heating in the spring before it is removed, and as a light mulch of two or three inches 

 is sufficient, more should not he used. It has occasionally been recommended to grow 

 something between the rows of strawberries during the latter part of summer, which 

 could be used to hold the snow in winter, but this is not a desirable method as, while 

 growing, it exhausts the moisture from the soil at the expense of the strawberry plants. 

 In those parts of Canada where the flowers are frequently injured by spring frosts it 

 is desirable to hold them back as long as possible, and for this purpose, after the first 

 heavy fall of snow, the snow is covered with straw or evergreen boughs, which are left 

 on as long as possible in the spring. While plants will often come through the winter 

 without protection it is best not to take any risks. After the frosty weather of early 

 spring is over and before the plants begin to grow, they should be uncovered and the 

 straw put between the rows to keep the fruit clean. If the soil is one which bakes or 

 dries out easily, it is a good plan to remove the mulch, cultivate, and put it back 

 between the rows when conditions will be better for conserving moisture. As soon as 

 the fruit has been picked the straw should be removed altogether, the plantation 

 ploughed up, or, if left for another season, it should be weeded and the surface soil 

 loosened with the cultivator so that the new runners will have a chance to root. 



Renewing the Plantation. 



The most satisfactory results are obtained when only one full crop is gathered 

 from a plantation. If, for instance, plants are set this spring, the plantation should 

 be ploughed up after the fruiting season of next year. There will thus be a new plan- 

 tation made every year. By this system, much better fruit is obtained as the plants 

 are not so thick in the row and the soil can be kept freer of weeds. Where the white 

 grub is troublesome, it is important to renew the plantation every year, as this pest 

 increases rapidly in old plantations and sometimes almost ruins the crop. It is quite 

 possible to obtain two good crops or even more from a plantation by careful manage- 

 ment, but the older the plantation the less the crop will be and the smaller the fruit, 

 as a rule. 



Renovating an Old Bed. 



While as a rule the most profitable method of growing strawberries is to take 

 only one crop from a plantation, and at the most two crops, it is sometimes not prac- 

 ticable to renew small plantations after tl^second crop. 



Under such circumstances there are several ways in which the bed may be 

 improved. Usually an old bed is grown up with grass and weeds and crowded with 

 strawberry plants, and to improve the bed these must be reduced as much as possible. 

 As soon as the fruit is off, the leave^and grass should be mown off and burned. One 

 plan is to plough or dig down the mid-die of the row, then thoroughly cultivate or 

 rake. Another method is to narrow the row on each side to a width of 8 to 12 inches, 

 turning the sod towards the row. Still a third plan is to plough lengthwise through 

 the centre of the row, then cross-plough. It is necessary in following any of these 

 methods to level the soil afterwards with the harrow, cultivator or hoe. Usually the 

 work is finished with the hoe by cutting out all surplus plants and bringing the soil 

 about those remaining, which will give them better conditions for making roots. It 



