PLANTING STRAWBERRIES. 297 



good quantiix) of oH rotten manure should be placed 

 at each hole, and finely composted with the loam to 

 be sifted in at the setting. If the dung used is not 

 well rotted, or at least a year old, it must not on any 

 account be placed with the loam, as it will greatly 

 injure the roots of the tree, but must be used on 

 the surface as mulching, which will be explained 

 hereafter. When the tree is set, the ground should 

 be made as firm as possible by treading. 



The fibrous roots of a grape vine should be spread 

 out carefully ; and it is well if the cane is laid 

 down carefully. Each eye, in this case, will throw 

 out a bunch of roots, and strengthen the vine. 



Strawberries, of old, were planted in beds, and 

 were permitted to remain for several seasons ; but 

 the care required to keep out the weeds was very 

 great, and a remunerative crop was seldom realized 

 after the second year. Among the best growers, 

 strawberries are now planted in rows two and a half 

 to three feet in width, and about one foot distant in 

 the rows. The ground is prepared as directed, and 

 the runners of the preceding year, not plants which 

 have borne fruit, are dibbled out like cabbage plants 

 in cloudy weather in the spring. During the whole 

 of this season they can be kept clean with a horse- 

 cultivator and a hand-hoe. After producing one 

 crop the second year from planting, they are per- 

 mitted to make runners for a new patch, and then 

 ploughed in, to make way for the plants the next 



