102 HOW TO LIVE IN THE COUNTRY 



until picking time comes; have plenty of mulch be- 

 tween the rows, and, finally, as cold weather comes, 

 cover your beds lightly with compost not too 

 heavily, for there is danger of rotting the plants. 

 I always allow the leaves to show through the cov- 

 ering. There has been a great deal of talk about 

 the sex of strawberry plants and the necessity of 

 securing pollen from perfect blooming sorts to bring 

 into fruitage those which lack stamens. There is 

 something in this, of course, but if you plant two or 

 three sorts in adjacent rows this problem is solved. 

 Marshall and William Belt can take care of them- 

 selves alone. A new sort called Norwood has just 

 been placed on the market, but the stories about it 

 are so amazing that I will do no more than mention 

 it in this chapter. It seems to be as big as a Red 

 Astrachan apple; I hope not. All we want of a 

 strawberry is to just go into the mouth, or at least 

 to accommodate itself with a single split from a silver 

 knife. 



What we have to say about spraying will come in 

 a little later, in another chapter, but we must not 

 omit the hot bed. The hot beds and cold frames 

 are needed all the time, not only to start tomatoes 

 and cabbages for very early planting, but later for 

 pinks, sweet Williams, and anything that you have 

 in the way of biennials and perennials. I like best 

 beds built against a stone wall, if you have one, and 

 I would make the walls of the bed itself of stone 

 or brick. The length must depend entirely upon 



