i88t.] strawberries. 317 



years old. Indeed they are so old that every year we think of rooting 

 them out and throwing them away ; but they always fruit so well 

 again that all thoughts of the kind are given up. Some growers may 

 differ from us in keeping such old plants, as we know there are many 

 who renew their Strawberry plantations every two or three years ; 

 and in some cases we think this wrong, as it gives much labour and 

 not much better crops than would be had from the same plants were 

 they allowed to grow on the same place for many years ; and when 

 established plants are bearing a full crop annually, the young ones 

 always being brought forward are not doing anything like this, as two 

 years or so passes before they come into full bearing, and a full crop 

 for one year only is about all that is had from them under such a sys- 

 tem. I feel very certain, from experience and observation, that this 

 is not the best mode of growing Strawberries in either large or small 

 quantities, and would advise as a rule that they be left so long as 

 they bear well, whether this be for a period of six, eight, or ten 

 years. At the end of any of these times the crop, so far as number 

 goes, will be better than it was in their best juvenile days, but the 

 fruit individually may not be so large. This, I think, is the only 

 objection which can be raised against old Strawberry ^plantations ; 

 and there is nothing very substantial in it, as we all know that in 

 flavour, which is the weighty point, medium-sized fruits are generally 

 superior to the monstrous samples ; and for preserving, the medium- 

 sized are always preferred. 



If Strawberry plantations are intended to last in good bearing 

 order for many years, they must be looked to oftener than just when 

 they are in fruit, which in many small gardens is the only time they 

 receive much attention, and before and after they are allowed to 

 become one mass of weeds. Such a state of matters is the surest 

 way to cause degeneracy that any one could possibly practise ; and 

 those who have formed ideas of the error of keeping Strawberry 

 plants until they are well up in years from plantations of this kind, 

 should not be too positive in their conclusions, as it is not to such 

 plantations that I refer, but to those which have always been kept 

 clean and free from weeds from their youth upwards, and which re- 

 ceive the same cultural attention as any other permanent crops. In 

 both young and old plantations, weeds will now be inclined to grow 

 freely, and runners will be choking up the parent plants. These, if 

 allowed to remain on after the fruit has been gathered, will do much 

 harm, as they deprive the old plants of much of their strength, shade 

 the main crowns up from the sun, and cause them to be tender and 

 sterile. When kept clean, free, and open, the reverse of this happens : 

 the crowns develop strongly, and reach that state of maturity which will 

 preserve them through a severe winter, and cause them to fruit early, 

 profusely, and perfectly the following season. It is not any attention 

 which may be paid them a month or two before they fruit next year, 



