Make it a rule to mulch as soon as possible after the plants begin to blossom, and also after a good soaking rain.  In this case the litter keeps the ground moist.  If the soil immediately about the plants is covered when dry, the mulch may keep it dry—­to the great detriment of the forming berries.  It is usually best to put on the mulch as soon as the early cultivation is over in April, and then the bed may be left till the fruit is picked.  Of course it may be necessary to pull out some rank-growing weeds from time to time.  If the hired man is left to do the mulching very late in the season, he will probably cover much of the green fruit and blossoms as well as the ground.

After the berries have been picked, the remaining treatment of the year is very simple.  Rake out the mulch, cultivate the soil, and keep the plants free of weeds and runners as during the previous year.  Before hard freezing weather, protect again as before, and give the plants similar treatment the following spring and summer.  Under this system the same plants may be kept in bearing three, four, and five years, according to the variety.  Some kinds maintain their vigor longer than others.  After the first year the disposition to run declines, and with the third year, in most instances, deterioration in the plant itself begins.  I would therefore advise that under this system a new bed be made, as described, every third year; for, it should be remembered, the new bed is unproductive the first year.  This should never be forgotten if one would maintain a continuous supply of berries, otherwise he will be like those born on the 29th of February, and have only occasional birthdays.

If the old bed is just where you wish, and has been prepared in the thorough manner described, it can be renewed in the following manner:  When the old plants begin to decline in vigor—­say the third or fourth spring—­a line of well-decayed compost and manure from the cow-stable a foot wide may be spread thickly down between the rows, dug under deeply, and young plants set out just over the fertilizer.  The old plants can be treated as has already been described, and as soon as they are through bearing, dug under.  This would leave the young plants in full possession of the ground, and the cultivation and management for three or more years would go on as already directed.  This course involves no loss of time or change of ground for a long periods.  If, however, a new bed can be made somewhere else, the plants will thrive better upon it.  Unless there are serious objections, a change of ground is always advantageous; for no matter how lavishly the plot is enriched, the strawberry appears to exhaust certain required constituents in the soil.  Continued vigor is better maintained by wood-ashes perhaps than by any other fertilizer, after the soil is once deepened and enriched, and it may be regarded as one of the very best tonics for the strawberry plant.  Bone-meal is almost equally good.  Guano and kindred fertilizers are too stimulating, and have not the staying qualities required.