19 



and are in fact dead. The best way to restore such plants is to 

 turn them out of the pots and wash all the soil from their roots, 

 removing entirely those that are dead, and planting out in fresh 

 soil. It must be apparent that such plants are greatly inferior 

 to those that have simply taken root in the ground, yet unscru- 

 pulous dealers sometimes impose upon their customers by filling 

 orders in spring with plants that have been kept over winter in 

 pots. 



For the reason here given, dealers only pot plants in limited 

 numbers, and of leading varieties, not knowing what and how 

 many will be called for, and not wishing to injure their stock, 

 or incur unnecessary expense. Hence potted plants should be 

 ordered early, never less than three or four weeks in advance, 

 to secure a supply of well-rooted plants of the varieties wanted. 



It should be borne in mind that plants grow, but cannot be 

 made to order. They should always be turned out of the pots 

 when shipped, and the balls of dirt containing the roots packed 

 in damp moss, leaving the foliage fully exposed to light and 

 air, and in this condition they may be transported almost any 

 distance without risk. 



Fig. 1 represents, better than language can describe, the 

 method of growing potted plants. The marks of cancellation 



Fig. 1. 



show where the runner should be cut when the plant has filled 

 the pot with roots. 



There is not much to be gained by setting runner plants in 

 autumn, as they will not give a full crop the next year ; but even 

 a small crop may be better than none, and it is sometimes more 

 convenient to transplant at that season. 



TRANSPLANTING STRAWBERRIES. 



The land being ready, the next thing in order will be to set 

 the plants. Let the rows for field culture be as long as possi- 



