The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-03-25

ing would pass under it the whole
way heaving and ripping it as it
went, but evidently not escaping
till it reached the farther side.
This showed that the cloth, thin
as it was, yet had the power TO
meaaurably oonine the volume Of
air pouring under it, causing it to
pass as a current among the plants
and blooms. This current flowing
amid the staminate blooms, of course
became heavily ladened with pollen,
pollenizing not only every pistillate
blossom, but fructifying it SO thor
oughly that no part of it failed to
be reached. All growers have OBJ,
served worthless, deformed berries /;
these are usually the effect of in
sufficient pollenizing which reaches
only a part of the pistils of each
blossom, perfect fruit being possible
only when each separate one is i'm
pregnated.
However, perfect polarization
was by no means the only good re-
suit of cloth protection. Even the
slight increase of warmth served TO
give just the conditions that the
strawberry needed to attain the
highest excellence. The fruit, eve
of staminate varieties was much
larger and the yield greater than it
would otherwise have been. The
crop ripened fully a week earlier.
The muslin cover, especially if a
kind treated by a solution of tar was
used, protects the blossoms from
any frost short of a heavy freeze,
something most unlikely TO come in
blooming time. l have known the
heaviest "black FROST" the most
harmful kind, to freeze the soil half
an inch deep, to come and kill
scarcely a protected bloom, while
all in the open air was destroyed as
we'll as most of the buttons.
Taking the years as they come, 1
estimated that protection of this
kind adds from so to 100 per cent. TO
the yield of berries, makes them
larger and more reliable, and ripens
them earlier.
Care must be taken not to use a
cloth too thick and ~impervious to
sunlight. doubt if a heavier quail
ity, even if drawn off in the day and
on at night would do so we'll. The
tar treated kind, made in large guam
titles for tobacco plant beds is just
right. 1t should be put on about the
time that plant growth begins in the
spring, and remain till picking be-
gins. never found it profitable TO
pull it off and on TO allow picking TO
be done, but always removed it for
good at that time. Nor do 1 think
that it would be advisable to do this
even if p~ractioahia in other respects.
The berries would probably not color
so we'll with part of the sunlight out
off. AS it is the plants u up much
taller than usual and are of a lighter
shade of green,
found the proper fastening of the
cloth to be somewhat of a problem,
but finally solved it for ali practical
purposes. March is a month of both
wind and snow. Therefore, the Gan
-,oa ~-sA 10 ouohOraJ lon 90 &hoA |
even the heaviest snowfall would
only press it closer but not teal it
from their hooks, and the fastenings
must be strong and close together so
as to enable your field of canvass to
weather even q hurricane.
l used small riven pine stakes
sawed off to Is inches in length. One
end was shsrpened so that the stake
could be easily driven in the ground
to a depth of n foot, leaving six
inches of the stake above ground. A |
gimlet hole was bored in the upper
end and a six inch piece of small
soft wire was run into the hole and
secured by twisting n end around
the stake. The other end of the
wire was bent into a hook 80 hold
the cloth. The top of the stakes was
also rasped eff smooth 80 as not to
tear the thin cloth when the wind
rubbed it. to and fro across them.
The stakes were of course prepared
indoors and provided with the wire
hooks, ready to be driven down
when needed.
After many tests L fund that
they should be in straight rows an
inoh or two under three feet apart,
The uidAh &c L. n1oAh - ~