IRISH GARDENING. 



153 



Strawberry Notes. 



PLANTERS of str.'iwberries will do well to remember 

 that bai-ren individuals are common among; the 

 dilferent t^arden varieties, and that runners taken 

 from sueh plants will, of course, be barren too. In pro- 

 pagatinif strawberries it is, therefoi'e, very important 

 not to use runners from such barren individuals, as it 

 can only lead to present waste of time and future 

 disappointment in the fruiting' season. As these non- 

 productive plants are more vigorous than the others, 

 careless or ignorant propagators are very prone to select 

 runners from them under the idea that they are especi- 

 ally good because they fire exceptionally strong. 



.All runners should be taken from good fruit-bearing 



The right way to plant. I'he wrong way to plant. 



Stock, and as the best time to do the work is when the 

 first runners appear, and further as they are produced 

 in great abiuidance about the time the fruit fire forming- 

 in June, it is quite eas)' to differentiate between the 

 fertile and barren individuals. The first rule, therefore, 

 to remember is that, as like begets like, the runners of 

 a barren plant cannot be expected ever to produce fruit. 



Another point to keep in mind is that, as in the case of 

 potatoes and other crops, a change of runtiers is most 

 desirable to guard against the risk of deterioration 

 that is almost sure to take place if we continue to pro- 

 pagate from the same stock and grow under the same 

 local conditions for an extended period of time. An 

 occasional change of stock is essential to complete 

 success. A third rule of planting is to give the crop a 

 change of soil. Never make a new plantation on the 

 same site as the old. All good cultivators are alive to 

 the advantage of this. 



Furthermore, the strawberry is a plant that gives off 

 an enormous amount of water in the form of vapour 

 from its leaves, and that is the chief reason why dryness 

 of soil interferes so much with its full development, and 

 why a fairly moist, cool soil is the best for these plants. 

 For the same reason, a good depth of soil is conducive 

 to successful growth. In preparing for a new planta- 

 tion the ground should be well trenched and a liberal 

 supply of weH-rot/ed f;irmya.vd manure incorporated with 

 the soil. Burnt garden rubbish is also a good fertiliser 

 for strawberries. In making a new plantation it is 

 most important to select the right kind of weather — 

 a day when both the soil and the air are sufficiently 

 moist to check any transpiration that might prove very 

 distressing to the newly planted " runners." While it is 

 desirable to plant as early as possible, it is by no means 

 so important as selecting the right kind of weather for 

 the work. 



As to the right distance apart to plant the runners, it 

 would be well for the novice to study the root range of a 

 well-developed plant in, say, its second year of growth 

 from the rutiner stage. It will be found that at least a 

 good cubic foot of soil is entirely occupied by its mass 

 of rootage, so that if the runners are, in the first instance, 

 planted only one foot apart it will be necessary to re- 



move, at the end of the second year, each alternate 

 plant in order to give those that remain a chance to 

 extend their root system the following year. 



Lastly, and in reference again to the water require- 

 ments of this crop, it is very desirable to prevent, as far 

 as possible, loss of moisture by ordinary evaporation 

 from the surface of the soil. The aim of all growers 

 should be to compel all the water that passes into the 

 air from a strawberry plantation to ^o by way of the 

 plant. To secure this, the soil should be made firm (in 

 the case of light soils it can hardly be made too firm), 

 and mulched after planting. The covering mulch will 

 not only conserve the moisture, but it will tend to keep 

 the soil at a more equable temperature throughout the 

 year, checking loss of heat in winter, and keeping the 

 soil relatively cool during the hotter months of the year. 



The Most Popular Plum. 



Now that the season of planting will soon be on us 

 a few words in praise of Victoria, the most 

 popular plum in cultivation, may not be out of 

 place. That this plum has been more largely planted 

 than any other since the Department of Agriculture has 

 started fruit growing again in this country there can be 

 little doubt, and talcen from all points of view, what 

 plum has so many good qualities? It starts bearing 

 quickly after planting, producing good crops of fruit 

 much sooner and more certain than any variety I know, 

 so that on account of its free-cropping qualities the 

 tree often only grows to a medium size, and, therefore, 

 can be planted closer than most other varieties. On 

 account of its spreading and slightly drooping growth 

 I would recommend that tall half-standards should be 



Planted too hiijh. 



Planted too low. 



planted, as I do not care for this variety trained as 

 bushes or pyramid.s. As a market plum it has no 

 equal, and it is one of the kinds of fruit that should be 

 planted in a cottager's garden, seldom failing to fruit, 

 while at the same time it does not shade vegetable 

 crops to the same e.xtent as apple and pear trees. 

 A trained V^ictoria plum on cottage walls, now often 

 bare, would not only be ornamental but a source of 

 profit to the owner. The tree is not particular as to 

 soil, but in this country it does remarkably well in fairly 

 strong loam or limestone. Be sure and get the trees 

 worked on the mussel stock, for if on the myrobella 

 stock plenty of wood and no fruit generally results. 

 Unfortunately for growers of plum trees in this country 

 a large number of trees planted during the past five or 

 six years have died, being attacked by EutypeUa 

 priDiastri (fruit-tree postule), and, as in American goose- 

 berry mildew, burning is the best cure. W. T. 



" Pray be gentle, little sister, 



Softly touch those painted wings ! 

 Butterflies and moths, remember, 

 Are such very tender things." — Browne, 



