26 



Modes of Culture. 



As a general thing our after treatment will depend upon our 

 object — fruit or plants. With me a rapid increase of plants is 

 the chief object from most of my beds. All I have to do in this 

 case is to make the ground very rich, keep out the weeds and let 

 them run, which they will generally do fast enough. They can 

 be greatly aided in rooting however by keeping the surface loose 

 and by top dressing with fine rich compost in July and August. 

 Even those not rooted in October will make good plants by spring 

 if the ground is well top-dressed, scattering the fine manure broad- 

 cast over the plants. When the variety is valuable I have them 

 layered by pressing the young plant into the soil and drawing a 

 little earth over it. But while raising plants is simple enough it 

 is even more expensive to cultivate for fruit as the ground 

 between the rows cannot be kept clean by mulch nor the cultiva- 

 tor, but must be weeded out in large areas by hand. Where 

 plants are the object the land can scarcely be made too rich, and a 

 top-dressing of wood-ashes and a compost of hen-manure and fine 

 earth in the spring and just before rains during the summer, are 

 great stimulants. Where these cannot be had,, guano and bone- 

 dust are excellent. But these strons; concentrated manures must 

 be used with care or they will burn the plants like fire. It is usu- 

 ally best to mix them with ten times their bulk of earth or muck, 

 and scatter the compost around, very near, but not on the vines. 



I shall keep my beds free from old plants by stretching a 

 line along the old rows about the 1st of September and spading 

 them deeply under. After strawberries have been grown upon a 

 piece of land about four years I shall turn all under as soon as 

 they are done bearing and sow buckwheat and plow this under 

 as it comes into flower. The following spring I shall plant pota- 

 toes, corn or a root crop. And after the land has had the rest of 

 change plant again in strawberries. Raspberries or any other 

 of the small fruits can be planted with advantage on ground that 

 has been in strawberries. 



