2O The Strawberry Book. 



how to produce the largest fruit, regardless of other con- 

 siderations. 



In another market he may find it better to spend less 

 labor on his beds, and let them produce as large an 

 amount as they will of medium-sized fruit. 



Generally speaking, the large foreign kinds require to be 

 cultivated in hills, and to have their runners often clipped, 

 in order to produce the best results. On the other hand, 

 many varieties, and especially American kinds, grow and 

 bear best in beds, the runners being allowed to spread 

 and root at will. The Jucunda and the Hovey may stand 

 as examples of these two classes. The Jucunda in hills 

 gives a large crop of enormous showy berries, but a very 

 much smaller crop when allowed to spread, while it is 

 impossible to get any results of value from the Hovey 

 unless it is grown in a wide bed. The contrast is seen 

 further in the fact that the British Queen, Jucunda, Tri- 

 omphe de Gand, &c., may be kept in hills for three or 

 four years and good crops obtained, while the best results 

 are obtained with the Hovey and its congeners by what 

 is called the 



ANNUAL SYSTEM. 



This plan, considered by many the neatest of all, re- 

 quires a very rich soil, the best plants carefully set out to 

 start with, and good cultivation, for complete success. 

 Where all the conditions are favorable, the results obtained 

 by the annual method are amazing. 



The soil being well prepared, deep, rich, and abun- 

 dantly manured, the plants of the best quality, and 

 carefully handled are set out in the spring in rows four 

 feet apart, and one foot apart in the row. 



The soil between the rows is kept clean by the frequent 

 use of the cultivator until the runners begin to spread con- 

 siderably, when nothing more remains to be done until 

 fall, except to pull out by hand any conspicuous weeds. 



