceive a heavy dressing of manure this 

 winter. The potatoes will take up the 

 rankest part of the manure and add greatly 

 to the mechanical condition of the soil. 

 If set to berries a light dressing of manure 

 spread this winter will aid to put your 

 ground in splendid shape for them. 



F. H. C, Marston, IVIont. I have a small 

 recently drained lake bed on part of which 

 potatoes are growing, very rank and vigorous. 

 I wish to set out some strawberry plants there 

 next spring; .soil is very black, rich looking 

 and retentive. What variety or varieties had I 

 better set out? 



2. Had 1 better grow them by the hill 

 method, or single-hedge row? 



3. Is there any early variety that would do 

 well in the above described soil? 



It is more than likely that your land 

 lies quite low, and in view of this fact we 

 would recommend all late varieties. The 

 Parker Earle, Mark Hanna, William 

 Belt, Dornan, Pride of Michigan and 

 Gandy should give you excellent results. 

 The Sample also would do well, as it has 

 a hardy bloom and is not readily affected 

 by frost. 



2. It also is likely that your soil is 

 rich and will produce a large foliage, and 

 for this reason we would recommend the 

 single-hedge row. 



3. The main objection to setting any 

 early variety on a low piece of land is the 

 danger of late frosts injuring them while 

 they are in bloom. Excelsior and Texas 

 make a very heavy foliage, which to a 

 certain extent is a protection to the bloom 

 from frost. Set only enough of the early 

 ones to test them. 



T. E. H., Sedalia, Mo. Would an orchard 

 about five years old be suitable for a straw- 

 berry patch? 



2. Am I to understand that after plants are 

 set out all runners should be cut off the first 

 year? 



It depends somewhat upon the class of 

 trees you have set in this orchard, and 

 the distance apart. If the trees are small 

 and not closer than from twenty to 

 twenty-four feet, two or three rows of 

 strawberries may be set between the tree 

 rows. One of the largest crops of straw- 

 berries we ever grew was in a young 

 orchard, and while cultivating the berries 

 the trees also received the attention so 

 essential to their success; thus we killed 

 two birds with one stone. Not only will 

 the strawberries pay all the expense of 

 caring for the orchard, but will give you 

 a handsome profit beside while the trees 

 are coming into bearing. However, it is 

 not a good plan to set strawberries in an 



