1907 . 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
321 
STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 
Part III. 
Cultivation.— 'This will not be differ¬ 
ent from that of corn, the object being 
to conserve moisture, aerate the soil and 
kill the weeds. At the last culivation, as 
late in the Fall as the soil can be worked, 
I attach a wide shovel on the center rear 
arm of the cultivator and run once 
through the center of the space, the main 
object being to drain the water away 
from the plants to prevent the formation 
of ice around them, and the consequent 
heaving and injury of the crowns. Early 
in the season the plants will throw out 
blossoms, and if this attempt to fruit is 
not checked the development of the 
crowns will be greatly impaired. Every 
few days one should walk through the 
held, inspect each plant closely and re¬ 
move all buds by pinching off the fruit¬ 
ing stems. Next will come the very im¬ 
portant operation of cutting runners. 
Plants set early will rapidly throw out 
runners in July. So soon as these are 
projected from beneath the leaves, all 
not wanted to produce layers should be 
cut, not torn off. Tearing them off in¬ 
jures the crowns, as may be seen by an 
examination. They can be cut more rap¬ 
idly with a hoe kept nearly knife sharp, 
so that a slight drop of the tool will 
sever the runner. 
Hills vs. Matted Row.—All things 
considered, I have found the hill system 
or the open hedge-row more profitable 
than the matted row. In the latter sys¬ 
tem in which all the runners are allowed 
to take root, a new field must be set every 
year. While a few more bushels may be 
picked from an acre of matted rows, hills 
require much less work, can be fruited 
three years, produce larger, better-colored 
fruit and bring more dollars. The open 
hedge-row may be made in this way: 
Having set the first plants 18 inches apart 
in the row, let the first vigorous runner 
set a layer midway between the first hills, 
six inches to one side of the median line, 
by training the runner out until the first 
joint is over the point indicated, and 
holding it there by laying a small, flat 
stone, clod or a little earth upon it. When 
the layer is well rooted the runner can 
be severed from the mother plant. If 
the first plant is vigorous it may be 
allowed to produce another layer opposite 
the first one. All others should be cut. 
This will make a row but a foot wide, 
and leave the plants far enough apart 
to admit hoeing between them, will ad¬ 
mit sunshine to all sides of the hill to 
ripen the berries evenly, and will show 
22,000 plants on an acre. 
Mulching. —The purpose of mulching 
is three-fold: 1. To guard the crowns 
against the destructive effects of alternate 
freezing and thawing. Freezing once, if 
the crown remains frozen, does little or 
no harm; but as the sun grows warm 
toward Spring, so that every day or two 
in clear weather the crown is thawed and 
then frozen again at night, the injury 
is considerable, sometimes resulting in 
the destruction of the plant. The mulch 
protects the plant from thawing so read¬ 
ily. 2. Another purpose is the conserva¬ 
tion of moisture when the Spring sun and 
winds come upon the field. Nearly 90 
per cent of the berry is water, and the 
Soil moisture is needed for the growth of 
plant and berry. 3. The other purpose is 
fo prevent the berries being sanded near 
picking time. The mulch should not be 
applied until very late in the Fall, when 
the plant has ceased growing. It need 
not be applied until the ground is frozen, 
and in a large field where it is necessary 
to drive on it the ground should be frozen 
sufficiently to bear up the team and wag¬ 
on. Various substances have been used 
as mulch. In this section they include 
wheat, rye, buckwheat and oat straw 
and strawy manure. The latter is most 
objectionable because of the weed seed 
it is liable to introduce, and because it 
packs down too closely on the plants. 
Oat straw is not the best, because it 
bind the plant too closely and decays 
rapidly. Rye and wheat straw are bet¬ 
ter. About two tons per acre will be 
necessary. It should be applied only in 
-uffieient quantity to cover the plants and 
earth between the rows out of sight. If 
it is very thick there will be danger of 
mice nesting under it and destroying the 
plants. 
Removing the Mulch.— Good judg¬ 
ment must be used in opening the mulch 
in the Spring. A majority of writers 
say “rake the mulch into the spaces be¬ 
tween the rows.” Nothing of the kind 
should be done. That would defeat two 
purposes of mulching—saving moisture 
and protecting the berries from sand. The 
straw should be parted over the crowns 
just enough to let them through, and yet 
remain so near the stems that the earth 
will be practically covered and the fruit¬ 
ing stems allowed to extend over the 
mulch, where the berry will be protected 
by a strawy bed. The time to do this is 
when vegetation begins to grow in the 
Spring. If the mulch is allowed to re¬ 
main much longer the leaves will bleach 
and finally be destroyed. And yet if 
opened too early the fruit may start so 
early as to be caught by late frosts. That 
over the early varieties should be opened 
first, because they, will naturally begin 
growth first, especially if on sandy soil. 
Next will come the midseason varieties, 
and last, the late sorts where the mulch 
might well have been made a little thick¬ 
er. 1 he latter should be left covered as 
long as possible without bleaching. On a 
clay soil with a northern exposure the 
plants will remain dormant much longer 
than will the earlies. I have seen extra 
earlies on warm sand begin to bloom be¬ 
fore it was necessary to uncover the 
Gandy on clay soil. I dispose of this 
mulch in the following manner: Just as 
soon as the picking is done the mowing 
machine is run over the field and the tops 
i ut off. In a day or two the mulch is 
shaken up with forks and made as loose 
as possible, allowing no thick bunches to 
he on the plants. As soon as a brisk 
breeze rises the windward edge of the 
straw is fired. In a very few minutes the 
flames will have swept the field of straw, 
leaves, stems and runners, weeds, weed 
seed, bugs, worms and fungi. Managed 
in this way no harm will have been done 
the plants, the ground will have been 
cleared of all obstructions to cultivation 
as well as of plant enemies, and a small 
amount of fertility in the ashes added to 
the soil. 1 his burning must not be de¬ 
layed, for new crowns begin their growth 
soon after the berries ripen, when the 
burning would be fatal. No one should 
rake this straw off for mulch the follow¬ 
ing season, as I have seen some do, for 
it will have so decayed as to be practi¬ 
cally worthless. 
. Harvesting.— We have come to the ob¬ 
ject of all this labor and expense, and 
unless the harvesting is properly done 
our labor will have been in vain. As in 
the case of plant setting, “’most any¬ 
body won’t do. It requires training, 
good judgment and honest work. Here 
is where another trouble begins. Often 
we are compelled to employ thoughtless 
children, who think of but little except 
eating berries and playing, things that 
must be firmly prohibited at the start. 
\\ omen make the best pickers, because 
they have better judgment in sorting and 
caring for the fruit, are much less in¬ 
clined to idleness and play, and know 
better the value of their wages. In a 
field of considerable size a superintendent 
constantly on the ground is essential. He 
must so divide and separate the pickers 
as to prevent visiting and play; see that 
the berries are picked clean, and at the 
proper stage of ripeness; that none is 
destroyed by being lounged upon, that 
assorting is properly done and the bas¬ 
kets are well filled and dressed, and to 
c r..te the baskets ready for the delivery 
wagon. In this work two things are su¬ 
preme—neatness and honesty. Berries 
should not be pulled off, for in doing 
so the stem is often drawn out of the 
berry, leaving a wound in which the 
juices soon begin to ferment; but the 
stem should be cut with the thumb-nail, 
leaving a half inch of the stem on the 
berry. Neither should the sides be abrad¬ 
ed so as to start a flow of juice, destroy 
its appearance and soil the basket. To 
avoid this each large berry should be laid 
in the basket as soon as picked. When 
several are held in the hand while pick¬ 
ing others some of them are sure to be 
bruised or smashed. With the small ber¬ 
ries that go into the basket of sorts less 
care is necessary. The berries should be 
as good in one part of the basket as in 
another. For a finer appearance the top 
of the basket may be “dressed” by turn¬ 
ing the berries on their sides. The same 
rule should apply in crating the baskets; 
they should be alike from top to bottom. 
As far as possible a crate should be made 
up of one variety; but where this is im¬ 
practicable each variety should extend 
from top. to bottom, so that the grocer 
when lifting the cover can see at a glance 
the grade of the entire crate. . This is 
not only honest, but in the long run there 
is more money in it than the beginner 
may suppose. In an exacting market there 
is much importance in this assorting and 
care of the fruit. In my market four 
bushels of asserted berries will bring 
.more money than will the same four 
bushels mixed with another bushel of 
sorts, I, a, THAYER, 
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H. C. PHELPS, President 
THE OHIO CARRIAGE MFG. CO., Station 290, Cincinnati, Ohio, 
mmm 
APPLE, PLUM & PEACH TREES 
50 TREES FOR $2.50 
All are thrifty, well-rooted and true-to-name. 
Larger trees of apple, pear, peach and quince at 
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also a sample copy of Green's llig Fruit 
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GREEN’S NURSERY CO., 
Box 999. Rochester, N. Y. 
STRAWBERRIES 
(, big, red and luscious 
are grown from 
ALLEN’S choice 
vigorous strawberry 
plants. None better.® 
Good Luck, Chesa. 
peake, Virginia and 
Cardinal, new Glen 
Mary, Haverland, fi 
Dunlap, Marshall, fo i 
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_ Prices right. DEWBERRIES, f 
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vines. In SEEDS I have the leading varie- ( 
ties for Held and garden. My 1907 supply of’ 
Peas, Beans, Watermelon, Cantaloupe, and 
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of vegetable plants in season. My 60 page 
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get them. IT'S FREE. Send name and ad- ’ 
ress on postal to-day to 
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Fall Bearing Strawberry Plants 
COOPER, Delevan, New York. 
S A M U : 
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CKED SWEET POTATOES-Jersey Yellow, Jersey 
Red, Vineland Bush; other varieties; plants in 
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“The President 
111 ■ I J 9 5 The most prolific 
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■ ■ I I U V I an CURRANTS. 
Write for prices to 
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SEED Potatoes, Corn & Oats»s 
w eties at Lowest Prices. Catalog Free. 
McAdams Seed Co., Columbus Grove, O. 
BLIGHT PROOF POTATOES 
bugs; double the yield of common varieties. $1.00 per 
bushel, second size 75c. Ira Watson, Fredonia, N. Y. 
nAHT TAQ 20 Kinds, $1. GRAND PRIZE, 
UnilLmo st. Louis. GOLD MEDAL. 
Buffalo, Catalogue. H. F. BURT. Taunton, Mass. 
Jor Sale—WHITE & BLACK SEED OATS. 
Sure crop, Dent and Yellow Flint Corn. 
C. COOLIDGE, Clifton Springs, N. Y. 
nwinw CCCn— Prize Taker, $1.00 per lb.; Southport 
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Onion Sets 
AT RIGHT PRICES 
VAUGHAN’S SEED STORE, &. Ba £ la £ 
St., N. 
-Best seed for sale. Write 
forsamples, prices, and FREE 
directions “33” on growing. 
Meehanicsbnrg, 0., 
, or Eutao, Ala. 
F OR SALE—Crimson Clover Seed, 8*4.50 bushel. 
Red Clover Seed, #7.50 and #8.00 bushel. 
Onion sets, #3.00 and #3.50 bushel. Cow Peas 
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CHOICE SEF.D POTATOES, 
different varities. 
Smooth, clean 
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KNOW APPLES 
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_i catalog of ornamental and fruit 
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free 
