600 THE STRAWBERRY. 



Early Strawberries. The following method has been suc- 

 cessfully tried in some places: Cover a good, well-managed, 

 clean bed of strawberries, the runners of which have been 

 kept off, so as to form large, vigorous stools, with dry forest 

 leaves early in winter, three or four inches thick. Remove 

 these leaves in February in the Middle States, and in March 

 in the North, and place over the plants a frame with sash. 

 Bank the sides with leaves, and cover the sash in severe 

 weather. The plants will start early, and give ripe fruit at 

 the usual blooming time. Airing and water must not be neg- 

 lected. 



For garden culture it is most convenient to provide beds 

 about five and a half feet wide, with paths two feet wide be- 

 tween them. Four rows are then set in each bed, a foot and 

 a half apart, and the outer six inches from the edges of the 

 bed, as shown in this diagram : 



PATH. 



PATH. 



The plants may be about a foot apart in the rows. This ar- 

 rangement allows the picking of the berries from the paths on 

 each side without treading on the beds, the distance to the 

 second or inner rows being only two feet. If the ground is 

 more limited, beds two feet and a half wide may be made and 

 but two rows planted, as in the diagram below : 



PATH. 



PATH. 



In setting out strawberry-plants, the following rules may be 

 observed: i. Use well-rooted one-year plants. 2. Make the 

 rows straight and parallel by a stretched cord. 3. Take up in 

 a moist time if practicable. 4. In a dry time water the plants 

 well before taking up. 5. Dip the roots in thin mud before 



