FRUIT GROWING 4I 
small fruits, and they can be raised in our coldest climate 
without difficulty except in arid parts where hot, drying 
winds are apt to occur, at the critical time between blossom- 
ing and the ripening of the fruit. A good shelter-belt of trees 
will afford some relief from the winds, and if water can be 
supplied from a well or reservoir, a dry season may be tided 
over in that way. 
The plants may be secured from a nursery and are set 
out in the spring. Care must be taken to spread out the 
numerous roots in a natural way and yet have them point- 
ing downward rather than sidewise. Strawberries must 
be cultivated throughout the season in order to keep them 
free from weeds and to preserve soil moisture. For this 
reason the rows should be about four feet apart, the plants 
in the row being set about two feet apart. At the approach 
of winter cover the whole bed with several inches of clean 
straw. 
A strawberry bed bears its best crop the next year after 
planting, and after two crops it is usually of very little value. 
New rows should therefore be set out every other year. This 
is easily accomplished in the latter part of the summer by 
making use of young plants that have recently started from 
runners. Take them up with plenty of earth, water them 
after setting, and they should soon be at home in the new 
row. 
There are, of course, many varieties of strawberries, and 
in making our selection we must remember that some of 
them bear flowers that have only pistils and no stamens. 
Such flowers are called imperfect. If any of these varieties 
are planted, it is necessary to set every fourth or fifth row 
with a perfect-flowered sort that blooms at the same time 
and thus furnishes pollen for the whole patch. The pollen 
