30 



will admit, in rows six feet apart, and the plants at least four 

 or five feet distant in the rows. Let all runners grow, training 

 them so as to cover the ground. No weeds should be tolerated. 

 Make slight depressions beneath each joint of the runners, 

 pressing down the young plant and weighting it with a small 

 stone, on covering it with earth, to prevent displacement by the 

 wind. If a little fine manure, or fertilizer of some sort, is 

 placed under or around the plant, it will cause a stronger and 

 more rapid growth. Irrigation, or frequent watering with dilute 

 liquid manure, will also aid in the multiplication of runners, and 

 plants unsurpassed in quality. A good stock of any new straw- 

 berry may in this way be obtained in a few months. 



NEW VARIETIES FROM SEEDS. 



The perfect strawberry must be of the best quality, large, 

 productive, of good color and form, and firm enough to bear 

 handling and transportation. The plant must be vigorous, 

 healthy, hardy, not easily injured by cold in winter, or scorching 

 suns in summer, and every way the habit of the plant must be 

 good. 



A berry not ripening evenly and coloring to the point is ob- 

 jectionable, as it is inconvenient to pick, and unsalable. It is 

 hard to convince the buyer that a berry having a white tip is 

 fully ripe. This is a fault of the Sharpless, Kentucky, Bidwell, 

 and most of the very large varieties. Some of the largest and 

 best kinds have the fault of being ill-formed, or coxcomb 

 shaped. The old Iron-Clad, as pictured, is one of the worst of 

 this class ; and the Sharpless is often so imperfectly formed that 

 many think, and not without reason, that its name is Shapeless. 



Experiments in growing seedlings are very interesting, and 

 may prove very profitable. In case of small fruits, results are 

 arrived at early in from one to three or four years. The proc- 

 ess consists simply in sowing seeds of the best berries of the 

 best varieties. Never sow seeds of inferior fruit. Plants 

 raised from the best are inclined to revert, and will usually pro- 

 duce fruit inferior to that of the parent. If one seedling in a 

 thousand proves superior in all respects, the experiment may be 

 regarded as a success. 



To obtain seeds, select the berries when perfectly ripe, crush 



