growers and give good satisfaction when the work is well done and the season favour- 

 able. If both perfect and imperfect varieties are planted there ahould be about one 

 row of perfect to two or four of imperfect. 



Cultivation. 



As the value of the future crop will depend largely on the strength of the runners 

 and new plants which are formed during the early part of the summer, it is very 

 important to encourage rapid growth from the outset. Cultivation should begin as 

 soon as possible after the plants are set, and the surface soil should be kept quite loose 

 and free from weeds until the cultivator interferes with the runners. The early culti- 

 vations should be deep in order to loosen the soil in which the roots are to grow, and 

 to warm and aerate it, making conditions for growth of plants as favourable as 

 possible, bvit as soon as there is danger of injuring the roots of the plants, cultivation 

 should be shallow. Hoeing will be necessary occasionally in order to destroy all weeds 

 and loosen the soil close to the plants. All blossoms which appear during the first 

 season should be pinched off so as to reserve the strength of the plants for production' 

 of runners. Most varieties make far more runners than should be allowed to remain, 

 and, if one is making a specialty of strawberries or wishes to get the finest berries, the 

 best plan is to place the runners so that they will root more quickly, and to destroy all 

 those which are not required in following the system which has been decided to adopt. 

 In the prairie provinces, where winds prevent the prompt rooting of runners, it is 

 important to hold them in place until they root with pieces of sod, stones, an inverted 

 crotch or by any other suitable method. 



Forming the Row. 



The best way to grow strawberries for general culture is in the matted row. By 

 this method labour is economized and the results, while sometimes not as good as 

 where special methods are adopted, are obtained with the least expense and the greatest 

 profit. Where a special market is to be catered for and when desired for home use, 

 strawberries may be grown by other methods which will result in larger and finer 

 fruit. 



While many who grow strawberries in the matted row do not take the trouble to 

 place the runners as they form, it pays to do so, as the sooner they take root the 

 stronger the plants will be by autumn and more fruit will be produced the next 

 season. All that is necessary is to place the runners so that they will be as nearly 

 uniformly distributed as possible in order to economize space, and to put a little soil 

 over them to hold them in place, at the same time leaving the terminal bud bare. 

 When treated in this way they will root quickly. To get the best results, runners 

 should not be nearer than from four to six inches apart, all others being destroyed; 

 but in practice it is often difficult to accomplish this and to restrict them to this area, 

 as some varieties make a great many runners. These are, however, the kinds which 

 have most need of thinning, as, when the plants are very thick, the fruit is too small. 

 The width of the row formed by autumn will depend on the number of runners which 

 are made, but if planted early, and properly cared for, most varieties will make a row 

 two feet wide. At this width there would be a path eighteen inches wide loft for the 



