208 HORTICULTURE FOR SCHOOLS 



The hedge-row system is popular in some sections. The 

 plants are set as described for the matted-row, but for each 

 plant only one runner on each side is allowed to take root 

 in the row, while all other runners are removed. In this 

 method the plants are rather close together in the row, but 

 have more room than in the matted-row system. In the hill 

 system the plants are usually set at two-foot intervals in 

 rows from three and one-half to four feet apart . The plants are 

 cultivated both ways and are not allowed to produce runners. 

 The largest berries are obtained when this system is used, but 

 the total yields are smaller than under the other methods. 



302. Cultivation. After the plants are set out, they 

 should have plenty of moisture. Frequent cultivation of the 

 soil is necessary to conserve the moisture, and irrigation is 

 commonly resorted to. The plants are not allowed to bear 

 fruit the same season as set, but the blossoms are picked so 

 that the strength, which would otherwise be used in develop- 

 ing fruit, goes to produce a thrifty growth. The plants are 

 not allowed to bear more than two or three years, and, since 

 after that period the berries become unprofitably small, the 

 bed is plowed up and a new one started elsewhere. 



303. Mulching. In cold climates, clean straw free from 

 seeds or weeds is put over the plant to prevent injury from 

 freezing. The straw is left on until the following spring when 

 it is raked between the rows and finally removed after the 

 berry crop is harvested. Where insect pests are troublesome, 

 the tops are cut with a mower, allowed to dry thoroughly, and 

 burned with the straw in the rows. This will not injure the 

 plants as they will put forth new leaves. If the mulch is left in 

 the rows late in the spring, it retards the blossoming several days, 

 and so may prevent the blossoms from being injured by frost. 



304. Pollination. In setting out strawberry plants, it 

 should not be forgotten that some varieties are pistillate only 

 and require other kinds for pollination purposes. 1 



See Chapter XII. 



