TKAXSPLANTATION FOR THE FARM, ETC. 173 



Henderson's plan of growing strawberry plants. 



Peter Ilenderson, the author of '"'Gardening for Profit," recorninends the 

 followino- coinvc for obtaining straw1)crries tlio first season in abundance : 



As soon as tiie crop is removed from a bed lie fixes it in tlic best possible con- 

 dition to malve new plants, and as soon as the runners so develop as to show 

 indications of rooting he places under the i)oint of rooting, buried in the ground 

 and sup})lied with good soil, a small sized ilower j)ot. A small stone is })laced 

 on the runner which holds it in i)lace, indicates where the pot is, and also tends 

 to hold the moisture about the new plant. As soon as the plants in the pots 

 are rooted nicely they are turned out of the ])ot and placed in their permanent 

 quarters, when the land is in good tilth and of proper richness to push the plants 

 as rapidly as possible. By this plan the crowns are developed well in the fall, 

 and the first season gives a full supply of berries and also })lants for a repeti- 

 tion of the same process, it being more profitable to make a new bed than allow 

 this one to fruit the second year. 



preparation of soil. 



In planting out raspberries or strawberries the manner of handling each plant 

 has a great deal to do with its jirosperity. At the point of planting, a hole 

 should be dug, and in the middle of it should be made a mound upon which the 

 roots of the plant are spread out so as to come in contact with as much earth 

 as possible. Perhaps I may say once for all, whether the soil is prepared for 

 cabbages, strawberries, raspberries, apples, or cherries, it should be thoroughly 

 stirred up and loosened to a depth of not less than a foot, and several inches 

 added to this could be profitably worked. No one can successfully transplant 

 trees of any kind without giving careful attention to the taking up of the trees, 

 and using, at the same time, rare good sense. 



planting out fruit trees. 



As fruit trees come to us from the nursery in a majority of cases they are in 

 a hopeless condition because of the careles manner in which their first removal 

 was conducted. A tree must be dug, not pulled up, if it is to be given any 

 chance for life. The more common method is to have two men di^r and one 

 pull, the digging only to be carried on to a point where a strong man exerting 

 his whole strength can jerk the tree out ; thus the roots come u)i torn and muti- 

 lated, in a condition to die immediately, or support a sickly life for a time, 

 becoming a prey to insects, and finally dying witliout giving any return to the 

 purchaser. To be sure, it is a great deal better to remove with the tree some 

 earth, but in case of transportation some distance this can not be expected; 

 but we may justly demand that our trees have good, unbroken roots. My pref- 

 erence would be to plant all fruit trees in the spring, and their age should ba 

 not more than two years for a double reason. I should have a better root sys- 

 tem, and in pruning the top I could then trim it to a whip and form my top 

 according to my own notion. The whole appearance of the future developed 

 tree is largely modified by the first few branches, and these it is especially desir- 

 able we should control to suit our own ideas. 



It is a very common practice to perform an operation upon newly dug trees 

 called puddling. A puddle of clay is made and the roots dipped therein and 

 covered with a thin film of the mortar, for the purpose of preventing evapora- 

 tion and shriveling of the tree. Where trees have been abused fearfully and 

 the roots have a good many fresh surfaces and unsightly gashes, this is a good 



