NOTES AND ABSTKACTS. 



909 



fields are on very stony land, the stones prevent loss of moisture from the 

 soil and baking after rain. 



As preparation for Strawberries, if time allows, cowpeas or clover may 

 be grown for ploughing in ; if this is not feasible fresh manure may be- 

 applied in the autumn ; if applied in spring it should be thoroughly rotten. 

 Autumn ploughing all >ws earlier planting in spring, as the land dries 

 more quickly. " For Strawberries one should harrow as long as it seems 

 to be doing any good at all, and then harrow two or three times more," 

 afterwards roll. 1 Excelsior ' is grown as the earliest Strawberry and 

 ' Gandy ' as the latest. It is advised commercially to limit oneself to 

 two or three varieties. For planting, use only the first three runners, 

 next the parent plant ; an inch or two of the tips of the roots should be 

 clipped off, and all the leaves, except two or three of the youngest, removed 

 to lessen evaporation ; for commercial purposes it is generally best to 

 plant in the spring to lessen evaporation. If blossoms appear they 

 should be immediately pinched off. The rows should run north and 

 south, four feet apart, and the plants 18 inches to 2 feet apart in the 

 row. The three methods are in hills, in matted rows, and in solid 

 beds. If in hills, all the runners should be cut off as fast as they form, 

 to prevent the plants from spreading. The matted row is the common 

 method for both commercial and home plantings. The mat is allowed to 

 form a strip from 12 to 18 inches wide, and the remaining space 

 between the rows is kept clear by cultivation. For home use where one 

 has only a few square feet of ground, plants are sometimes allowed to 

 form a solid mat over the entire space ; grown this way they become so 

 badly crowded that the fruit is very small and inferior. In planting, 

 spread the roots so as to come in contact with as much soil as possible. 

 A good plan is to plant in a wedge-shaped hole made by a spade ; the 

 roots are spread out in the shape of a fan, and then firmly planted by 

 pressing back the earth against the roots, and stepping on both sides of 

 the plant. When setting the plants, it is best to have them in a bucket 

 containing a little water, in order that the roots may be kept moist until 

 they are planted. It is not necessary or advisable to water the plants 

 immediately after setting them. 



If the plants are set in the spring it will be necessary to begin cultiva- 

 tion within a few days. 



After this, every week or ten days the cultivator should be at work in 

 the field. The object should be to keep the surface stirred to prevent the 

 soil baking. If the rows are straight, one can cultivate up to within two 

 or three inches of the plants. The remainder of the space will have to be 

 pulverised well with the hand hoe. At no time during the season will it 

 be necessary to cultivate the soil deeply, a mere scratching of the surface 

 being sufficient. In midsummer, when the runners are forming rapidly, 

 the cultivation will have to be confined more towards the centre of the 

 rows, in order to allow the runners to take root for a few inches on either 

 side of the plants. Occasional cultivation will continue till late in 

 August ; no weeds should be allowed to seed. 



The following summer, when the straw or grass mulch has been removed 

 after the fruiting season is over, the cultivation should begin and be kept 

 up until early autumn. 



