DWYEK'S GriDE, 53 



increase both the size and yield ot the fruit. I£ you have a matted row about 

 twenty-two inches wide you have the very best row tor fruit, and will have 

 ample room for horse and cultivator between the rows. In the small gar- 

 den bed this tillage can be done with the spade and hoe. 



Mulching.— This is essential to the best results, as it keeps the 

 ground moist and the fruit clean. It should be practiced always in the 

 sma^ll planting for home use and in fact by all who make a business oi; 

 producing the choicest and most attractive fruit that at all times will 

 be clean and free from the soil after heavy rains during the fruiting 

 period. This mulching should be placed directly under the plants; it is 

 not necessary to cover the cultivated land between the rows with it. 

 However, it is beneficial to do this and when we have plenty of material 

 It IS recommended. Apply this mulch directly before the fruit ripens or 

 just as soon as the berries begin to show color directly after the last till- 

 age of the plantation, which should be as late as possible. This mulch 

 should be about one inch in thickness, or just sufficient to cover the 

 ground from view. Many materials are used for this purpose, such as 

 wheat, rye and oat straw and newly cut grass, which should be used in 

 its green state directly as soon as cut. Grass is the most convenient 

 article to use when it can be procured, and it is almost always available. 

 A load of it judiciously distributed will cover a surprisingly large area 

 of ground. 



Winter Protection. — One of the m.ost important things necessary for 

 a good crop of fruit is the protection of the plants during the winter, and 

 more especially during the Spring months this is necessary to prevent; 

 the plants from heaving during the frequent freezing and thawing at this 

 season of the year. In changeable Winter weathe^, such as we have had 

 for several years past, we are liable to lose our entire crop of fruit for 

 neglect of this protection. Many materials are used for this purpose, but 

 positively the Isest covering is horse manure. As soon as the ground 

 becomes frozen you can drive on the beds and cover the plants well from 

 view and let it remain on the plants in the Spring until very late. Straw- 

 berries need both food and covering and I know of no better way of sup- 

 plying these needs at one and the same time than to cover them with 

 this manure. "Yes, horse manure will bring weeds, the greatest blessing 

 we have. Plants choked by weeds always remind me of the crying babe 

 in the cradle; both need care, attention and nursing." Nature, always 

 provident and generous, comes to relieve them by fortifying them, to ask 

 for what they want. Straw of any kind is also good for Winter protec- 

 tion and is used largely for this purpose: evergreen boughs also are very 

 desirable in a limited way for the small bed: these, like straw, neces- 

 sitates removal again in the Spring, making considerable labor, whereas 

 when horse manure is used it needs only to be removed to the cultivated 

 ground between the rows and with plow and cultivator be incorporated 

 with the soil. Be sure to let this covering remain on the plants until all 

 danger of frost is past in the Spring. Do not be deceived by a day or two 

 of premature warm weather in the early Spring and assume that Summer 

 is here and uncover your plants, regretting it afterwards. Always re- 

 member that these plants will not be injured by covering, even if the 

 weather is a little warm, the worst that can possibly happen is to retard 

 the ripening of the fruit. It is better to be on the safe side and not un- 

 cover until the season is well advanced. If we seem to be dwelling un- 

 necessarily long on this matter, which is of supreme importance, it is to 

 guard our readers against losses from repetition along these lines that 

 have frequently come to our observation in the past — severe financial 



