FRUITS 



vation, must be more frequently renewed, 

 and, like many rare and beautiful things, 

 require more labor to produce than the other 

 small fruits. The strawberry bed should be 

 as nearly level as possible, should be well 

 enriched with stable manure, and have some 

 bone meal and nitrate of soda, spaded deeply 

 into the ground, which must be finely pul- 

 verized. 



Late in August or early in September 

 is the best time to set out the plants. 

 A neighbor possessing a large strawberry 

 bed is often willing to give away runners 

 (the young plants formed on the shoots 

 from the parent) ; if they are to be bought, 

 pot-grown plants are the best. Plants that 

 have a small crown but a good root develop- 

 ment, are preferable; the hole for the roots 

 should be amply large and the plants 

 set deeply, so that only the leaves are above 

 ground. I have always found "hill culture" 

 of strawberries to be the most satisfactory. 

 In this method, the plants are set twelve 

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