318 
moisture thus freely penetrate the ground, and weeds will be 
checked. Hand hoeing alone should, however, be used on the ground 
around the plants. About that time—the second or third hoeing— 
a slight dressing of sulphate of ammonia or of nitrate of soda, 4 
of a ewt. or a little more, is used with advantage along the rows; 
this dressing will greatly stimulate the growth of the bushes, which 
will then begin to show their energy by throwing out runners; these 
should be treated as weeds the first one or two hoeings, so as to get 
the plant well established before making any new plants. Cultiva- 
tion should almost cease from blooming time until fiuit is har- 
vested. Weeds and grass gain a foothold during that time; the 
larger weeds are pulled up by the roots, the ground also sets hard 
under the tread of the pickers and from that cause, as well as from 
the gradual exhaustion of the soil by continuous cropping and also 
owing to the spread of pests and parasites, a plot ceases to be very 
profitable after three or four years. After the season’s growth and 
at the approach of the wet weather in winter, the last working is 
given to the land; growers in moist localities set their Planet Jr. 
behind with left and right mould boards, which gather the soil from 
the plants and make a ridge in the centre, jeaving the plants stand- 
ing in rows of unploughed ground 9 or 10 inches wide. This allows 
the water to run off, and, later on, when the ground is worked afresh, 
these ridges are levelled down by the implements, and the soil is 
made smooth and mellow. 
Mutching.—Two or three months after autumn planting, and be- 
fore blossoming, it is advisable to coat the ground with some sort 
of mulching two inches thick. Clean straw or grass, rushes, pine 
needles, or some other such like material may be used for the pur- 
pose. Stable manure, owing to the ammonia it gives off, and which 
rots the berries, or makes them too soft and tender to travel, is not 
to be recommended; it also conveys weeds and many insect enemies. 
Nor is tan from tanneries, which favours the growth of moulds in 
the ground, desirable material, as these moulds smother and destroy 
the roots. Mulching, besides answering the purpose of keeping the 
fruit free from grit and dirt, thereby adding to its marketable value, 
also checks weeds, maintains the surface of the ground moist and 
porous, and adds a large amount of vegetable matter to the soil when 
ploughed in. In horse cultivation, and where the rows are well 
apart, it is better to mulch around the plants, leaving the centre of 
the rows bare, which enables cultivation to proceed whenever re- 
quired. Any mulch that packs closely will do more harm than good. 
Pruning—The pruning of strawberry plants is of the simplest. 
First, when planting, as previously mentioned, all dead and withered 
leaves are excised and the roots shortened to one-third of their 
length; then, at the time of the first two hoeings, all runners are 
pulled off and all blossoms from autumn-planted strawberries picked 
