THE STRAWBERRY FEERUARY 1907 



as the pea is a legume, the roots will add 

 nitronn as well as improve the mechan- 

 ical condition of the soil. When the pea 

 vines are cut replow this ground and sow 

 to rye about mid-September, and if you 

 can secure stable manure and can give 

 the acre a light dressing with it, you will 

 have ground in ideal condition for the 

 reception and development of strawberry 

 plants in the spring. 



4. The plan you outline indicates you 

 have given this matter much intelligent 

 thought, and there is no suggestion we 

 would make that would improve it. 



H. L. Y., Cuyahoga Falls, N. Y. Have tested 

 my soil and find it somewhat acid. What 

 shall I do to correct the trouble? 



For acidity in the soil one of the best 

 things to do is to scatter very carefully 

 and work in thoroughly, twenty-five 

 bushels of slaked lime to the acre, or if 

 you have hardwood ashes, fifty bushels 

 of the latter to the acre will serve the 

 same purpose. 



^ '^ 



M. C. S., Pontiac, III. Our greatest trouble is 

 the leaf roller. What is your remedy for 

 them? 



This pest, like nearly all others, may be 

 easily destroyed by burning the entire 

 field over after fruiting time. Spraying 

 with Paris green also will destroy the leaf 

 roller if the spraying be done before the 



leaf is folded together, but after the leaf 

 roller has enclosed itself in the leaf it is 

 difficult to put poison where it will get it. 

 There are four breeds each year of the 

 leaf roller, and you should watch your 

 plants with great care and begin spraying 

 at the first sign of its presence. 



E. D. G., Rochester, N. Y. Referring to 

 spring cultivation why do you say, "after all 

 danger of frost is over"? What harm would 

 result from cultivating before? In this local- 

 ity we would have to wait till about June 1. 



2. How would a Planet Jr. seed drill do for 

 applying nitrate of soda? Run two or three 

 shallow drills each side of the rows. In this 

 way it occurs to me it could be applied rapid- 

 ly and evenly. I never tried it. It is out of 

 season to do, but these vi'inter months are the 

 time to learn and get ready for business. 



3. Have you known of the shell-less snail 

 damaging strawberries? They did me much 

 harm two years ago, eating many of the 

 finest berries. Do you know anything to do 

 in such a case? 



4. Why do you say "double-hedge row" 

 when it is in reality a triple row, or practically 

 a narrow matted row with the plants arranged 

 in order and rather thinly set? 



5. Would it not be better for cultivating 

 purposes and fully as good for fruiting, to 

 arrange them with the same number of plants 

 to a given area but strictly in two rows rela- 

 tively near to each other then the wide space, 

 two more near and wide space and so on? 



It seems to me that your system of "double- 



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hedge" must be quite tedious to cultivate 

 while a true double hedge would give sufficient 

 space for easy work with hand cultivator and 

 do the wide spaces with horse. 



Our reasons for advising against culti- 

 vation before danger from frost is past, is 

 that cultivation makes the radiation of the 

 earth's heat more rapid than it is when 

 left uncultivated, and the more rapid this 

 radiation the greater the danger from 

 frost. The fact that frost continues un- 

 til late indicates that cultivation should 

 be relatively late. The advantage of cul- 

 tivating the fruiting bed is this: It 

 loosens up the hard, packed soil, which 

 has become so during the winter, and not 

 only does this conserve the moisture al- 

 ready in the soil, but opens up the surface 

 which admits the water more readdy. 

 Repeating the cultivation furnishes air to 

 bacteria, which in turn works up plant 

 food into available form. 



2. You are right, and we are very 

 glad to have this question at this time 

 when all of us can think it over. It is 

 the fellow that does the planning ahead 

 who is ready when the time comes and 

 makes the fewest mistakes. As the 

 Planet Jr. tools are made to do work 

 with such accuracy, we see no reason 

 why the drill should not distribute ni- 

 trate of soda with entire satisfaction. 

 This material should be drilled close to 

 the plants and not more than 100 pounds 

 should be used to the acre; and fifty 

 pounds would be ample. 



3. We never have been troubled with 

 anything of this kind. There is a soft 

 snail-like insect which sometimes does 

 damage to the very earliest berries, eating 

 their way into fruit, curling up in snail 

 form. It is rather difficult to name a 

 treatment for insects that work upon the 

 berries or upon the plants during the ripen- 

 ing process. Lime dusted about the 

 jilants will sometimes keep these pests, 

 av.ay. 



4. Because it is a double Hne ot run- 

 ner plants. 



5. That would be the twin hedge row 

 which is an ideal method. It requires 

 more plants to set one acre than for the 

 double-hedge. 



E. H. H., Malvern, Pa. My worst enemy is 

 the chickweed. Cultivate and hoe as fast as 

 I could, this obnoxious growth seemed to 

 keep just about so far ahead of me through 

 the season. Can you tell me how to keep the 

 chickweed from getting the start of me? 



Thorough cultivation at the start — im- 

 mediately after plants are set. Cultivate 

 as close to the rows as it is safe to run 

 the cultivator and then break all the sur- 

 face in the row with the hoe that the cul- 

 tivator leaves unbroken. This treatment 

 kills the seed while in the germinating 

 state. If chickweed is allowed to peep 

 its head above the ground, it will be 

 found very difficult to kill out. 



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