The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1900-09-18
By O. w BLACkNALI.


That in cold climates where the
thermometer falls much below zero.
the straw berry plant needs winter
protection is Il well-cStablished fact
There it is the custom 10 apply
mulching over the plants as soon as
the ground freezes hard enough to
drive on without much breaking of
the crust. The date of application
will depend on the latitude and the
earlinesS or latcness with which win
ter sets in.
IN almost endless variety Of mate~
rial can be used for this purpose.
Pine straw, wheat. cat or rye straw.
forest leaves, marsh grass and stalks
Of many kinds. What is desired is
10 cover the plants just deep enough
to greatly lessen, but not entirely
prevent, freezing. The harm that
freezing. or rather alternate freezing
and thawing does is chiefly mechan-
ical-the heaying of the soil and the
attendant breaking oil the roots as
the plant is raised upward with
the soil. This can be attained by us
ing more or less of the mulching ma
terial in proportion as its nature is
&c lie close or open and the eli
llidtt 10 ltlCIt oI less severe nus a
much thicker mulch of corn stalks
than of straw will be required to at
tain the desired results.
The objection to long light mate
rial like the straw Of small grain is
that it is liable to be blown off For-
est leaves are also Objectionable for
this reason. This difficulty is partial
~ obviated in the case Of straw by
cutting up the material short Prob
ably the most effective prevention of
this trouble with both grain straw
and forest leaves is to anchor them
down with earth or small stones ju-
diciously placed at intervals.
How far south il pays to use win
ter mulch is a mooted point. 1t is
doubtful whether as a rule it pays
south Of the Mason and Dixon line,
except in the mountains. Some win
ters it pays in North Carolina. Often
it does not The objection to winter
mulch at the South is that it har-
bors criclets AMI other insects harm
ful to the strawberry plant.
But for one purpose winter mulch
is beneficial wherever the ground
freezes as deep as two inches. That
is tC protect plants set in winter on
wet, stiff soil This soil is much
given to heaving. and plants set on it
in the depth of winter are apt to be
lifted out of the ground by the alter
nate freezing and thaWing. \ hand
ful of pine straw thrown ever each
plant prevents harm. On nearly all
soil. or in fact on any except wet,
stiff fields or parts OF fields this pro
lection Of newly set plants is not ne
ceSsarv south of the Mason and
Dixon line. We Go most of our plant
\. I,.,,
uarv and February, and get a per-
feet stand without this protection eX-
cept- OH a few wet spots. But at the
North it renders practicable planting
at much later time in tie fall than
would be advisable without it.
The use of straw of various kinds
to protect blooms from late spring
frosts has now become pretty general.
The straw is StreWn along the mid
dies in advance and on the plants
when frost threatens. and eff when
the danger passes.
The use of mulch to keep the cer-
ries clean is imperative. We apply it
about blooming time.
For several years, beginning in 1887,
I used cloth largely to protect straw
berry blooms from frost. The KIND
used was a thin muslin. sold at the
South for use on tobacco plant beds
where it is found equally valuable as
a protection from frost and from a
destructive species of fly. | found
that the tarTed or chemically treated
cloth was much the best
Nv object in using this pGotectlcn
was to protect the strawberry blooms
from frcst and also to promote earll-
ness in the riEening OF the fruit. The
cloth was put OH about month he
fore the blooming period and not re-
moved till the berries were ready TO
be picked Small. low stakes rrcyid-
ed with wire hooks were driven IN the
ground at short intervals. These
held the cloth securely against the
hardest wind. Being low, they dld
not hold the cloth high enough from
the ground to be torn from its fastcn-
ings by the snow.
The effect Of this mode of protection
was fully up TO my expectations both
as a safeguard against frost and as
promoter of earlier ripening Ct the
berries. Berries under the cloth rip
ened about one week earlier than
those outside On April 16. 1890 the
ground froze half an inch deep and
frost killed every exposed bloom
Not one per cent. OF those under the
cloth was lost As a consequence we
netted nearly $1,000 on about SIX
acres.
The largest yield that ever made
II 900 quarts on one acre and quar-
ter. was under cloth.
Moreover. there was another very
unexpected and surprising result from
this mode Cf protection. The berries
grew very much larger, giving \ cor
responding increase in the weld per
acre This last result is in accord
with the recent discovery bv Mr. y. 7.
GCldsbcrouch and othcrs that IN the
protection of mammoth berries the
use Of the clct!l is essential.
Just then came the large increase