114 BUSH-FRUITS 



and firmed with the hands or feet. Ordinarily this is 

 most conveniently done by working on hands and knees 

 on the opposite side of the furrow from which the soil 

 is thrown out, so that it can be quickly drawn in with 

 the hands. In fine, mellow soil, free from stones, the 

 planter may walk along the furrow, take the plant in 

 one hand, and do the covering and firming with the 

 feet, or at least enough of it to fix the plant in posi- 

 tion and protect it from drying out, leaving the balance 

 to be done with hoes. The furrows should be deep 

 enough to admit of setting the plants a little lower than 

 they previously grew, and of doing it easily. Filling 

 in the furrow, beyond what is required to insure satis- 

 factory conditions of growth for the young plants, can 

 be left to follow as a matter of course in the future 

 cultivation. 



For row planting, rows eight feet apart, with plants 

 three feet apart in the row, will be found satisfactory; 

 this gives 1,815 plants per acre. Occasionally a grower 

 prefers planting as close as two feet, and others as far 

 apart as four feet 



Intermingling varieties to insure more effectual 

 pollination has seldom been considered, though an 

 occasional variety has been known to need the help 

 of neighboring kinds. Recent observations in experi- 

 mental plots where varieties were growing somewhat 

 isolated has convinced me that it is often an impor- 

 tant factor, even among well-known varieties. 



Strawberries frequently do well planted among 

 blackberries. They are sometimes set in rows and 

 left till the blackberries smother them out. It is 



