442 SUCCESSFUL FARMING 



run lengthwise of the beds, the rows 24 inches apart, with the plants 18 

 inches apart in the rows. Such beds afford sufficient drainage and hold the 

 mulch better than narrow beds or raised rows, and the space between the 

 plants admits light to all sides of the plant — an advantage in coloring the 

 fruits which can not be secured by the matted row system early in the 

 season in the climate of Florida. 



A common practice is to set the plants in single rows 4 feet apart, 

 with the plants 12 inches apart in the row. The runners which develop 

 from these plants are then allowed to take possession of the area for 6 to 

 9 inches on either side of the original plants, thus making a matted row 12 

 to 18 inches wide; this leaves 30 inches between the rows, which allows 

 ample space for cultivation and gathering the fruit. This space can be 

 reduced from 30 inches to as little as 18 inches where land is valuable and 

 it is necessary to secure maximum returns; on thin soil, however, the greater . 

 distance is most satisfactory. 



Renewing Old Beds. — There is one advantage in the narrow cultivated 

 space. After the second crop has been harvested the runners can be allowed 

 to take possession of the cultivated middle, and when the young plants 

 become thoroughly established the original rows can be broken up with a 

 narrow turning plow or a sharp cultivator. In this way a patch can be 

 very satisfactorily and cheaply renewed, and by a liberal use of suitable 

 fertilizers the rotation can be kept up on the same soil for several years. 

 Some planters prefer to set the plants for the matted row in a double row 

 at planting time. The practice is to establish two rows 12 inches apart, 

 6 inches on each side of the center of the matted belt, setting the plants 

 2 feet apart in each row and alternating the plants in the row, so that the 

 plants actually stand a little over a foot apart as shown in the accompanying 

 diagram : 



Cultivation. — Clean and shallow culture are the watchwords of success- 

 ful cultivators. By conserving moisture, cultivation tends to counterbal- 

 ance the evil effect of drought. A better stand of plants can be maintained 

 during a dry period on well-tilled ground than upon ground that is poorly 

 cultivated. The mechanical effect of grinding the soil upon itself during 

 cultivation reduces it to smaller particles, thus exposing more surface 

 to the action of soil moisture, and, as a result, increasing the available 

 plant-food of the soil. The benefit from preserving a soil mulch, with 

 its consequent economy in the use of soil moisture, is sufficiently important 

 to justify thorough tillage. 



Objects of Mulching. — Covering the surface of the soil with dead or 

 decaying vegetable matter is the meaning of the term mulching as here 

 used. Mulching serves different purposes, depending upon the locality 



