912 



Steawberby Growing. 



[Jan., 



the strawberry growing area should not be extended in the direc- 

 tion of Pvodney Stoke and Lodge Hill. The chief feature of the 

 district is its earliness. 



Size of Holdings and Types of Growers.— The average size 

 of the holdings is about two acres. Many growers hold con- 

 siderably less, others more, but holders of ten acres are few and 

 the writer knows of only one holding of 20 acres. The larger 

 holdings are usually worked as joint family concerns. In one 

 instance, throe brothers who are considered prosperous men 

 support themselves and their families on seven acres of market 

 garden land, three acres of which are under strawberries. They 

 liave, in addition, five acres of grass for pasturage and hay for 

 the horses. Strawberry growing necessitates very close applica- 

 tion to work at certain seasons of the year, and it is considered 

 locally that two acres (one of which is under strawberries) is 

 ■enough for one man to look after, except in the picking season, 

 when outside labour is employed. The majority of growers rent 

 their holdings. Eents vary from £2 to XI per acre, according 

 to situation, and a fair average is £5, Eates are approximately 

 £1 6s. per acre. 



Eather less than one-half of the growers are entirely dependent 

 on market gardening for a living. The majority combine other 

 work with it : some are in business as tradesmen or small shop- 

 keepers ; others are farmers ; the remainder obtain casual labour 

 during the winter. Thus a tj])e of worker is evolved w^ho is only 

 semi-dependent on his holding, who retains considerable 

 independence, and who is better off financially than a labourer. 

 The poverty line is seldom reached and the growers generally 

 are a contented class. 



System of Cultivation. — strawberries usually follow early 

 potatoes or peas, and it is the practice to take runners from one- 

 year-old plants as soon as rooted. Growers endeavour to ensure 

 that the runners are planted not later than the second week in 

 August, as it is from the early runners that the earliest fruit is 

 obtained. The usual distance between the rows is 2 ft. and the 

 plants are about 9 in. apart. This allows of nearly 27,000 plants 

 per acre. Wherever possible, growers prefer to use farmyard 

 manure, but where this is unobtainable various artificial 

 manures — generally bought as compound strawberry manures — 

 are used. The young plants are heeled in practically on the top 

 of the artificials. Some growers give a small dressing of svdphate 

 of ammonia or superphosphate in the early spring. The estimate 

 in the district for manure is £10 per acre. 



