252 POPULAR FRUIT GROWING. 



Trimming and setting the plants. The plants, when dug, 

 should have all the dead leaves, pieces of runners and blossoms 

 trimmed off, and if there is a considerable growth of leaves part 

 of them should be cut off. All flowers that appear the first year 

 should be taken off. If the roots are large, they are not readily 

 planted, and it is customary to shorten them to about three inch- 

 es. The old roots then quickly start a lot of fresh feeding roots. 



Fig. 117. Strawberries. Cultivating the new bed about midsummei*. 



If a great mop of roots is planted in a bunch, a part of them is 

 very apt to rot. Perhaps as good a way as any to set the plants 

 is with a spade. This requires two persons, generally a man and 

 a boy, to do the work rapidly. After the land is marked out, 

 the man places the spade with the back side away from him, 

 presses it about six inches into the moist earth, moves it from 

 him and lifts it out. The boy takes up a plant, separates the 

 roots, and puts them in the hole. The man puts the spade in 

 the ground about four inches nearer him than he had it before 

 and presses the soil against the plant. The boy finishes the op- 

 eration by firming the plant in the soil with his hands. As soon 

 as the planting is done, the cultivator should be started to loosen 

 up the soil between the plants. Great care should be taken to 

 keep the plants from getting dry when planting them out. 



