THE STRAWBERRY MAY 1907 



dug and the soil thoroughly shaken out, 

 very little will remain among the roots. 



W. T. , Rhinebeck, N. Y. When strawber- 

 ries are raised on shares how should the pro- 

 ceeds be divided? A furnishes land and ma- 

 nure. B plows, harrows, plants, purchases 

 the plants and does all the work — marketing, 

 picking, etc. What share should A receive? 

 What share should B receive? 



2. What would you plant upon the old 

 strawberry bed when it is plowed up about 

 July 15? 



3. If a piece of land is plowed in the spring 

 and allowed to lie bare the whole year, plant- 

 ing nothing upon it, but harrowing it once a 

 week for the entire season to the depth of 

 three inches, in this way ha\ ing it covered 

 with a dust mulch all the season, does the 

 field gain or lose fertility? 



Matters of this kind usually are left to 

 agreement between the parties in interest, 

 but as a rule we think the man who 

 furnishes the land and manure should 

 receive a fair rental for his land and pay 

 for the manure at the going price per ton 

 in the particular locality. B is taking all 

 the chances and doing all the work, and 

 certainly should not allow A more than 

 one-fourth of the net profits. An ordinary 

 crop would give A large rental for his 

 land and a high price for his manure. 



2. We often have sown cowpeas with 

 splendid results. A great amount of 

 mulching could be grown by sowing two 

 bushels of corn to the acre, but we prefer 

 sowing peas, especially where the ground 

 is to be set to strawberry plants the fol- 

 lowing spring. 



3. Would lose much fertility. 



G. H. G., Lewlston, N. Y. What is the easiest 

 and most practical method of keeping the 

 tally of the number of quarts of each picker? 



2. In setting one-half acre of strawberry 

 plants will it be all right to set the rows four 

 feet apart and allow them to mat about eight- 

 een inches wide? Would that leave vacant 

 space enough between rows? 



3. Would it be better in setting plants to 

 make holes with a hoe, so the roots could be 

 spread out more evenly, or use a spade or 

 dibble? 



The easiest and most practical way of 

 keeping tally of the number of quarts of 

 berries each picker gathers is to furnish 

 each picker with a tally ticket. On this 

 ticket are numbers, running from one to 

 four to the total of 100. Numbers should 

 be punched out, corresponding to the 

 number of quarts taken from the picker. 



2. We prefer making the rows three 

 and one-half feet apart and setting the 

 plants from twenty-four to thirty inches 

 apart in the rows. Then allow each of 

 these plants to make four runners and 

 layer these runners zig-zag, so as to form 

 a double-hedge row. However, if you 



wish to grow the berries in a matted row, 

 your method is correct. 



3. The best tool we ever have seen 

 for setting plants is the dibble, which 

 makes an opening plenty large enough to 

 permit the roots of the plant to be well 

 spread when setting. 



G. H. G. , Lewiston, N. Y. I am going to set 

 one-half acre to strawberries of the following 

 varietiest Gandy, Pride of Michigan, Dor- 

 nan, Excelsior and Texas Of the different 

 varieties mentioned which would do the best 

 in single or double hedge rovv ' In either case 

 how far apart should they be? 



We recommend the double-hedge row 

 for all the varieties you name, and if you 

 are to cultivate with a horse you should 

 place the rows thirty-six inches apart, and 

 set the plants twent\-four inches apart in 

 the row. 



J. t.. , Stillwater, Minn. When land is fairly 

 fertile and a good coat of barnyard manure is 

 applied would any kind of commercial ferti- 

 lizer on the strawberry patch be of any value? 



2. Would you spray your strawberry patch 

 if there are no apparent signs of insect pests 

 and fungous diseases? If so, what preparation 

 would you use? 



3. Can you gi\'e me the name of a good 

 knapsack sprayer that can be used for both 

 strawberries and potatoes? 



2. Does spraying in any way injure or weak- 

 en the strawberry plants? 



Your barnyard manure will have sup- 

 plied your soil with sufficient plant food, 

 and no commercial fertilizer will be nec- 

 essary. 



2. We should not spray unless there 

 were signs in the patch of the presence of 

 fungous diseases or insect pests, or unless 

 we knew of their presence in the neigh- 

 borhood. If we were seeking to prevent 

 fungous diseases we should use Bordeaux 

 mixture; if insect pests, we should use the 

 regular Paris green formula. 



3. Morrill & Morley, Benton Harbor, 

 Mich; The E. C. Brown Co., 61 Jay St., 

 Rochester, N. Y; The Rochester Spray 

 Pump Co., 12 East Ave., Rochester, N. 

 Y., all make sprayers which would serve 

 your purposes well. 



4. Spraying is a source of strength to 

 the plants, as it tends to keep them per- 

 fectly clean and healthy. 



F. I,. F. , York, Pa. When I removed the 

 mulching of straw this morning from my little 

 garden patch of strawberries I found very 

 many of the outer leaves dead, black and 

 crisp; the center of the plants being green. 

 Is this a natural condition, or may it have 

 been caused by too heavy mulching, or leav- 

 ing the mulch on too long? 

 2. What is the object of covering the crown 

 with earth after the first croii? 



The condition of which you speak is 



Pi«e 139 



BERRY BOXES 



and all kinds of Fruit Packages 



ODR SPECIALTIES: 



Quart and Pint Bern- Boxes. 16 and 24- 

 quart Crates, Picking Stands, Bnshfl 

 Crates for Vegetables, All Kinds of Grape 

 and Peach Baskets, Bushfl Baskets with 

 or without covers. Half-bnshel Picking 

 Baskets with strong handles, and aany 

 other convenient packages for fruit and 

 vegetable growers; the most durable made 



Write for onr Free Catalogue. It describns 

 and llluBtratea everything we make 



GEO. B. THAYER & CO.. Benton Harbor, MIcb. 



one entirely natural, as there are alwayi; 

 decayed leaves attached to strawberry 

 ^ ines at the season to which you refer. 

 2. The object of covering the crown 

 with earth after the first crop is to make 

 the roots start. An entirely new system 

 of roots is developed at this time. 



E. A. C, Rhode Island. Do you think it will 

 be safe for me to set out plants this spring 

 where the grub troubled me last season? 



2. I have some Wm. Belts in propagating 

 bed. I am told they rust badly. Shall I spray 

 them after I've planted them out or before; 

 and what is best to use? 



3. I have a bed fruiting this year for the 

 second time; am going to plow under after 

 last picking — about July 10. Could I plant 

 corn for mulching after that time and secure 

 a crop. 



I like the strawberry. It is a good clean paper. 



Soil which has been cultivated for sev- 

 eral years is safer than new land. If you 

 have other ground, we would not use the 

 ground where the grubs were fouiid so 

 abundantly last year. 



2. The Wm. Belt variety has tender 

 leaf tissues, which make it quite suscep- 

 tible to rust spots. Spraying with Bordeaux 

 mixture will prevent this. The first spray- 

 ing should be given after the young plants 

 begin to grow nicely and repeated every 

 ten or fifteen days throughout the growing 

 season. The number of times the spray- 

 ing need be done will depend much on 

 weather conditions. If the weather is 

 wet and muggy, spraying should be done 

 more often than during dry or regular 

 weather. Use Bordeaux mixture. 



3. You should get a very fine growth 

 of corn by sowing two bushels of good 

 seed to the acre after July 10, and this 

 will make good mulching for your berries. 



