100 Strawberry-Growing 



After the matted row is wide enough the real fight begins 

 — to keep it from spreading into the alleys and to prevent 

 crowding within the row. Various types of tools are used 

 to cut oif alley plants. If the land is not stony, a rolling 

 plow coulter, about ten inches in diameter, may be 

 attached with clips to each side of the cultivator. Several 

 patented runner-cutters are made ; most of these are sharp, 

 revolving disks. There is also a knife device which is 

 attached to the frame of the cultivator. The runner 

 cutter may be attached to a hand wheel hoe rather than 

 to a cultivator. These tools do fairly good work but may 

 cut off leaves, pull up the mother plants and occasionally 

 cut off roots. A sharp hoe, and frequent recourse to hand 

 pinching and cutting with shears or knife often are more 

 satisfactory methods. 



Spacing plants in the matted row. 



While this struggle to limit the width of the row has 

 been going on, an even more strenuous fight has been in 

 progress within the row. The runners thrown back by 

 the cultivator take root and produce more runners. The 

 mother plants continue to make runners. If the variety 

 is prolific of plants, they soon fill all the space. The 

 plants compete with one another for light and food ; many 

 are starved and shaded to death. The advantage of a 

 narrow row now becomes apparent ; the larger the propor- 

 tion of outside plants, adjacent to the tilled area, the 

 higher the average of size and vigor. This observation, 

 carried a step farther, leads to the spaced row. 



Spacing of plants in the matted row is secured either by 

 cutting off the surplus runners by hand as they appear, or 

 by fall thinning. The first method is too tedious and 

 expensive except for varieties which make few runners. 



