The Stored Food. 99 
behaved similarly throughout the season. The 
muleked blackberries, raspberries and Victoria cur- 
rants seemed to be a day or two behind the others 
in starting, but they very soon caught up, and there 
was no difference in season of bloom and maturity 
of fruit. 
With the strawberries the case was far different. 
General Putnam and Oregon Everbearing were 
mulched March 25, when the ground was completely 
thawed out. The mulch covered the plants and the 
entire space between the rows to the depth of three 
inches. On the 15th of May, this mulch was re- 
moved. At this time, the unmulched plants were in 
full leaf, and were nearly ready to bloom. The 
plants under the mulch were just starting into leaf, 
and the growth was weak and bleached. The plants 
were endeavoring to push themselves through the 
cover to the light and air. The mulch was forked 
off the plants, and they gradually assumed a normal 
color and habit, and bloomed June 1. The bloom 
was delayed from ten days to two weeks, according 
to the depth of the covering. The plants did not 
seem to recover entirely, however, and the fruitage 
was somewhat lighter than on the normal plants; 
but it was delayed about a week. 
All this is what the botanist would have ex- 
pected. It is well known that plants store up 
starchy matters in their bulbs or branches, to be 
used in the growth of the adjacent parts in early 
spring. The earliest bloom of spring is supported 
by this store of nutriment, rather than by food 
