4 
J. W. JONES & SON, FRANKLIN, VIRGINIA 
Setting plants with dibbles in our fields. If help is plentiful, as here, 
there is no better way. 
CULTURAL DIRECTIONS 
Every year we have numberless requests for information on the best 
method of growing strawberries. Of course, every one recognizes that this 
is a very difficult question to answer, as conditions vary so greatly in different 
localities and on different soils. Nine-tenths of all berries grown, or even 
more, are grown by the matted-row system; that is, to leave about all the 
runners on the parent plants to take root and make a wide row, leaving room 
enough in the alley between the rows for the convenience of the pickers. 
SELECT WELL DRAINED SOIL. The fundamental element of success in 
growing any crop is the selection of a soil. Strawberries need a strong, well- 
drained location, but at the same time, the land should be as retentive of moist¬ 
ure as it is possible to have it. Strawberries suffer more from dry weather 
than from any other cause and therefore a moist soil always contributes to 
success. Grow cowpeas on land the previous year to planting strawberries 
if it is possible; where they are not practicable, sow rye in the early fall and 
plow under early the next spring, as strawberries need a soil full of humus. 
It holds the moisture and makes them grow and bear much better. 
DISTANCE TO PLANT. Make your rows 4 to 4^ feet apart and set plants 
from 15 inches to 3 feet apart in the rows, depending on the variety. Chesa¬ 
peake, making but few plants, should be spaced about 15 inches. Blakemore, 
a prolific plant maker, will get too thick quite often if set three feet. Big 
Joe, Premier, Dorsett, Fairfax and most midseason kinds will usually make 
a proper bed if planted 2 feet apart. Gandy, Lupton and Catskill 2 to 2 Vz 
feet. We run our furrows with a double row marker, sow fertilizer down the 
furrow at the rate of 400 to 500 pounds to the acre, and then make a sharp 
list with a two-horse machine, striking down this bed nearly level of the field 
with a hoe or a small drag and you will be ready to set plants. 
CAREFUL WITH FERTILIZER 
We desire to warn our friends against the too heavy application of 
commercial fertilizers to young Strawberry plants. It is dangerous in the 
extreme. Many plants have been injured and often killed outright, but 400 
