THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 201 



you lose the use of the ground too soon ; but the impression is 

 wrong, if it does exist in the minds of any of our readers. _ My way 

 of dealing with this operation is, in point of fact, very similar to the 

 common way, but, I must admit, with certain modifications, simple 

 enough in themselves, but which are of real importance. How I 

 manage these things I will make clear as I proceed ; but before 

 going any further, I will just say that the ideas which I shall ofi'er 

 in the few remarks I intend making upon this subject are by no 

 means new ; neither do I make any claim of originality in them. I 

 have no doubt but what it was practised long before I knew any- 

 thing whatever about gardens or gardening, for I was taught it 

 when I was a young man by one who was a thorough fragarian, and 

 knew every in and out of the question, and I have followed it up 

 ever since — a period of some forty odd years. Though this question 

 is by no means new, I think a few observations will be useful just 

 now. If I did not think so, I would not ask our worthy Editor to 

 insert this, for I would be the last to intrude upon the valuable 

 space of the Ploeal Woeld with useless matter. I should hardly 

 like to undertake to visit the thousands of gardens into which the 

 Elokal Wokld finds its way, therefore I shall be unable to prove, 

 that in seventy-five per cent, of them the strawberry beds are planted 

 in winter. But I am inclined to think that such is the case, even 

 after allowing for the benefits which the proprietors derive from it. 



Generally speaking, strawberry-growing is managed in this way. 

 The existing beds are allowed to' produce as many runners as they 

 choose. These are all allowed to grow together into a complete mass, 

 up till about November ; the foliage is then chopped ofi", a spade run 

 round each plant to sever the runners, and the ground hoed oyer,' 

 and finally the whole of the rubbish is cleared away to the rubbish- 

 heap, after having impoverished the ground more than the main 

 crop. If a new plantation is to be formed, the strongest of the 

 runners are selected, which at their best are but miserably poor ; 

 and after the ground has been dug, they are planted. _ If this 

 is done properly, and the ground in good heart, these will make 

 nice plants by that time twelvemonths, and whicb will bear a crop 

 the spring following. So far so good, provided garden ground is 

 plentiful, and one quarter of it can be allowed to lay idle every now 

 and then. This I cannot do, for every foot of my garden is required, 

 and is valuable to me, and any waste in the way of the garden lying 

 uncropped is so much loss, and money out of pocket. Bearing this 

 in mind, when about to make fresh strawberry-beds, I fix upon the 

 quarter upon which I intend forming them, and trench it up as early 

 in the winter as circumstances will admit. No particular date can 

 be fixed upon for doing this, as it depends upon what time the other 

 crops come off. The depth the ground should be trenched depends 

 in a great measure upon the nature of the subsoil, for it would do 

 more harm than good to bring up a lot of gravel or clay, and bury 

 the loam at the bottom. But where the nature of the soil will admit 

 it, digging a couple of spits deep will do very well ; but in other cases, 

 where the soil is shallow, I go down one good spit, shovel up the 

 loose soil on to the top, and break up the bottom of the trench with 



