ESSAY ON STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 
467 
than that on which the mulch remains. Examinations should 
be made as the plants are starting, and in some places it will 
be necessary to remove part of the mulch, unless more than 
usual care is taken in putting it on. 
We attach great importance to mulching, believing that, 
unless _done at the proper time and well done, all previous 
labor will be fruitless. The proper time to apply the 'mulch 
is about the time of freezing up. 
Beds should not be allowed to thaw without protection, as 
a very slight thaw will kill the crown of the plant. It is the 
crown that is killed and not the roots. Could we depend on 
snow as mulch, it would be safe and sure,- but beds may be 
thus protected, until March or April, and then all be killed. 
Preparation of soil is a matter of great importance. Ground 
rich enough for ordinary garden purposes is none too rich for 
the Wilso7i^ but many varieties will go to vines if the ground 
is too rich. Deep working is necessary, either with the spade, 
subsoil plow or with a common plow, twice in a furrow, with 
a man on the beam the second time round. Strawberry roots 
will penetrate to the depth of two feet, when the ground is in 
good condition, and deep worked beds will better withstand 
drought 
Distance apart to plant is a point on which doctors disagree. 
For garden, we recommend two feet by two; for field culture, 
four or five by two. Allowing the plants in the garden to 
cover the ground, and in the field one-half the ground, the first 
season, the balance of the ground the second season ; after two 
crops, it will hardly pay to let -the bed remain; some recom¬ 
mend renewal every year. 
For renewing garden beds, spade under every alternate 
strip of 18 inches, and then allow the plants to cover the 
ground, and after the fruit is picked the following season, 
spade under the older strips, and so on as long as the bed can 
be kept reasonably free of weeds, and be made profitable. 
This plan of renewal we have never seen work well, by using 
the plow, as the ground is left either too uneven or the space 
