THE STRAWBERRY 



means nothing. All during the night the 

 moisture will work into the soil and the follow- 

 ing morning the cultivator should be kept busy 

 forming a dust mulch to hold the water in the 

 soil. 



As the berries are forming, stop cultivating, 

 because any dust is liable to deform the fruit. 

 Place clean straw, hay, leaves or other litter 

 under the fruit to keep it clean also to act as a 

 mulch. After the berries have been picked, 

 remove the mulch and continue to culti- 

 vate. Do not let the strawberry bed become 

 weedy just because the bearing season is 

 over. 



Mother nature covers her children with 

 blankets made by themselves, so that the leaves, 

 grass, flowers, etc., that cover the surface of 

 the ground in the fall, protect the roots from 

 the frost. So the strawberry must be pro- 

 tected. Nothing is better than a thin layer of 

 clean straw held close to the plants and kept 

 from blowing away by branches. There is 

 no objection to light manure if the weeds de- 



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