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



In seasons of severe drought constant cultivation 

 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. Skillful 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. Thorough cultivation is the 

 best treatment for a strawberry patch. Barnyard 

 manure is the best fertilizer you can apply to the field. 

 Applied broadcast before the plants are set (see Pre- 

 paring the Land, page 6) is the best way to get them 

 started early and make a good growth. Manure can be 

 applied as a top dressing on the young plants in the 

 fall. If handled this way it acts as a mulch during 

 the winter and is very beneficial to the fruiting beds 

 in the spring. 



If manure is not used, a high grade commercial fer- 

 tilizer can be used to start the young plants off. Apply 

 this broadcast before the plants are set or as a top 

 dressing afterward. Never put it in a furrow under the 

 plants unless in very moist ground. If stable manure is 

 not used, a top dressing of fertilizer in the early spring 

 will be very beneficial to the fruiting beds. For young 

 plants just set or for fruiting beds any fertilizer con- 

 taining 2-5% available ammonia and 5-10% available 

 phosphoric acid should be satisfactory. 



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: Frst, 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 spat- 

 tered 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 re- 

 tarding 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. 



FINEST EVER 



Los Angeles Co., Cal., Dec. 31, 1918. 

 We received the shipment of strawberry plants this 

 morning and will say that they are the finest we ever had 

 and are worth the price. These plants arrived as fresh 

 as the day they were dug and our customer was very 

 much pleased with them. We thought you would be in- 

 terested in knowing the satisfactory condition of their 

 arrival.— Morris & Snow Seed Co., Per A. B. Morris, Nur- 

 seryman. 



