This will not only keep
the fruit clean, but will prevent the ground from drying and baking, and
thus lengthen the fruiting season. Tan-bark can also be used as a mulch.
A bed managed in this way will give two full crops, and should then be
spaded or plowed down, a new one having been in the meantime prepared to
take its place.
FIELD CULTURE.
The same directions with regard to soil, time of planting, protection,
and mulching, as given above, are applicable when planting on a large
scale.
_The Matted Row System_.--The mode of growing usually pursued has its
advantages for field culture, but cannot be recommended for the garden.
In the field we usually plant in rows three to four feet apart, and the
plants a foot to a foot and a half apart in the row. In this case much
of the labor is performed with the horse and cultivator.
_How to Ascertain the Number of Plants Required for an Acre_.--The
number of plants required for an acre, at any given distance apart, may
be ascertained by dividing the number of square feet in an acre (43,560)
by the number of square feet given to each plant, which is obtained
by multiplying the distance between rows by the distance between the
plants. Thus strawberries planted three feet by one foot give each plant
three square feet, or 14,520 plants to the acre.
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