2)0 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
must, of course, have them upon the dinner table; and, excepting 
when we have company, the strawberries are gathered early in the 
morning, in a neat punnet, are put in a cool storeroom for the day,. 
and, instead of transferring them to a dish, the punnet is stood in 
the dish, and a few leaves laid round. On other occasions, the dish 
is taken direct to the bed, and the fruit laid upon it as gathered. 
I attach great importance to gathering the fruit early in the 
morning, for it is invariably of a much finer flavour than when it 
has been exposed to brilliant sunshine for several hours, and the 
time it is upon the dish is not of sufficient length for it to lose a 
particle of its freshness. 
Observations ranging over many years, and by no means confined 
to my own garden, have convinced me that the beds ought not to 
stand more than four years. After the fourth year, the plants begin 
to decline in vigour and productiveness, and the crop is consequently 
less in bulk and inferior in quality. The making of new beds isa 
very easy matter; and to avoid any break in the supply of fruit for 
the dessert or preserving, I have two new beds made annually, and 
the same number broken up and destroyed. By this course we 
maintain the given number of beds in full bearing. We determine 
the position of the beds in the autumn, and, after a liberal dressing 
of manure has been spread over the surface, the ground is trenched 
up, and left in a rough state for winter. In the spring it is broken 
down with a fork, and early potatoes are planted. Shallow trenches 
are opened out, a little short manure is laid in the bottom, and the 
potato sets are laid along at the usual distance apart, and the trench 
is filled in. They are hoed and earthed up in the usual way, and, 
when lifted in the course of the summer, the ground is pricked over 
with a fork, and it is then in capital condition for the reception of 
the plants. The beds are four feet in width, with a twelve-inch 
alley between them, and two rows of plants are put out on each. 
The rows are planted twelve inches from the side of the beds, and 
by this arrangement, there is a space of three feet between every 
alternate row, which affords plenty of room for gathering the fruit, 
layering the runners, and so forth, without trampling upon the 
foliage. For the formation of beds, as well as for pot culture, I 
have the earliest runners obtainable layered in three-inch pots. 
The soil, from the first, is maintained in a nice moist state, 
to encourage the production of roots; and wher the runners are 
nicely established, they are separated from the parent plant, and 
removed to a shady position. They remain in the shade for a week 
or ten days, and are then planted out; and to facilitate their 
becoming established, they are watered every second day until the 
roots begin to push freely into the soil. Watering them as here 
indicated will be found an immense assistance, for the plants are 
enabled thereby to commence growing early, and have, consequently, 
a better chance of forming strong, well-ripened crowns by the 
autumn. Beds formed as here advised, come into bearing the first 
year, and no time whatever is lost. 
I have a larger number of sorts than the majority of amateurs 
require; but I would advise the cultivation of, at least, half- 
