. CULTURE. 449 



have within ten years past become so numerous as to be burdensome 

 to the author who describes, as well as the amateur or nurseryman 

 who grows, while for all practical and useful purposes, but very few 

 are retained as desirable to cultivate where quantity of produce and 

 character, or rather flavor in fruit is expected. 



The character exhibited in varieties often marks their parentage, 

 yet, as it is known that a plant. can be fertilized by two or more 

 varieties, it is sometimes diflicult to select the distinct class, and 

 writers are often not a little confused in endeavoring to place them. 



Authors have classed 'the strawberry as Scarlets, the original 

 type being our wild strawberry ; Pines, originating from Pine or 

 Surinam strawberry ; Woods and Alpines, from the common wood 

 strawberry of Europe ; PIautbois, or High wood^ from Bohemia ; 

 Chili, from South America. 



The Scarlets are designated in their character by small flowers ; 

 long, thin, light green, sharply serrate leaves ; acid or sub-acid fruit, 

 of bright scarlet color, with seeds deeply imbedded. 



The Pines are designated by large flowers ; broad, dark green 

 leaves ; fruit of pineapple flavor, and generally soft in texture ; seeds 

 slightly imbedded. 



The Alpines and Woods have small flowers, perfect in their 

 organs ; small, thin, light green leaves ; fruit small, sweet, and sepa- 

 rating freely from the calyx. 



The Hautbois have large, pale green leaves, on tall foot-stalks, 

 the fruit-stalk tall and erect, the fruit of a dull red or purplish color. 



The Chili, designated by hairy, thick, obtusely serrate leaves, fruit 

 pale red and insipid. 



The Green strawberries have light green foliage, plaited fruit, solid 

 flesh, so unworthy cultivation as rarely to be found in this country. 



We have dropped the arrangement into classes in order, simply 

 designating each in our descriptive text. 



Soil and Situation. — Rich, deep, loamy, inclining to clayey soils 

 are generally found to produce the largest berries as well as most 

 in quantity ; but a sharp sandy soil, well manured with compost of 

 animal manure, bones, decayed weeds, old mortar, brick-dust or 

 rubbish, has, to our knowledge, produced some crops equal to any 

 recorded in the public journals. Deep the soil must be, say twenty 

 inches, to insure the perfection of an entire crop. If only a mode- 

 rately deep soil of six to eight inches, the first berries will fill and 

 perfect, while the heat and drought so usual throughout the West and 

 South-west in strawberry season, will cause too rapid exhaustion, 

 and prevent the filling and perfecting of the remaiuider. 



Trenches, three feet wide and two feet deep, with one foot of 

 straw or leaves laid in the bottom, then filled up with good soil, well 

 repays the labor in the extra crop produced. 



