MANNER OF TRANSPLANTING. 21 
have we ever found the first runners more productive 
than the subsequent ones, unless they are stronger. 
In most cases, plants come from a distance, and 
great care should be taken to get as large a proportion 
of the numerous fibrous roots as possible; and in 
order to this, the ground should always be well 
saturated with water, either artificially or otherwise, 
before the plants are taken up, and then the first 
thing to be done, is to mud the roots, by dipping 
them in a little mud-hole made in the garden soil, 
where the water has been poured and stirred, until it 
has become sufficiently thickened with the soil to 
leave a good coating of mud on the roots of the plants 
as they are withdrawn. This greatly protects the 
plants on a short or a longer transportation. 
For transplanting, the earth should be levelled and 
made as flat as possible. If raised into beds or hills, 
it will invite the drought, to which the strawberry 
plant has a decided aversion. The plants should then 
be set out, leaving the roots in as nearly their natural 
spreading condition as possible; with the fingers press 
the pure earth compactly around the body of the 
plant, being careful not to set the plant too deep. If 
there is any old bark or decayed portion of the leaves 
on the plant, remove it before setting out: an old plant 
will usually renew itself by sending out a new set of 
roots on being transplanted, and it should be remem- 
