120 MAKING HORTICULTURE PAY 



THE FRUITED BED 



" As soon as we are done picking," writes 

 Mathew Crawford of Cuyahoga county, Ohio, " we 

 plow the bed and harrow it, then sow it to cow- 

 peas and harrow it again. This is the most satis- 

 factory method that we have tried. It destroys 

 insect enemies and fungous diseases before they 

 get well established. The land may be planted to 

 strawberries the next season. Since adopting this 

 plan we have rarely seen any necessity for spray- 

 ing." 



I. A. Thayer of Lawrence county, Pennsylvania, 

 handles his bed differently. He writes : " As soon 

 as the last picker is out of the field, I run the mower 

 over the strawberry bed to clip the tops. After 

 they have dried a day, I shake up the straw mulch 

 and when a breeze arises, fire the straw on the 

 windward side. Then, if I am to fruit the field 

 another season, I run a small plow within 4 or 5 

 inches of the plants, and not more than 4 inches 

 deep. Into this furrow I put what fertilizer I am 

 to use, usually half rotted stable manure, super- 

 phosphate and sulphate of potash, and cultivate the 

 earth back upon it. Then I give frequent cultiva- 

 tion and clipping of the runners so long as the 

 ground can be worked in the fall." 



