4 . 1017 . 
9.U 
.'•ive r.iotliod of fultinv. U r.t' f wri.Al liko <o try it 
out in tli£ North, witli of course, such inodifie.ttion 
ns circumstances requirec]. I tliink extra fine fruit 
and extra lieavy yields could he secured. 
METirODS OF CUETURE.—:\Iy method lias been 
as follows: Early in April plants are .secured from 
the North, and these are set just as plants are set 
North for matted row culture, and cultivated dur¬ 
ing the Summer just the same, allowiTig the plants 
to multiply and cover the whole surface. Then in 
the latter part of October or early November, ac¬ 
cording to weather condition.s, the matted idants 
are dug up and set out <Si/^ inches apart in rows 12 
inches apart, omitting every fifth row for paths. 
That leaves the i)lantation in four row beds, and 
in picking, two rows are picked from each side of 
the path. The after culture is simple, being done 
with a double wheel hoe, with fi-in. blade.s, with the 
blades reversed from the way generally u.sed, .so 
as to pa.ss under foliage and fruit without injury. 
If plants are neatly in line, and operator careful 
about two and one-half inches between blade ends 
■will safely clear plant.s, and not leave much hand 
weeding. At times, when very weedy, I have used 
the wheel hoe across the rows also, using for this 
jmrpose four-inch blades. The modifications for 
northern conditions, I think, would be to transplant 
about September 1st, and probably to set plants a 
little farther apart in the I’ow, as in most cases 
they would grow larger than here, where they be¬ 
gin fruiting so soon after .setting. Also, of cour.se, 
it would be necessary to guard against Winter dam¬ 
age by mulching. It .seems as if the method should 
fit in nicely in a scheme of intensive gardening on 
limited area, as small vegetables could be grown 
early among plants set for plant bed, the fruit¬ 
ing bed set after crop of vegetables had been re¬ 
moved, and late- vegetables grown after berries are 
harvested. My experience is that it does not pay 
to hold over for a second season, as long season of 
keeping clean and in order involves more labor than 
yearly planting. 
SYSTEM.VTIC WORK.— The one great obstacle 
of the method, is the labor required in digging and 
setting such large numbers of i)lants, but if the 
Avork is systematized and all Avaste motion cut out, 
it is not so hopeless as it may appear. Several 
years ago T had over four acres ])lanted in the 
close order described, and I found a man could dig, 
plant, and Avater 1,500 jfiants in a 10-hour day. 
The men Avorked in gangs of four. First they Avould 
dig plants enough for the day’s Avork. Then one 
drojiped plants, two planted and one Avatered. The 
Avater man could not keep u)>. but Avbile be finished 
out a bed the others stirred a soil mulch around 
the Avatered i)lants. 
I’LANTING.—Of course the land Avas marked 
true and straight both Avays Avith rake-like mark¬ 
ers. The idaiiting Avas done Avith garden trowels. 
The trowel held daggerwise is plunged into the soil 
and quickly draAvn tOAvard operator and upAvard, 
Avhile the other hand bri.skly Avhisks the roots into 
opening as formed in such manner that falling par¬ 
ticles of soil .slipping from the troAvel carry the 
tii)s of roots to the bottom of opening; then Avith a 
turn of the Avrist the trowel ])oint flashes upward 
and the soil is pressed to the roots by a thrust of 
the closed hand still holding the troAA'el. The im¬ 
pression is left open Avhen Avatering, and Avhen 
pro])erly made just nicely holds a half jiint cup of 
Avater. Even Avhen not AA'atering it is best to close 
impressions as a separate operation. I IniA’e found 
that the Avheel-hoe arranged as already described, 
does this work quite satisfactorily, also the mulching 
o])oration after Avatering if allOAved to get a little 
di-ier than need be for hand Avork. In planting, the 
trowel hand should be protected by a canvas gloA'e. 
In such close Avork the most advantageous jmsition 
for the planter is to rest his Aveight on one knee. 
Set two roAvs at the same time and set four plants 
for each change of position forAvard, the change of 
lio.^iition being made automatically by throwing the 
AA'eight of the body on the arm, Avhen thrusting the 
fourth plant into position, and draAving knee to neAV 
l)Osi(ion. The one Avho drops ])la’nts should be 
drilled to place tbem exactly Avhere they come best 
to hand for the planter. This method of planting 
is very rapid, and adapted to a Avide range of truck 
crop.s. I have often set 1,2(X) ])lants ])er hour in 
this Avay. I Inn'o gone into thei^e details becau.se 
much unbelievably sIoav and bungling Avork is done 
on even large .scale operations for lack of Avell-or- 
ganized details. 
DIGGING THE 1*L.\NTS.—The best Avay I have 
found for digging plants, is to throAv them out 
Avitb a six-tined manure fork, Avorking toAViird umlug 
plants, not standing on them. ThroAV them out, tops 
standing, then the clump cun be shaken free of soil 
o/jo RURAL N E VV-Y O R K E R 
■by clasj!ing'"tops Avitli both hands, the'plants tbroAvn-’ 
together in piles, to be immediately cleaned and 
straightened, roots dipped in Avater and packed in 
boxes to be carried Avbere they are to be planted. 
It is a great mistake to handle straAvberry plants 
jumbled, as extra time required in planting is sev 
eral times Avhat Avould be required to put them in 
straight order. 
FEEDING THE PLANTS.—I will not go into de¬ 
tails of fertilization as that is largely a matter of 
local conditions and material, but there are .some 
general ])rinciples that apply OA-eryAvliere. One is 
%that liberal fertilization, adapted to the crop, is al- 
Avays pi’ofitable. Another is that the Aveakest part 
of a straAvberry plant’s anatomy is its root .system. 
A Cully in a Field. Fig. 402 
This is A’ery .sensitiA’e to direct contact Avith chem¬ 
ical fertilizer.s, so such fertilizers if applied at all 
heavily, before planting, should be applied AA’ell in 
adA'ance of planting time. OtberAvise it had better 
be applied as a top-dressing after planting. 
If applied after planting, it must be remembered 
that the foliage is also (piite susceptible of damage, 
but this can be prevented by thorough brushing of 
the plants. .V handful of rye straAv in the North 
or of broom .sedge or sAvitch gra.ss in the South, 
l)roperly tied and trimmed, makes a good imple¬ 
ment for this Avork. Where berries are to be mar¬ 
keted locally, so that tirmne.ss is not of prime im- 
portance, an ai)plica(ion of 1.50 to 200 pounds of 
finely ground nitrate of sod.i soavii very evenly 
broadcast, and brushed, about the time the first blos¬ 
soms appear, Avill increase the yield out of all pro* 
portion to cost and labor invoh’ed. 
NUBBIN FRUIT.— The different climatic con¬ 
ditions here haA’e rcA-ealed inherent characteristics 
of the straAvberry that Avere never clear to me be¬ 
fore. The nubbin condition of the crop in the 
North during cei’tain seasons I ahvays thought due 
mainly to defective pollination, due to unfaA'orable 
Aveather during blooming period, but here I find 
as the sea.son advances, no matter Iioaa'^ promising 
the young fruit, .should a period of Avarm shoAA'ory 
Aveather intervene, in a very feAV nays the fruit Avill 
all be knotty, due to too rapid development for OAmn 
doA’elopment. I imagine the .same cause, unobserved, 
is often at fault in the Noi’th. Warm dry Aveather, 
so long as the ))lant does not languish for moisture, 
does not affect the fruit unfavorably. In fact the 
berries Avere very fine this year in .Tune. It is gen¬ 
erally supposed that the straAvberry is inherently a 
cool Aveather plant, but I iind moisture is the con- 
Washes in Farm Land. Fig. 403 
trolling factor in its plant develoiunent, as the 
young i)lants groAV and multiply A'cry raifidly dur¬ 
ing shoAvery Aveather here in midsummer, though 
I think they do groAv .some faster Avith the .same .sort 
of Aveather in September. Summed u‘p it comes to 
this: Rainy Aveather—fine plant.s. Clear Aveather— 
tine fruit. 
PROFITS USUALLY SMALL.— Lest some .should 
jump to the conclusion that a short cut to foi'- 
tune lies through straAvberry fields in Florida, let 
mo add that straAvberries for shipment on an aver¬ 
age are only moderately profitable. Tliis particu¬ 
lar home piarket is limited and the local acreage in¬ 
creasing. and tl'.or.g’.! ‘So far goml ];;ices liavc been 
constantly sustained it is a quo.stion if they ai- 
Avays Avill, Suitable land, here, is A’ery scarce and 
A-ery high, some up to .1tl,000 per acre; so probably 
all things considered, fortune is just a.s near, per¬ 
haps much nearer through your oavii garden or fields 
via the straAvberry route. d. l. iiartmax. 
Florida. 
Gullies and Hillside Washes 
HE .subject of gullies lias been di.scussed by a. 
number of Avritei’s in A’arious farm iiublica- 
tion.s, and I do not believe any of them has tonebed 
the main object. That is, the cause of gullies and 
AA-ashe.s. 
I am a firm believer in the old saying: “An ounce 
of proA-ention is Avorth a pound of cure.’’ Gullies 
and Avashes are formed by the notion of AA’ater run¬ 
ning over the surface of the ground. The soil is 
alAA’a.ys underlaid by a bardiian or tough material, 
Avhere the AA-ashes and gullies are evident. Water 
AA’ill not run OA’er the surface AAdiere there is a deep, 
loo.se soil. It AA’ill escape b.A' penetrating deep into 
the soil, and storing up for the dry season. The soil 
is in its natural clement Avhen the proper amount of 
moisture Avill penetrate for the nourisbment of plant 
life. 
I’he cheapest and the most profitable method I 
have tried for the prevention of AA-asbes and gullie.: 
is sub.soiling by the use of dynamite. This Avil/ 
tboronghly loosen up the hard material and soil, and 
alloAv all the surface Avater to escape into the 
ground, and good crops Avill be the result. I have 
successfully treated large gullies and AA’ashos that 
Avere already formed. 
I fill the gully about tAvo-tbirds full of stone, 
cornstalks, brush, etc., or any useless material. I 
do this becau.se the depression should be partl.A" filled 
Avitb this material to save using so much of the top 
soil in the Avork of filling. (See Fig. 402). I bore 
a line of boles on each side of fbe giill.v, and use a 
sloAv grade of dynamite to finish the filling Avith 
dirt. I next use a good diag barroAV to smooth oA'or 
the idace occuiaed by the gully, and the AA’ork is 
noAv complete. 
Washes ma,v be treated by the same method (See 
Fig. 40.5). If a giill.v is caused by a .spring or natural 
i-unning AA-ater the use of tiling to drain the ground 
Avould be the proper method. c. R. m. 
Ohio. 
Tree Surgery 
RINGIPLES INVOLVED.— The “Missouri Bot¬ 
anical Garden Bulletin” for .Tune discusses tree 
.surgery, Avith examples of the valuable results ob¬ 
tained from this Avork. It is remarked that there 
AA'ould be little need for this AA’ork if trees AA^ere prop¬ 
erly planted, Avell nonrisbed and cared for. Injuries 
result from <‘arelessness; nails are driven into the 
bark, trunks are girdled by Avire, bark scrai)ed by 
laAvn moAvers, and limbs broken, and tree surgery 
repairs such condition.s. While some “tree doctors” 
shroud the AA'ork in mysteiy, the operations are sim- 
j»le if tree structure, nature of decay and principles 
Aof treatment are understood. 
MATERIALS T^SED.— Proper treatment of 
Avounds calls for prevention of entrance of imseCts 
and fungi, and facilitation of healing. Protective 
dre.ssing must be aj)plie(l to repel insects, either those 
that disinfect and preserve the Avood, or those that 
till the Avood, making it impervious to entrance of 
parasite.s. The first class includes creosote, carbo- 
lineum, corrosive sublimate, zinc chloride, copper 
sulphate, etc. Creosote and carbolineum are most 
generally used, but both are injurious to the cam¬ 
bium, and a coat of shellac should be applied before 
the di.sinfectant. The “fillers” include pure Avbite 
lead and linseed oil paint, coal tar, slaters’ cement, 
liquid grafting AA'ax and asphalt preparations. Paint 
and tar are most commonly employed, but are some¬ 
times nn.sati.sfactory Avhen checking occurs after the 
Avood dries out, leaving openings for parasites; this 
may be remedied by applying another coat after 
checking has taken place. Asphalt preparations are 
gradually superseding the others, being tough, elastic 
and i)ermanent. They are prepared commercially, 
or may be made by melting the asphalt, stirring in 
gasoline or linseed oil, and then adding liber to give 
it body. 
THE KITRG EON’S TREATMENT.— Carpenters’ 
gouges, %-11/4-inch Avidtb, chisels, saAv.s, pruning 
knives, and gasoline torch are included among neces¬ 
sary tools. First all rotten Avood must be exca¬ 
vated, using gouge, cbi.s(4 or gasoline torch. The 
inouth of the cavity must be Avider in than out to 
retain the tilling, the ui)per and loAver ends shouhl 
be slanted doAviiAViird to form Avater sheds, aiql the 
