THE W. F. ALLEN CO., SALISBURY, MD. 



A large percentage of our plants are grown in new land where they reach their highest development 



Cultural Directions 



Strawberries will thrive in any type of soil that is not dry sand or waterlogged clay. They will often 

 give good crops in soils that have been given poor preparation. But, like other crops, they respond quickly 

 to good cultivation. 



One ot the first essentials in producing a crop of berries is plenty of moisture. Springy land that is well 

 drained is therefore the best type of soil. But on other types water can be conserved by cultivation or 

 by mulching, or in most cases there may be enough natural rainfall at fruiting time. 



Preparing the Land 



Potatoes, tomatoes, beans, cabbage, and other 

 truck crops usually leave the ground in excellent 

 condition for Strawberries. This is because they 

 are kept well cultivated for a good part of the season 

 and are usually well manured and fertilized. All 

 of this is good for the Strawberry crop following. 

 Also any of the leguminous crops, such as clovers, 

 beans, peas, vetches, etc., are excellent to precede 

 Strawberries. They add humus and nitrogen to the 

 soil. Barnyard manure is the very best fertilizer for 

 Strawberries and it is sometimes spread broadcast 

 over the land before plowing, with very good results. 

 The manure or cover crops should be plowed under 

 in the fall or as early in the spring as possible and 

 the soil thoroughly harrowed. Rolling the ground 

 is sometimes desirable, where the soil is lumpy or 

 heavy; it also firms the soil and helps to conserve 

 moisture. An advantage of having a cover crop to 

 turn under is that it keeps out many of the weeds 

 and leaves the ground cleaner, necessitating much 

 less hoe-work. In all cases, sod land should be 

 avoided for Strawberries, as the white grubs winter 

 over in such land and cut off young plants when set 

 the following spring. If you have no other land 

 available, plow the land during the fall and many 

 of the grubs will be killed out during the winter. 



Time to Plant — Important 



The best time to plant depends largely on where 

 you are located. In the South the best time to plant 

 is in the late fall (November) or early winter 

 (December) months, but in the South the plants 

 are also set successfully in February and March, 

 and this time of year is preferred by many growers. 



In the middle states early spring (March and the 



first half of April) is the best time to plant. In some 

 cases the plants are set in late fall — but this is done 

 where the ground is not subject to severe heaving 

 and where they can be protected by mulch during 

 the winter. The main reason why it is done at 

 this time is that the work may be done and out of 

 the way of other spring work, which cannot be done 

 in the fall. 



In the North plant in early spring, by all means. 

 Plant just as early as you can get on the ground, to 

 give the plants as long a growing season as possible 

 and to have the plants set and growing before hot, 

 dry weather comes on. Be sure to have your plants 

 on hand when you are ready for them. Order the 

 plants shipped early and when they arrive, if you 

 can't plant them at once, heel them in for a few 

 days in some protected place, until the land is 

 prepared for planting. Here's what one man did. 



"Catalog received and is carefully studied from cover to 

 cover. Yes, I ordered plants of you before with excellent suc- 

 cess. Being so far north, I ordered them the latter part of 

 March. Buried them in a big snowbank on the north side of a 

 building; there they kept in fine shape for several weeks until 

 ground was ready to plant." (Signed) J. Scott Ward, Emmet 

 County, Michigan. 



We repeat that it is very important to have the 

 plants on hand when the ground is just right for 

 planting. To do this, be sure to order the plants 

 from a nursery where they can be shipped as early 

 as you want them. We often have quite severe 

 winters, but luckily the ground opens up early in 

 the spring and we can get all orders off promptly. 

 Order early, to be sure of getting what you want, and 

 have them shipped early (April I to April 15) so 

 they will be on hand when wanted for planting. 

 Early spring planting is the safest, most economical, 

 and most successful season for setting Strawberry 

 plants in the North. 



See parcel-post table on third cover, if you wish plants sent by mail 



