297 



needles, or some other such like material may be used for the 

 purpose. Stable manure, owing to the ammonia it gives off, and 

 which rots the berries, or makes them too soft and tender to travel, 

 is not to be recommended ; it also conveys weeds and many insect 

 enemies. Nor is tan from tanneries, which favours the growth of 

 moulds in the ground, desirable material, as these moulds smother 

 and destroy the roots. Mulching, besides answering the purpose of 

 keeping the fruit free from grit and dirt, thereby adding to its market- 

 able value, also chokes weeds, maintains the surface of the ground 

 moist and porous, and adds a large amount of vegetable matter to 

 the soil when ploughed in. In horse cultivation, and where the 

 rows are well apart, it is better to mulch around the plants, leaving 

 the centre of the rows bare, which enables cultivation to proceed 

 whenever required. Any mulch that packs closely will do more 

 harm than good. 



Pruning. The pruning of strawberry plants is of the simplest. 

 First, when planting, as previously mentioned, all dead and 

 withered leaves are excised and the roots shortened to one-third of 

 their length ; then, at the time of the first two hoeings, all runners 

 are pulled off and all blossoms from autumn-planted strawberries 

 picked until the spring, while it is advisable to pick them all 

 through the first season from strawberries planted in the spring. 

 The necessity of cutting the first runners off is obvious, as, unless 

 this is done, the plants will be weakened and will not bear such a 

 heavy crop of berries. Advantage is thus taken of turning the 

 energies of the plant, always bent on reproducing itself, in two 

 directions, from throwing runners and making new plants into 

 producing fruit-buds in abundance, which eventually will mature 

 into a profitable crop. Once the plantation is well established, 

 runners are only permitted in such cases as are required for propa- 

 gating purposes. 



Irrigation and Drainage. Although it is admitted by all 

 experienced growers that irrigation lengthens the strawberry season, 

 and that a command of water in a dry spring is of great value and 

 often turns into a bountiful crop one which would otherwise have 

 been hopelessly shortened at a critical period of its growth, yet it is 

 also recognised that irrigation presents serious objections. 



It is generally costly when undertaken on a large scale ; it 

 makes the ground boggy at the time when cultivation and picking 

 should be actively pursued, it causes a considerable amount of decay 

 of the berries. G-ood strawberry land, well cultivated, should not, 

 if the plants be mulched, need irrigation. 



Deep underground drainage, likewise, with the object of 

 turning unsuitable ground into soil fit for strawberry culture, 

 generally involves growers in an expenditure of time and money 

 which is seldom compensated by an adequate increase of crop. 

 Better not attempt growing strawberries on dry, stiff, or marshy 

 ground than to attempt to remedy its natural defects by methods 

 involving any considerable cost. 



