BOOK OF THE HOME GARDEN 



in a circle when planting and press the earth firmly 

 over them. If the ground is real dry fill the hole 

 with water before setting the plant ; then be sure to 

 cultivate in two days, or give each plant a mulch of 

 grass or straw when you set it, to prevent the earth 

 baking and the soil moisture escaping. If the plants 

 come from the neighborhood, dig them so the earth 

 remains on the roots, then you do not have to do any 

 cutting to the roots. Plant carefully, being sure 

 to keep the crown level with the ground. Take good 

 care of the plants this fall and when the ground be- 

 comes frozen, cover them with hay or straw or salt 

 hay (which is the best of all) to keep the frost in 

 the ground and prevent the plants being lifted out 

 by alternate thawing and freezing. 



Strawberries have two kinds of children: plant 

 children and seed children. You see Mother Nature 

 is not going to run any risk of strawberries becom- 

 ing extinct so she provides two methods of continu- 

 ing the plant. The seeds of course are on the berry, 

 but the plant sends out many stems with leaves on 

 the tips. These take root just under the leaves and 

 form a new plant just like the mother plant. We 

 call these "runners" and use them because they grow 

 fast, but chiefly because we want to be sure of the 

 variety. As they are part of the original plant, 



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