136 FRUIT BOOK. 



rich mould ; and by August the plants will be of 

 a proper size for setting out. These differ from 

 other sorts in quickness of bearing, as most others, 

 sown in the spring, will not produce fruit under 

 two years. The Alpine will continue to bear 

 fruit throughout the season ; but, although a con- 

 stant succession of fruit is obtained through the 

 season of vegetation, the supply is but very lim- 

 ited, and it is consequently not a profitable varie- 

 ty for common culture. There are a number of 

 fine varieties in general cultivation, prolific, and 

 of fine flavor. Among these are the following : 



Swainstone's Seedling 

 Black Prince, 

 Hovey's Seedling, 



Iowa, 



Early Virginia. 



Bishop's Orange. 



These are all desirable sorts ; the Early Vir- 

 ginia is generally considered to be the most 

 profitable early fruit for the market. 



" With respect to the season for planting this 

 fruit, opinions are somewhat at variance ; some 

 recommending autumn, and others spring (we 

 prefer the latter in our region). If the plants are 

 strong, and have been selected from the earliest 

 runners, they will succeed very well if planted 

 in the fall. Gamier, an English cultivator, makes 

 his beds in August, or as soon as the fruit is gath- 

 ered. Keen, however, says, he has ' always found 

 the spring better, planting them in beds containing 

 three or four rows, and the plants in each row at 

 a certain distance from each other, leaving an al- 

 ley between each bed the distance of the rows.' 

 Lindley ' prepares the ground for his plants by 

 trenching twenty inches deep, and adding a quan- 

 tity of half-rotted dung ; the roots of strawberries, 

 penetrating as they do to a considerable depth, it 



