ALLEN'S BOOK OF BERRIES 



keeps a "dust blanket" over the soil and prevents evap- 

 oration. So, even if no weeds or grass have started, it 

 is advisable to cultivate frequently. 



A hoe and 12-tooth cultivator are the best tools to 

 use. In general, the patch should be cultivated every 

 ten days, or two weeks anyway. Skilful use of the 

 cultivator will make necessary much less hand-labor. 



Young plants, set out in early spring, will blossom 

 freely at the regular blossoming season and, if not cut 

 off, will set and bear quite a few berries. But it is 

 best to cut these blossoms off so that the plants can 

 make a more vigorous growth and be in better shape 

 to bear a full crop of fine fruit the following spring. 



Manure and Fertilizer. The best fertilizer for a 

 strawberry patch is thorough cultivation. Barn-yard 

 manure is the best fertilizer that you can apply to the 

 field. It can be applied broadcast, as a top-dressing 

 after plants are set, or on the young beds in the fall. 

 If handled this way, it acts as a mulch during the win- 

 ter and is very beneficial to the plants in spring. Under 

 present conditions, the most beneficial commercial fer- 

 tilizer would be 150 pounds of dried blood, or fish, and 

 300 pounds of bonemeal, or ground phosphate, to the 

 acre. Apply this broadcast, before plants are set, or 

 as a top-dressing afterwards. Never put in a furrow 

 under the plants. 



PERFECT AND IMPERFECT VARIETIES 



Perfect flowering varieties planted alone will mature 

 a crop of perfect fruit. Imperfect flowering varieties 

 should have perfect varieties planted with them, at 

 least one row for every five or six. When two varieties 

 are used in equal amounts, they are often alternated 

 three or four rows of each. In our price-list, perfect 

 flowering varieties are followed by "per" — imperfect 

 flowering varieties by "imp." 



MULCHING 



A mulch is applied for one or all of three reasons: 

 First, to protect the plants from freezing and thawing 

 of the soil in winter; second, to keep the soil cool and 

 moist during the season when fruit is being produced; 

 third, to keep the berries from being spattered with dirt 

 during fruiting season. 



The mulch should be applied in the fall. In the spring 

 when plants begin to start this is raked to the center 

 of the rows and there serves the purpose of retard- 

 ing the growth of weeds and grass, keeping the ground 

 loose and moist and the fruit clean. Use coarse 

 manure, marsh grass, rye straw or similar material. 

 STARTING RIGHT 



Start right — get the best plants possible for setting. 

 The best strawberry plants are those that are dug from 

 young beds that have never fruited, that have the best 

 root system and the largest and strongest crowns, that 

 are hardy in all strawberry sections, and are absolutely 

 true-to-name. Allen's plants measure up to this STAND- 

 ARD OF THE BEST. 



1. Young Beds. All our plants are dug from beds 

 that have never fruited. 



2. Root-System. Our plants are grown in a light, 

 sandy loam soil. In this type of soil any plant can 

 develop its root-system to the fullest degree. And, 

 having a light soil, we can dig plants without 

 breaking off any of the great bunch of roots. With 

 plants grown in heavier soils, the roots cannot pene- 



