Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1867-05-03
AaR1oULTURAL.
Hill Culture of Strawberries.

A quaint old Friend used to remark
to US that the best way to do any
thing was as good as any" We have
long been satisfied that this would ap-
ply to strawberry raising, and what is
termed h;ll cultivation, in connection
with keeping the runners clo8slyout
off, is the most profitable, even for ex-
tended market culture. The crop is
so much larger and the berries so
much finer that they more than repay
the additional labor Among the lar
gest and most enterprisiug maTketers
10 the country is our correspondent, a.
M. Purdy, Of South Bend. Ind. We
see by his catalogue, Just published
which, by the way, contains a great
deal that would be valuable for begin
nsrs, that he has fully adopted the
opinion that raising IN hills is most
profitable. He says: We have here
tofore strongly advocated the matted
row system, but after careful and prac-
teal comparisons, we are satisfied that
the hill method is the best, one year
after another. The fruit averages
double the size-the crop double, and,
on most soils, with less labor. In hills
they form such strong bushy tops that
the fruit and blossoms are protected
from severe late spring frosts.
Last spring we had late frost in
May that nearly ruined our plantations
that grew in matted rows, while those
grown in hills were but slightly dam
aged, and yielded a very heavy crop.
Another reason is, that the heavy tops
mat down around the crown In the
winter, and protect it from the action
of the frost, while those grown In the
matted row form but small tops and
are not thus protected. Again, and If
the ground should be Weedy, they are
attended too with much less work and
care that if allowed to throw out rum
uers. The work can nearly all be
done with the hoe and culhvator,
while If In matted rows, it has to be
done with the fingers, which is very
laborious indeed" He adds, that the
only case in which the matted row is
admissible, is where the land is quite
free from weeds and is not liable to
severe fFosts In winter or spring, and
that while all varieties will do better
grown in bills, some Will not succeed
10 any other way. AS soon as the hills
are through bearing, rotted manure or
compost is ploWed or spaded deep be-
tween the rows, and In addition TO cut
ting off all the runners that are start
ing, the entire top Of the plant 10 taken
off close to the crown. This is deem
ed very essential-preVenting the
plant from remaining in a dormant
state for weeks, and causing new roots
to be thrown out Immediately and
making a large mass OF stool by aU-
tumu.
The matted or alternate row system
here formerly praCticed, was described
in some Of our former volumes, and
consists in keeping the rows clean after
they are set out, and training the rum
uers along the row so that they ulti-
mately form a thick mass In a strip
about foot CT foot and a half wide.
Rotted manure iG scattered among
them before freezing, and they are
worked and cultivated with the fork
in spring. After fruitiDg, these rows
are again dressed down to about six
inches In width, and treated as before
for another years bearing; or else
they are allowed to fill with new plants
the spaces between the rows; and af-
ter which the old rows are plOwed or
shaded in-successsion of new plants
being now obtained without the labor
of setting out by hand.
When the plants are placed In the
hills at equal distances each way, the
runners may be cut off at little or no
cost by means Of a sharp wheel attach
ed to the side of the cultivator. A
M ore perfect mode, however. is to do
the work by the hand with sharp
sheep shears-by the use of which a
ready practiced man will 60 over from
one to two acres a day. This mode
may be applied to rows which are cul-
tivated only one way Country Gentle
man.