BREEDING 209 



pane of glass over each flat and set it in the shade. The 

 chief advantage of flats is that they can be moved. 



If the seed was sown thinly, the seedlings may remain 

 in the bed until August, when the strongest may be trans- 

 planted to fruiting rows, where they are set two to three 

 feet apart each way. In hot weather, invert small flower 

 pots over each seedling during the middle of the day for 

 a few days after transplanting, removing them at night 

 and in damp weather. If there are only a few seedlings, 

 they may be potted off in two-inch pots when about two 

 weeks old, carried through the winter in the greenhouse 

 or cold frame, and set in the field the next spring. After 

 that the seedlings are given the same treatment as fall- 

 set plants. They will need an abundance of plant food, 

 thorough tillage and the removal of runners. In the 

 North, exceptional care in mulching is necessary. 



The following spring the strongest seedlings may bear 

 a little fruit, perhaps enough to indicate something of their 

 value, but this will be at the expense of vigor. In the 

 North, it is best to remove most of the blossoms and to 

 wait until the next season, in which case it is two years 

 from crossing to fruiting. In the South, fairly reliable 

 evidence of the value of seedlings frequently is secured 

 within a year. Seedlings of everbearing varieties have 

 been known to fruit within six months from the cross 

 (page 147). 



When the time to judge the seedlings arrives, the grower 

 should fortify himself against disappointment; fully 

 ninety per cent of them are likely to be inferior to either 

 parent. There will be no uniformity in size, color of 

 fruit, season of ripening or any other character. The 

 berries of a large majority of the seedlings will be too soft 

 to be of value. The quality of firmness has been bred 



