Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1869-07-09

SpTlUkltr every tfeulu0, utllcSSs HliAo
weather is showery, ill you can see, by
the runners coming out, that the plants
have resumed their growing.
Never put cold water from well,
spring or cistern, or from anywhere else,
on any plants, strawberries or otherwise.
Expose it for day or SO in tubs or bar
rels, and let the temperature of it raise
toward that of the air.
Now as to cultivation, the fist two
requisites are to mulch well and keep the
weeds out. These mnst be attended to-
Mulch heavily between tAo VOWS with
straw or with stable litter if it is fer.
mented so that the seeds of weeds are
mostly killed. This will not only hold
the moisture in the ground, but keep the
the weeds in check and save hoeing. -
What weeds grow around the hills may
be picked out by hand or killed with a
small hoe; but in wedding be careful and
not take the soil away from the roots or
crowns of the plants.
The next requisite, for the first season,
when there is no room for new plants
from runners, the ground between the
rows being occupied by mulching, is to
pinch off all the runners as fast rs they
come in sight. This requires daily at
tention, and good deal of labor; but
the whole family, children and all, can
work al it, at odd jobs, and it is the only
way to bring the strawberry to perfec-
ton. 1t concentrates the whole siren 9Th
of the root into one hill, enables it to get
deeply rooted to stand the winter, and
to throw up strong, stocky bearing
crowns that will produce berries, next
summer, of the largest and most uniform
gro with.
IF you arc not sure of your time and
perseverance, to keep the runners off,
plant in squares, leaving the plants not
less than three feet apart all round; water
freely, much not at ak, but stir the
ground freely with the hoe, keep it
free from weeds and let the new runners
spread themselves. If the season is not
too dry, the bed will be nearly covered
with plants by the time winter sets in,
and it will yield a good crop of berries
next year.
To renew old beds of strawberries,
where the runners havo been left, run n
shovel plow through them in rows, or
Dig up the plants any other way, allowing
about one third of them to remain un.
disturbed. Rake the furrow: smoothly,
coqesing the roots that are exposed along
the edges of the rows of plants that are
left growing. Do this always in the first
rainy day after the berries are gone, and
then the runners will take possession of
the new ground, and the bed be two
thirds renewed the same season. But
the weeds must be kept down always.
To renew bed when the plants have
been kept in bills, the best plan is to dig
them up and plant anew. Otherwise
the regularity Of the hills aud rows can
not be preserved. Wien the old plants
show signs of decay or exhaustion, they
should not be left TO cumber the ground.
To provide for this emergency, or for
charging tho bed, leave few bills at
one corner to grow plants from each
year. Take off the muIch:ng on this
corner, and keep the ground clean and
mellow, to give the new roots chance
to get well rooted for early TRANSFORMING.
Make the strawberry bed on ground
that has slope, if possible, so that
the water will not stand on it in the
winter.
For winter protection, cover the plants
with clean straw. Leave it mostly on
the ground for the summers mulching,
only moving it out of tho way of the hills
little where it is too thick for the plants
to push up through it.
After the blossom buds make their
appearance in the spring, do tie wedding
mostly by hand, and carefully; and
when the plants are in blossom, the
stems standing we'll up, place clean chaff
II straw close around each bill and un-
der the stems, to keep the berries from
the ground aud obviate the necessity of
having to wash them for use when
picked. Washing Injuries the fruit. The
Wilson bears such load of berries that
the stems, though at first erect are
borne, at last, fatiy: but it is only
short job to give them the straw or chat
to lie on. Ii keeps them perfectly clean.
The white grub is the worst insect
enemy of the strawberry. 1t eats off
the tendercst roots When you notice
the plant all suddenly wited, dig up the
grub.