THE STRAWBERRY SEPTEMBER 1907 



of loose sand and five barrels of gravel or 

 broken stone will make 8':= barrels of 

 concrete. The sand will fill the voids 

 between the gravel or broken stone and 

 the cement fills the voids between the 

 grains of sand. The total amount of con- 

 crete will be but slightly more than the 

 amount of gravel or broken stone used. 



To make one cubic yard of concrete of 

 the following proportions — 1 part cement, 

 2'^ parts sand and 5 parts gravel — re- 

 quires about 1 '+ barrels of cement (5 

 sacks), 3 '+ barrels of sand, and 6 '2 barrels 

 of gravel. 



Mixing. — Be very careful in measuring 

 the proportions. Mix the concrete as 

 near the place it is to be used as possible. 

 Use as soon as mixed. Do not mix too 

 much at once. 



Measure the sand first, and spread it in 

 an even layer in a mixing box, place the 

 cement on top and turn it with a shovel 

 at least three times. Then add the bro- 

 ken stone or gravel which has previously 



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ri no be iiave it for ble opin= 

 *♦ ion, tbat whoever coul? 

 mahe two ears of corn or two 

 blaDcs of cirass to grow upon 

 a spot of cirounO wbere onlv 

 one cirew before, woulO £ie= 

 serve better of manhinO anO 

 Oo more essential service to 

 bis countrv tban tbe wbole 

 race of politicians put to= 

 cietber. : : : Dean Swift. 



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been wet, and turn the whole at least 

 three times. Begin to add the water on 

 the second turning, not too much at once. 

 A sprinkling pot is better than a hose for 

 adding the water, as it does not wash 

 away the cement. 



Concrete work should be avoided in 

 freezing weather, as frost damages it. 

 Where it is absolutely necessary to do 

 work at this time, a small amount of salt 

 added to the water will prevent freezing; 

 this does not damage the concrete where 

 used in small quantities. 



An objection is sometimes raised that 

 concrete floors and walls are too smooth 

 and become slippery when wet. This 

 fault is largely due to the fact that the 

 finishing surface was completed with a 

 steel smoothing trowel instead of a wood 

 trowel, or smoothing board, which would 



PICKING STRAWBERRIES IN A FIELD NEAR PROCTOR, WASH. 



have left the surface rough. This fault 

 is also overcome in a great measure by 

 dividing the wearing surface into small 

 squares about four inches on each side, 

 by means of triangular grooves three- 

 eighths of an inch in depth. This not 

 only makes a neat appearance, but fur- 

 nishes a good foot hold for stock. 



Management of the Propagating Bed 



By M. N. Edgerton 



Grant's Pass, Oregon, Aug. 1, 1907 

 Won't you please get M. N. Edgerton of 

 Petoslcey, Mich, to give us a few pointers on 

 how he conducts his propagatihg bed? Tell 

 him to get down to the vitals like he did in his 

 article in the July Strawberry. 



L. Hunt Hughes. 



IN essentials, our method of growing 

 plants for propagating purposes, does 

 not differ from that of growing plants 

 for the fruiting bed. That is to say, the 

 ground should be as well supplied with 

 plant food and as well prepared for the 

 reception of the plants in the one case as 

 in the other. Equal care should be exer- 

 cised in keeping the surface of the ground 

 stirred and weeds out. 



We prefer a virgin soil where available, 

 and one containing a fair percentage of 

 sand. Such soils do not pack with rains 

 and is easily shaken from the roots of the 

 plants at digging time. 



We use the very best plants we have 

 for this purpose, and set them in rows 

 four feet apart and about two feet in the 

 row. It is best to go the same way in the 

 row when cultivating, as the runners will 

 then spread more evenly. When possible, 

 we layer the runners, i. e., push the nodes 

 into the soil or otherwise secure them so 

 they will root quickly. This may be 

 done by throwing a little soil on the run- 



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ner near the node. As the plants begin 

 to fill in the rows, the cultivator should 

 be gradually narrowed. The nodes drop- 

 ping into the depressions left by the culti- 

 vator teeth (we use a 12-tooth for this 

 purpose) quickly take root if there is a fair 

 percentage of moisture present in the soil. 

 It is best to remove all runners that spring 

 from a runner (laterals) as such runners 

 always produce weak and inferior plants. 



Further than this, we would not use 

 these plants further out on the runner than 

 the third. If the runner is clipped off 

 here, or better still at the second plant, 

 the energy thus saved goes toward mak- 

 ing the first plants large and strong. From 

 these plants will arise other runners strong 

 and full of vitality, from which will spring 

 other plants as good as the first or nearly so. 



There should be timely applications of 

 Bordeaux, poisoned if there is any trouble 

 from insect pests. The Bordeaux is to 

 prevent rust from developing on the leaves. 

 Where one is thorough in treating the 

 plants in the propagating bed, it usually 

 will not be found necessary to do much 

 of this work in the fruiting bed. How- 

 ever, I would make an occasional appli- 

 cation here anyhow, just for principle's 

 sake. 



If during the last growing month of 

 the season all runners putting out from 

 the plants are removed, those already set 

 will be all the stronger for it. If allowed 

 to set they should be rejected when dig- 

 ging. In our own operations we reject 

 all plants not meeting our rather exacting 

 ideals. We throw away many plants that 

 the average grower would use. 



Our method of culture calls for culti- 

 vation both ways of the field during the 

 fore part of the season and quick filling 

 up of the rows, hence it is especially de- 

 sirable that the plants be as uniform as 

 possible when set. 



At the approach of freezing weather it 

 is very essential that a light covering be 

 applied to protect the plants. 



In summing up the matter of essentials 

 we would say: a rich soil well supplied 

 with humus; frequent cultivation; care in 

 seeing that the plants root at once; pro- 

 tection from insects and fungous diseases, 

 and protection from winter's frosts and 

 sunshine. No fruit is allowed to set in 

 our propagating bed. Peioskey, Mich. 



Pa<e 188 



