When possible one's own plants should be used, as they are much more likely to live 

 than those procured from a distance, as the former can be dug and planted within a 

 few hours while still fresh. The best plants to use are the strongest of those which 

 have been made the previous year. Plants which have already fruited should not be 

 used as they are much more difficult to transplant and their vitality has been weakened 

 by the production of runners. It is a good practice, if it can be managed, to grow 

 plants for setting in a special propagating bed, the old plants in which, not being 

 allowed to fruit, make stronger runners and plants than do the fruiting plants. 

 Furthermore, the extra attention to the cultivation of the soil and to the placing of 

 the runners in such a bed will ensure good plants. 



Planting. 



Successful planting may be done either in the spring or autumn. Early in the 

 spring, however, is the most satisfactory time, as, if the plants are set then, when 

 the soil is in good condition and cool and moist, they will make rapid growth and 

 many runners during the summer time, if properly looked after, and produce a full 

 crop of fruit the following season. If planted in the autumn, there will be as a rule 

 only a light crop of fruit the following season, and unless the weather is favourable 

 and the soil is moist when the plants are set, there may be little growth. If planting 

 is done late in the summer or autumn it should be as soon as the plants can be 

 obtained with suiScient roots and when the soil is moist. The most satisfactory way 

 for the average person to grow strawbefrries is in what is known as the matted row. 

 The plants are set from fifteen to eighteen inches, or even more, apart in rows three 

 and one-half to four feet apart. The varieties which make a large number of runners, 

 such as Warfield, Senator Dunlap, and Splendid, need not be planted as closely as 

 those which make fewer runners, such a9 Bubach, Buster, Glen Mary and Williams. 

 If the plants are set early in the spring and have a long season for growth, the varie- 

 ties which make a large number of runners may be planted twenty-four inches apart 

 in the rows, thus admitting of cultivation both ways for a time, thereby reducing the 

 number of weeds and ensuring better growth. As soon as the distances have been 

 decided upon, the rows may be marked with a marker and then again cross-marked 

 so that the plants may be set where the lines intersect. Long rows are desirable as, 

 with them, time will be saved in cultivation. Planting may be done with a spade or 

 with a trowel or dibble. When planted with a spade, two persons are required to do 

 the work, usually a man and a boy. The man takes the spade and opens the hole by 

 forcing the spade into the ground, pressing it forward and backward. As soon as it 

 is withdrawn, the boy places a plant in position and the man presses the soil firmly 

 against it with his foot. This method is very rapid and, if the soil is well pressed 

 against the plant, is quite successful. A surer method of obtaining a stand is by 

 using a trowel or dibble for opening the hole, whereby the plant is more likely to be 

 set the proper depth, and more care usually exercised in spreading the roots and firm- 

 ing the soil about the plants. By this method, one person opens the hole and sets the 

 plant. Great care should be taken to have the crown of the plant Just at the surface 

 of the ground after it has been pressed in when planted. If it is too high the crown 

 will dry out, and if too low will be smothered. Care should be taken when planting 

 to spread the roots against the sides of the hole. Planting machines are used by some 



