The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1909-10-27

every nItn row 10 perfect bOWciSu
variety. This row will furnish pollen
for the two rows on either side of it.
In setting out bed in this way care
must be taken to see that the two va
rieties come into bloom at the same
time
Perfect and imperfect varieties can
not be told apart except when in
bloom Then the absence Of the row
of pistils around the petals marks the
imperfect sorts. Lists Of varieties of
strawberries always specify whether
they are perfect or imperfect. A reli-
able nurseryman can be depended upon
to give you what you ask for. A list
of the varieties best adapted to your
locality can be obtained from your ex-
pertinent station.
The strawberry is propagated almost
entirely by runners. At each joint in
the runner a new plant appears and
takes root Only plants less than 4
year old should be selected for plant
ing. The crown should not be too
large and the roots thick and long.
The presence of large woody roots
and heavy crown indicates that the
plant is an old one. If there are many
leaves it is well to pinch off one or
two of the largest to correspond to
the injury to the root system.
Planting Strawberries.
Spring planting is the most reliable,
but where the fall is moist or the
patch can be readily watered fall plant
ing gives very good results. The two
important points in planting are
spreading the roots and packing the
dirt tightly about them. The plants
should be set so the crowns are just
level with the surface Of the ground.
Hills 'ersus Matted Rows.
Strawberries are grown both in hills
and in rows. In the hin system the
plants are set about three feet apart.
The runners are cut off in order to
make a compact, vigorous hill The
size and quality Of the berries are bet
ter Under the hill system, but the mat.
ted row system gives larger yields. In
this the plants are set from ten TO
twelve inches apart in rows four feet
| apart. The runners are trimmed to
make a matted row about two feet
wide. The spaces between the rows
should be kept well cultivated during
the early part of the season and the
weeds pulled in the rows. After the
| second year the runners can be allow
ed to fill these open spaces and the
original rows plowed up. I'm this way
the bed can he easily renewed and kept
bearing for several years. usually until
the land becomes SO weedy that
must be plowed up and put in to some
other crop
In cold climates the Strawberries
must be given some sort of wintei
protection. The object OF this Is not so
much to prevent freezing as TO keep
the ground from that alternate freez.
ing and thawing which cause heaving
Of the plants. A mulch of coarse horse
manure applied after the ground freezes
is excellent for this purpose, as it adds
fertility at the same time In the
spring the straw can be raked up and
removed. One necessary precaution is
to be sure that the manure is free
from weed seeds. / have seen straw
berry beds ruined because the mulch
contained timothy hay in which the
seeds were ripe enough to grow.
Raspberries and Baekberries.
Next to strawberries in Importance
are raspberries and blackbetries The
best soil for blackberries is about like
that for strawberries, while for rasp-
berries it may be little heavier. The
two kinds of raspberries most extern
sively grown in this country are red
and black. The red raspberry is propa
gated by shoots which grow up from
the roots. One-year-old shoots are
preferable for planting. The roVs
should be a least four feet apart, with
the plants two feet apart in the row
Frequent and thorough cultivation is
necessary to keep down the suckers
which grow up from the roots. 1t is O
good plan to pillow the ground between
the rows every spring.
Black raspberries do not send up roo
~"""fs They are nronagated by bury