Kill HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



Oidliiral Melliod.s. 



The department ha.s eonstantly experimented with methods 

 of cultivation ; and, .since this work ha.s covered many year.s 

 and a diversity of soils, some general remarks on the man- 

 agement of strawberry i)lantations may appear to bo in i)lace. 

 AV^hile the cultural methods of growing the strawberry vary 

 widely, and each system has its special devotees, nearly all 

 methods have merits and demerits worth considering. 



Shall the strawberry })lant be allowed to fruit one or two 

 years ? Nearly all the best growers now practise the former 

 method. By this quick rotation fungous and insect i)ests 

 are avoided to a greater extent, and the fruit is generally 

 considered enough better to warrant the extra labor and 

 expense. 



Shall the i)lants be set in the early spring, or in autunm ? 

 Generally s})eaking, our experience has shown that spring- 

 setting is best, as the root system gets a better chance to 

 develop, and the crown to store uj) nutriment for fruit bear- 

 ing the following year. However, in s})ecial cases good 

 results are obtained by selecting vigorous plants in July and 

 August, setting in beds close together, and allowing no run- 

 ners to form. 



There are four general systems, modified more or less to 

 suit special conditions ; these are commonly practised with 

 spring setting : the hill system, hedge-row system, narrow 

 matted vow and wide matted row systems. 



The hill .sijstevi is more generally advocated by amateur 

 than conunercial growers. The })lants .should be set out 

 about two and one-half by two feet, and no runners allowed 

 to form. Evcrvthinir that Avill aid the crown to increase in 

 size and strength should be provided. The larger and more 

 vigorous the crowns, the greater the results ; the strengtii of 

 the })lants goes to building up a fruit-i)roducing organi.sm 

 alone. Another iifreat advanta<2:e is the exposure to air and 

 sunlight on all sides, and the con.senuent production of bet- 

 ter-colored, better-flavored and firmer fruit, worthy of a 

 fancy price. 



The heil(je-row sijstem is a modification of the hill sy.stem 



