CHAPTER IX. 



THE PREPARATION OF SOILS COMPARATIVELY UNFAVORABLE CLAY, 



SAND, ETC. 



WE have now reached a point at which we must consider land which 

 in its essential character is unfavorable to strawberries, and yet 

 which may be the best to be had. The difficulties here are not merely 

 accidental or remediable, such as lack of depth or fertility, the presence 

 of stones or stumps, undue wetness of soil, etc. Any or all of these 

 obstacles may be found, but in addition, there are evils inseparable from 

 the soil, and which cannot be wholly eradicated. The best we can hope 

 in such a case is to make up by art what is lacking in nature. 



This divergence from the deep, moist sandy loam, the ideal straw- 

 berry land, is usually toward a stiff, cold, stubborn clay, or toward a 

 droughty, leachy sand that retains neither fertility nor moisture. Of 

 course, these opposite soils require in most respects different treatment. 



We will consider first the less objectionable, /'. e., the heavy clay. To 

 call clay more favorable for strawberries than sandy land may seem like 

 heresy to many, for it is a popular impression that light soils are the best. 

 Experience and observation have, however, convinced me of the contrary. 

 With the clay you have a stable foundation. Your progress may be 

 slow, but it can be made sure. The character of a sandy foundation was 

 taught centuries ago. Moreover, all the fine foreign-blooded varieties, as 

 well as our best native ones, grow far better on heavy land, and a soil 

 largely mixed with clay gives a wider range in the choice of varieties. 



If I had my choice between a farm of cold, stiff clay or light, leachy 



