The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1915-12-16

yal,.o of the strawberry crop In 1909
was nearly $1S,000,000, and the acre
age was one-half of the total OF all
small farms This does not include
inc small home-gafden patches, which
would D; obably double the value. Prac-
tical3y oae-fourth Of the crop is grown
in the Southern states, according TO
a new bulletin of the United States
Department of Agriculture.
Choice of Location.
An important consideration in grow
Ing stra HberrIes In the South Tor the
northern markets, according to the new
bulletin. is to select a location where
the climate and soil conditions are
conducive TO the early ripening OF
the fruit so there will be little COM
petition from regions farther north In
many southern sections where straw
berries are produced on commercial
scale. shipments practically cease as
soon as berries from a more northern
region begin to move in car lots.
Propagation.
The strawberry is propagated COM
mercially by runners from old plants.
The runner first forms leaves; then
takes root. This young plant receives
1 fl,n
until it is capable of self-support,
when the runner dies. The new plant
as soon as it is well established, often
sends out runners and forms other
-lants. These young plants that have
- produced fruit are the ones used
60 settling new plantations.
Propagation by seed is never re-
ecIted TO except for the production of
row varieties, since no one can fore
tell what kind OF fruit will be pro-
duced by a Seeding plant. All new
varieties, however, come from seed,
either through normal variation in the
seedlings or through variation induced
by crossing two distinct varieties.
Selection and Preparation Of Soil.
While Strawberries will grow on
nearly all types of soil, sandy or
gravelly loan gives the best results.
II the South. a warm, quick soil, al
though poor. is preferable to a heavy
retentive soil we'll supplied with plant
food Plant fod can be supplied by
The addition of fertilizers, but the
phy steal condition of the soil can only
be modified with difficulty by cul-
7 .ivation. drainage, and the addition of
humus.
A soil containing large quantities
of nitrogen should be avoided, as such
a soil will produce a heavy, dense
Growth of foliage at the expense of
fruit. Weeds will be more trouble
some and the fruit will not ripen as
evenly on soil of this tyep.
The soil on which Strawberries are
70 be grown should be thoroughly pre-
pared. and to secure best results this
preparation should begin at least
year before the plants are to be set.
On weedv land a cultivated crop or
one that will smother out the weeds
should be grown the year preceding
the planting of the strawberries. A
good practice, followed by some grow
ers, is to plant corn with cowpeas
between the rows the year before the
strawberry plants are set The cul-
tivation OF the corn keeps down til
weeds during the early part of the
season, and the cowpeas choke them
out during the late summer. The
cowpeas also add nitrogen and humus,
both OF which are important to, but
usually deficient in. the soil. The
cowpeaS and corn stubble should be
turned under during the fall or winter,
to insure their decay before dry
weather begins. In the spring the
land should be replowed and then
narrowed every 10 days or two weeks
up to planting time, in order to kill
the weeds and pulverize the soil. The
blowing should be deep, so as to in
crease the water-holding capacity of
The soil.
On level, poorly drained soils it is
necessary to set the plants on raised
"eds or ridges. The beds should be
as flat and wide as conditions will
allow. for high narrow beds dry out
more quickly. The ridges or beds are
commonly made by throwing together
TWO or four burrows with a 1-horse
'urnpiow and leyeling the top with a
ight drag. It's much better to make
The beds wide enough for two or more
rows than to make one bed for each
row. This practice is followed with |
good results in some sections of the
South.
Where there is no danger in an av-
erage section that the plants will be |
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