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a laro'e number of crown buds are formed and a large number of 

 flower buds produced, but the plants are liable to become shallow- 

 rooted and easily thrown out by the frost. If the plants are in 

 bills heavily mulched during the winter and during the fruiting 

 time, fairly good results will be obtained, but not equal to that 

 from the modified matted row. 



Cultivation and Fertilization. 



In fitting the land for the strawberry, the deeper it is worked, 

 provided the subsoil is not brought to the surface, the better. 

 Frequent stirring of the soil during the summer must be followed 

 if the best growth is desired. 



Fertilizers containing a large per cent of potash and phosphoric 

 acid should be used for the production of fruit. Nitrogenous 

 manures should be used sparingly, unless the soil is very poor, as 

 they tend to the production of foliage at the expense of the fruit. 

 A very good formula is from twelve hundred to two thousand 

 pounds of fine-ground bone and five hundred pounds of potash 

 per acre. Use one-half at planting, sown broadcast, one-quarter 

 early in August and the balance early in April of the following 

 year. If stable manure is used for a surface dressing in the 

 spring, it should be well rotted and fine. 



Winter Protection. 



There are scarcely any conditions under which the strawberry 

 crop is not improved by winter protection, for, although the straw- 

 berry plants are perfectly hardy and grow much farther north than 

 this, in cultivated laud the plants are liable to be thrown out by 

 the frosts in the fall and spring, and some covering must be sipplied 

 to prevent this. The materials most commonly used are coarse 

 hay, straw, strawy manure, corn stover, pine boughs and pine 

 needles, all of which are good. 



If the cover or mulch is put on too early in the fall or too deeply, 

 the plants will often be injured by heating, and for this reason the 

 application is delayed until the ground is somewhat frozen. If 

 the ground were covered with snow from December to April, little 

 or no covering would be needed, but this is not often the case. 

 Only a thin covering should be applied, just enough to shade the 

 ground and prevent alternate freezing and thawing when there is 

 no snow on the ground. When growth begins, the mulch may be 

 removed, the land carefully cultivated until the fruit begins to 

 approach maturity, when the mulch is put back to protect the fruit 

 from the soil, or, as is the most common practice, left on the 



