F R .\ 



F R A 



peiTeclly ripened, eillier in tho spring or autumn 

 season, on a bcU of light caiili, or in poU 

 placed in ihe shade. 



After the plants have been set out as above, 

 and taken new root, care is neces>aiy, if liie 

 winter prove severe, to lav some old tannL-r's bark 

 over the surface of ific bed between the plants, 

 to keep out the frost : this is absolutely netcssary 

 in the Chili sort, as the plants arc t're>)uently 

 killed in hard winters when exposed without 

 any covering : where tanner's bark cannot becasi- 

 Iv procured, saw dust, or sea-coal a -lies may be 

 used ; or even the decaved leaves of trees, or the 

 branches of evergreen-trees with their leaves upon 

 them laid over the beds. 



In the following summer the plants should 

 be constantly kept cleau from weeds, and all the 

 runners be puiled off as fast as they are protluced ; 

 as where this is constantly practised the plants 

 become very strong by the following autumn ; 

 but when neglected, and the runners permitted 

 to stand during the summer, and then pulled off 

 in the autumn, thcv are not half so strong, nor 

 will there be near the same quantity ot fruit 

 upon them the following spring, or so large and 

 fine. Where proper care is taken of the plants 

 the first summer, there is generally a plentiful 

 supply of fruit the second spring after planting. 



When the plants are in blossom, if the wea- 

 ther prove dry, good waterings given occasion- 

 allv prove very benetlcial in promoting; a plenti- 

 ful production of fruit, but in other cases it is 

 uiuiecessar)'. 



In the general culture of this sort of fruit, as 

 the old plants arc those which produce the fruit, 

 the suckers seldom affording any till of a full 

 year's growth, it is obviously necessary to divest 

 them of them, as when suffered to remain they 

 rob the fruitful plants of their nourishment in 

 proportion to their number; and, besides, the 

 suckers render each other weak, and tlius cause 

 barrenness, la the Alpine sorts the summer 

 runners should not however be removed as they 

 produce fruit.. 



Where the old plants are constatitlv kept 

 clear from suckers, they sometimes continue 

 fruitful four or five years without being replant- 

 ed. It is, however, a good way to have a suc- 

 cession of beds, that after three years standing 

 they may be taken u]i, as by that time they liave 

 ijioslly exhausted the ground. This sort of 

 plants are also in general more productive on 

 iicw land. 



After having been thus cut and managed in 

 the summer season, it will be necessary in au- 

 tumn not only again to divest thein of these 

 strings or runners, but of all the decayed leave-;, 

 and to clear the beds from weeds j iben the paths 



should be dug up, and the weed^ buried, some 

 earth being laid over the surface of the beds be- 

 tween the plants, which will strengthen them 

 and prepare them for the following sprinir ; and 

 it after this tliero he some old tanner's bark laid 

 over the surlacc of the ground betweeit the 

 plants, it will he of great service to them. In 

 the spring, when the danger of bird frost is 

 over, as in March, the ground betv.een tho 

 plants in the "ueds should be forked over with a 

 narrow tlircc-pronged fork, to loosen it and 

 break the clods ; and in this operation the tan 

 which was laid over the surface of the ground 

 in autumn will be buried, and be a good dress- 

 ing to the Strawberries, espeeially in strong 

 land. This should be done w helher the plants 

 are in distinct bunches or in large beds. 



And about the beginning ot April, Martyn 

 observes •' if the surface of the beds be covered. 

 with moss, it will keep the ground moist, and 

 prevent the drving winds from penetrating the 

 ground, and thereby secure a good crop of fruit; 

 and also preserve the fruit clean, that when 

 heavy rains fall after it is full grown, there will 

 be no dirt washed over them, which frequently 

 happens, so that it must be washed before it is 

 fit for the table, which greatly diminishes its 

 flavour." 



It is of great utility in dry seasons to water 

 occasionally every summer, while the plants are 

 in blow and forming their fruit ; but as it ap- 

 proaches maturity this should be left off, as it 

 injures the flavour. 



And in some of the more fine sorts, or curi- 

 ous large varieties, v.hen ripening, it is eligible 

 either to tie up the stalks with the bunches of 

 fruit thereon to sticks, or the leaves and stalks 

 together ; so as, in either way, to elevate the 

 fruit from the earth, more out of danger of 

 rotting by wet if a rainv season, and to more 

 effectually enjoy tlie full sun to ripen with a. 

 good flavour ; orsouietimcs place flat tiles on the 

 ground round each plant of a few particular 

 sorts, for the fr.uit to rest upon, drier and niore 

 secure from rotting bv the damp of the earth, 

 and to ripen with an improved flavour by such 

 means. 



As the fruit ripens in June and the following- 

 months, it should be gathered diilv ; being 

 plucked off in the cup, with :d)out half an inch 

 ofthestalkadhering, by which hieans theyateiiot 

 so liable to be bruised, and appear more conve- 

 niently when served at table, ancf are more asiree- 

 ably picked up out of the dish or b:usket for^eat- 

 iug. The Wood-<trau berries are however vcrv 

 commonly gathered without any stalk\- part, 

 being generally |iicked clean out of their cups, 

 especially when designed to eat w ilh cream, &e. . 



