290 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



this show the necessity of cultivation close 

 around the plants ? No matter how deep we 

 may trench the soil, or how unsparing we may 

 be with manures, or how copiously we supply 

 moisture, this cultivation cannot be dispensed 

 with, if we aim at producing fine fruits and 

 abundance of them. "But," says our cultiva- 

 tor, "by allowing the ground to be all occu- 

 pied with plants, we save all the labor which 

 would be consumed in removing the runners, 

 and we avoid the necessity of applying a mulch- 

 ing to keep the fruit clean." Very true, you 

 save some expense ; but what do you get in 

 return ? A crop of fruit not fit for the table 

 — small, insipid, and so dirty, if a heavy rain 

 occurs about ripening time, that it must be 

 put through the wash-tub before it is placed 

 o. ii < table. It is possible that the market 

 growei may be able to produce berries of this 

 kind al a less price per quart than he could by 

 a careful, cleanly and thorough system of cul- 

 ture ; but then he can expect to sell such fruit 

 o 1 when no better can be had. We have 

 d bts, however, as to the economy of bad 

 culture in the long run. If a proper system 

 were adopted at the outstart, and followed up 

 with regularity, it would not be found so pro- 

 fitless or expensive. In this, as in every 

 kind of culture, a system is absolutely neces- 

 sary. A certain routine of operations, which 

 are easily executed if taken at the right time, 

 become burtkensome when deferred, and being 

 so, they are not unfrequently put off altogeth- 

 er. Precisely thus is it that strawberry beds 

 are neglected, both in market gardens and 

 private gardens, until they are grown wild be- 

 yond hope of recovery. Now, we say to every 

 one who wishes to cultivate strawberries, re- 

 solve at once upon abandoning the "lazy-bed" 

 system ; and if you cultivate but a square rod, 

 do it well. 



We advise planting in rows not less than 

 two feet apart, unless ground be very scarce, 

 when eighteen might suffice, and the plants to 

 be twelve to eighteen inches apart in the rows. 

 In extensive field culture, the rows should be 

 at least three feet apart, in order to admit the 

 use of the plow or cultivator between them, 

 or even the passage of a cart to deposit ma- 

 nures or mulching materials. The spade and 

 wheel-barrow are too costly implements for an 

 extensive culture where labor is scarce and 

 high, as with us. From the time the plants 

 are set until the fruit is gathered, the runners 

 should be cut away as fast as they appear, and 

 the ground be kept clean of weeds, and well 

 worked. 



In the fall, or before the setting in of win- 

 ter, a mulching of half-decayed leaves or ma- 



nure, should be placed between the rows, com- 

 ing close around the plants, leaving the crown 

 or heart uncovered; This mulching prevents 

 the plants from being drawn out and weaken- 

 ed, or destroyed by freezing and thawing in 

 winter. . We have sometimes covered the en- 

 tire beds, plants and all, with newly-fallen 

 leaves, and by raking them off early in spring, 

 the plants came out in fine order. In the same 

 way we have covered them with clean wheat 

 straw, and found it to answer as well. In all 

 the northern and western States some winter 

 protection is of great service, although not in- 

 dispensable. In field culture, the earth might 

 be ploughed up to the plants, as is done with 

 nursery trees, in such a manner as to afford 

 considerable protection against the action of 

 frost on the roots. 



As soon as the fruit begins to attain its full 

 size, and approa<?h maturity, the spaces be- 

 tween the rows which up to this time have been 

 under clean culture, should be covered with 

 straw, litter or moss. This will serve the dou- 

 ble purpose of keeping the fruit clean and re- 

 taining moisture ' in the soil. When copious 

 supplies of water are applied, which should be 

 always done when practicable, stable litter is 

 a good mulching, and the water poured on it 

 carries down with it to the roots of the plants 

 the fertilizing materials which it contains. 



The application of water in. abundance we 

 must again recommend to all who want the 

 finest fruit. Rains are very good, but they 

 cannot be relied on, and they .always deprive 

 the fruit of its flavor, while artificial waterings 

 do not. On this account theFrench gardeners 

 say that the strawberry "prefers water from 

 the well to water from the clouds." It is sup- 

 posed that the electricity which pervades the 

 atmosphere during our summer rains, affects 

 the flavor of the fruit. 



When the crop has been gathered, the mulch- 

 ing material between the rows should be re- 

 moved, and the ground be forked over, so that 

 if plants are wanted to form a new plantation, 

 their growth will be encouraged. The same 

 plants should not be relied upon for more than 

 two crops. The labor of making a new bed, 



the trenchino; of the soil, is 



no more 



than 



that of planting a plot of cabbages. 



As to the season for planting, we would re- 

 commend the spring tor large plantations, be- 

 cause then there is comparatively no risk of 

 failure. The amateur, how r ever, who wishes 

 only to plant a bed in his garden, may do it at 

 any time he can procure good plants. If the 

 growth of runners is encouraged in July, after 

 the fruit is gathered, w r ell-rooted runners may 

 be had about the first of September, or it may 



