Strawberries. 
7 
IRRIGATION. 
An ample supply of water is essential to success with Straw¬ 
berries. The plants need it in quantity throughout the season and 
particularly while maturing fruit. No garden plants more quickly 
suffer from lack of water, and none respond more readily when it 
is properly applied. It is our practice to make a shallow furrow 
close to each row of plants as soon as they are planted and run 
water at once, even though the soil be moist. It settles the earth 
about the roots, is an insurance against possible dryness, and gives 
the plants a vigorous start. 
It may happen after an exceptionally open and dry winter 
that the soil in spring is very dry. We may then proceed in one of 
two ways; either irrigate first, and then, as soon as the ground can 
be worked, plow and prepare for planting, or the land may be pre¬ 
pared first and furrows made in which water can be run as the 
plants are being set. Do not- try to set the plants in the furrow, in 
wet soil, but plant on the borders of the furrow and so plan that 
water may soon after reach them. The first plan is the best, but it 
sometimes happens that the ditches are not supplied with water 
early enough. In that case the ground must be made ready and 
the planting delayed until water is available. 
Care should be taken in running water that it be confined to 
the furrows and not allowed to flood the rows. It is better to run 
small streams for long periods than to try to hasten matters by 
running too much water. To insure an even, constant flow, we 
make a lateral across the ends of the rows and supply the furrow 
for each row through a short piece of one inch pipe which is 
imbedded in the bank of the lateral. This is safer and easier to 
manage than breaking the bank of the lateral for each furrow, 
especially in soils that are inclined to wash. 
As to frequency of irrigation, no definite rule can be given; it 
must be determined for each particular piece of ground. Some 
soils may require twice as many applications as others. Study the 
condition of the soil and the appearance of the plants, and govern 
the water supply by the indications there found. A thorough irri¬ 
gation late in the fall, just before the ground freezes, is an excellent 
protection against a possible dry winter. 
TILLAGE. 
Thorough cultivation during the first season can not be too 
strongly urged. It conserves moisture, promotes the growth of 
plants, keeps the weeds down and is in every way beneficial. The 
after success of the plantation depends much upon the care given 
during the first months after planting. Cultivation should be 
continued until October, but after the runners commence forming 
new plants the space cultivated must be narrowed and the hoe used 
