8 



Several different systems of planting have been practised successfully. 

 The method of planting should be regulated by the quantity of land to be 

 used, the amount of labour and manure at the disposal of the planter, the 

 varieties to be planted, whether for market or for a city garden, or on the 

 farm for family use. 



HILL SYSTEM. For a city garden, where land is usually scarce, the hill 

 system will generally give very satisfactory results. Plant in rows 2 feet 

 apart and' 12 to 15 inches apart in the row. Cut off all runners before they 

 have time to take root, thus enabling the plants to make strong stools or 

 hills by the end of the growing season. Any blossoms which appear the 

 same season of planting should be removed. In an unfavourable locality, 

 where much alternate freezing and thawing is likely to occur during the 

 winter and early spring, growing in hills is not always successful, as they 

 are more likely to heave with the frost, and the plants do not afford the same 

 protection to each other as when planted in matted rows. 



MATTED Rows. For this mode of culture, the rows require to be from 2 1 / 4 

 to 4 feet apart, and the plants 12 to 15 inches apart in the row. Cut off any 

 blossoms which may appear, also the first runners, until the plants have 

 gained sufficient vigour to send out several strong runners at once, when they 

 should be allowed to take root and form a matted row from 6 to 12 inches in 

 width. All free-growing sorts make too many plants and should have all 

 surplus runners cut off. The plants should not be crowded in the row. 

 From 3 to 6 inches apart each way will give the required protection to each 

 other and room to produce fruit of large size and in abundance. 



CULTIVATION. 



(Michigan Bulletin No. 163.) 



The ideal method of cultivating strawberries is to have the land at all 

 times in about the condition it would be if worked with a garden rake, and 

 this can only be secured when tools with narrow teeth are used. If the soil 

 is inclined to bake, it will often be advisable to break the crust that forms 

 about the plants after a rain, and during the season it should not be neglected 

 whenever necessary? to keep down the weeds and prevent the formation of a 

 crust. As a substitute for the hoe, a light potato hook is recommended, as 

 this can be used to work closely about the plants without danger of injuring 

 them, and will leave the surface in better condition than the hoe. 



During the first season the plants should not be allowed to bear fruit, 

 and as soon as the blossom stalks are large enough to permit of its being done 

 readily, they should be broken or cut out. When the plants start to form 

 layers in large numbers early in the season, it will be advisable to remove 

 them. This may be done with a hoe, or with some of the cutters made 

 for the purpose. 



(Central Experimental Farm Bulletin 2\ T o. 5.) 



Nearly all soils are full of weed seeds. When these germinate and 

 appear above ground, cultivation should begin. Frequent stirring of the 

 soil will destroy these weeds, and during drought will cause sufficient mois- 

 ture to be retained in the soil to enable the plants to make a strong growth. 



