The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1901-05-28
TooNoLUDED FROM PAGE II

matted rows. TUT S0AOOGOu DOAAAOS'
and I market no others. I received
last season 30 cents per quart when
ordinary kinds were selling at 10
cents, and later my berries were sold
ahead at Is cents straight, when the
market was full of others at 10 cents,
or three quarts for % cents.
So much for results now to obtain
them. 1 pillow deeply, ground which
has been we'll fertilized and cultivated
in some early-maturing hoed crop,
or, preferably, COW peas scatter at
least so bushels of unleached wood
ashes to the acre and harrow in we'll.
This blowing, ETC., is done in August
as early as the ground is vacant and
a stirring is given after each rain to
keep in the moisture and to kill all
weeds possible before the plants are
set. much prefer to raise my own
plants for setting and so, after the
old vines are through fruiting I
allow several runners toroot between
the mother plants, or, better, plunge
thumb pots in the earth even with
the surface and place the runners so
that the roots will strike into the
pots, placing a small stone on each,
thus marking the place and prevent
ing the wind, etc., from removing
until rooted. After thus providing
for as many plants as I desire, 1
keep off all other runners and keep
the beds we'll cultivated and free
from weeds.
Early in September 1 take up the
ported runners, placing them in a
shady place, water we'll and allow
them TO stand until wanted for set
ting, which is usually about the goth
of September, but the pots must not
be allowed to dry out, which they
will do very quickly, as they are now
a mass of roots. Being ready to set
I fine down the bed, working in a
little hen manure and mark off rows
3 feet apart, and set the plants 16
inches apart in the row, carefully
pressing the soil around each plant
as set. If / do not use the pots, and
I had as good success last season with
the plan of allowing only three or
four runners to root from each plant
and carefully lifting these with d
trowel, so thai a ball of earth held
to the roots these were then set in
the same way as the pOtted plants. l
endeavor to do this work on a cloudy
day, if possible, or towards evening.
When all the plants are set l run
through with a 14-tooth cu~ltivatOr,
after which 1 water each plant. The
next morning, early, I go OVe the
rows with a steel rake and break the
crust formed by the water, and scat
ter along each row sufficient we'll
rotted mauure to cover the ground
Immediately around each plant.
When the plants are thus set I
rarely lose a single one. Nothing
more is to be done now except to
allow no runners to form, and keep
we'll cultivated until cold weather,
when, after the ground is frozen, ap-
ply a mulch of straw or pine needles.
/ don't like rough manure, as some
plants are sure to be smothered and
many weed and grass seeds are sown.
AS early in the spring as the ground
is in condition to work I remove the
remains of the winter mulch and
cultivate very shallow to kill weeds
and conserve moisture using a hoe
between the plants and the IA tooth
cultivator between the rows. When
the plants have made a good start
and are beginning to bloom, 1 put
straw we'll around each plant and
cover the middles if I have it to
spare. This keeps the berries clean,
the ground cool and moist and the
weeds down. 1 do nothing more now
until picking time except to take off
any runners which may form, but
few are made until the plants have
fruited. Picking over I remove the
mulch and start the cultivator, not
wish to set a new bed, I keep them
all off, but if 1 do I proceed as stated
above. This will end the first years
work and the plants were set in the
fall have, with less than four
months cultivation, given nearly a
full crop. 1 have picked a quart
from plants so treated 2 months after
setting.
AS the summer nears it's end l
apply d liberal supply of well rotted
mamma with wood asbpS Or DOtssb