THE STRAWBERRY NOVEMBER 1906 



**BcttCr Tlldll Gas," says this new yorker. 



^^ "I have osed The Angle Lamp far beyond tfae time Bet for trial and find tbat one 

 cannot be too enthusiastic over it/* writes Mr. Granville Baraurn, of Cold Springs, N. J. 

 "it certainly gives the brightest and at tbe same lime the softest illumination one could 

 desire. 



"We lived in New York City for some years and used all the latest and most Im- 

 proved appliances, devices, etc. in connection wilb gas or electricity and yet I must sin* 

 cerelyiirge the superiority of this simple yet wonderful method of illumioatloa. Ooe can 

 hardly Siy too much Id its praise." 



THE 



Angle Lamp 



makes common kerf>sene the best, the cheapest and 

 most satislactory of all lighting methods. Safer and 

 more reliable tlian gasoline or acetylene, yet as con- 

 venient to operate as pas or electricity. 



The Anjrie Lamp is' lighted and extinpaished like 

 gaa. May be turned hicrh or low without odor. No 

 smoke, no dantrer. Filled while lighted and without 

 moving. Requires fillinir but once or twice a week. 

 It floodsaroora with its beautiful, soft, mellow light 

 that has no equal. Write for Our Catalog *a' * and 

 our proposition (or a 



30 DAYS' FREE TRIAI,. 



Write fornur catalog '■ 54" listing ^2 varieties ftf The Angrle Lamp from ti.80 op, now— before Jtm turn 

 this leaf— tor it gives yuu tne benefit ot our ten years' experience with all lighting methods. 



THE ANGLE MFG. CO., 78-80 MURRAY STREET. NEW YORK. 



quantity of this material, and so we take 

 whatever material comes most readily to 

 hand. Rye straw is an excellent mulch, 

 marsh hay makes a good third choice; oat 

 straw is good, the principal ohjection to it 

 being that it becomes matted together in 

 such a way that it is very difficult to 

 make an opening in it for the plants to 

 come up through in the spring; coarse 

 manure is another favorite. Shredded 

 corn fodder is ideal as a mulch, but it is 

 quite expensive. Thickly sown corn pro- 

 duces a very fine stalk which answers the 

 purpose excellently. The illustration at 

 the head of the next page shows a field of 

 sown corn being cut with a common 

 wheat binder, which ties it in bundles, 

 making it convenient to haul to the fields 

 and place on the plants. An illustration 

 of this work also is shown herewith, in 

 which you will observe that the bundles 

 are laid directly on the row, one just be- 

 hind the other. 



WHEN the bundles are all placed in 

 this manner, simply cut the strings 

 and spread the corn out so as to cover the 

 plants; also the space between the rows. 

 You readily will see 

 how easy it will be to 

 part the corn stalks over 

 the row next spring so that the plants 

 may come up, and what a fine clean floor 

 this material makes for the strawberries to 

 ripen upon. Old leaves from a forest 

 also may be used, the only objection be- 

 ing that forest insects may be found in 

 the leaves. However, this danger is so 

 slight that we rather would use the leaves 

 than let the strawberries go without a 

 proper covering. Our Southern friends 

 find pine needles a mulch of high quality, 

 and leaves stripped from cane plantations 

 serve them well. Buckwheat straw is 

 away ahead of no mulch at all. 



LET us consider for a moment the ad- 

 vantages of mulching, for there are 

 few things of greater importance enter- 

 ing into strawberry production than this. 



Applying the 

 Corn Fodder 



Advantages 

 oE Mulching 



Its principal object during winter is to pre- 

 vent sudden thawing during bright days. 

 Alternate freezing and thawing causes 

 contraction and expan- 

 sion of the soil, which 

 results in straining and 

 breaking the roots. A mulched plant re- 

 mains undisturbed, thus allowing the 

 roots to remain firmly fixed and in a per- 

 fectly dormant condition. Then the 

 roots will callous and remain so until it 

 comes time for them to get into action in 

 the spring. This insures a strong and 

 powerful plant, capable of developing a 

 heavy foliage and a bumper crop of big 

 red berries. Mulching also prevents the 

 dashing winter rains from beating directly 

 upon the surface of the soil, and this 

 keeps the soil from forming a hard crust. 



retaining its mellowness and avoiding 

 closing up the air spaces so important to 

 the life of bacterial germs. And don't 

 forget that it is because of the industrious 

 work of these little friends — these same 

 bacterial germs — that the food is prepared 

 for the plants, and nothing must be over- 

 looked that will aid them to perform 

 well this important task. The mulch 

 also shades the ground and holds the 

 plant food in the soil, or, in other words, 

 retains fertility in the soil. It holds the 

 snow, causing it slowly to percolate into 

 the soil as it melts, thus filling the sub- 

 soil with a great quantity of moisture like 

 a reservoir, to be drawn upon throughout 

 the growing season. 



MULCHING prevents the washing 

 of the soil, which causes a great 

 waste of mineral matter. It keeps the 

 fruit buds from swelling during warm 

 spells in winter, which 



, Mulching 



IS an important factor in ^ ^reat Economy 



preserving the strength 

 and fruit-producing powers of the plant. 

 It is a guarantee that there will be no 

 weakened roots to check the rapid move- 

 ment of sap when spring comes and na- 

 ture sets things in motion. Mulching is 

 an economy, rather than expense, isn't 

 it.' Then in the spring, the foliage is in a 

 healthy condition, green and full of 

 strength. This aids in starting a vigor- 

 ous new vegetative growth, which the 

 plant must have before it can develop and 

 mature a big crop of fancy berries. It 

 holds the water in the soil so that it can- 

 not escape except as the plant absorbs it. 

 It plays an important part during the 

 blooming period. When a heavy rain 

 falls, if it were not for the mulching the 



APPLYING SOWN-CORN FODDER AS A MULCH 



THIS illustration makes clear our method of applying as a mulch fodder which comes from thickly 

 sown corn. When this photograph was taken we used only a few bundles in order that the il- 

 lustration might be as plain as possible. We are sure that all our readers will get the idea 

 from this picture. It is evident that applying it in bundles is much easier than by any other way 



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