I should use only young
plants, those of the previous summer's growth, and set them in the
ground about as deeply as they stood when taken up--say three or
four inches of earth above the point from which the roots
branched. I should put two well-rooted plants in each hill, and
this would make the hills four feet apart each way. By "hills" I
do not mean elevations of ground. This should be kept level
throughout all future cultivation. I should cut back the canes or
stems of the plants to six inches. Thousands of plants are lost or
put back in their growth by leaving two or three feet of the canes
to grow the first year. Never do this. The little fruit gained
thus prematurely always entails a hundred-fold of loss. Having set
out the plants, I should next scatter over and about them one or
two shovelfuls of old compost or decayed manure of some kind. If
the plants had been set out in the fall, I should mound the earth
over them before freezing weather, so that there should be at
least four inches of soil over the tops of the stems. This little
mound of earth over the plants or hill would protect against all
injury from frost. In the spring I should remove these mounds of
earth so as to leave the ground perfectly level on all sides, and
the shortened canes projecting, as at first, six inches above the
surface.
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