A B C OF STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 35 



strawberries, and liberal quantities of them too. Did I not tell 

 you, in a previous chapter, that, where there is a will there is a 

 way ? One of those farmers who never have any time for such 

 j jbs stopped to talk with me once, when I was hastily going 

 over my fruit-garden, before the fields were dry enough for cul- 

 tivating. He looked with longing eyes at the nice rows of ber- 

 ries, and said it would do for me to fuss with such things ; he 

 wished he had the time ; but it was no use to think of it, etc. 

 Meanwhile my man and son kept the horse and cultivator brisk- 

 ly moving, and I hoed row after row, long ones too ; and before 

 that man's business called him to move on we had cultivated 

 and hoed over far more ground than would be necessary to 

 grow all the berries he and his family could possibly use. 



Some eighteen years ago we set out a strawberry-patch, 

 without having them in shape for horse culture, and the result 

 was that the money paid for plants would have bought more 

 berries than we ever picked. Perhaps we had all imperfect va- 

 rieties too ; I am sure I do not know. And I guess we were 

 about like the brother last spoken of hadn't time to fuss with 

 them. The " will " was lacking. I suspect we have lots of 

 company in that experience. I hope we may have as much in 

 our later practice. Man can do almost any thing if he sets out 

 with the determination to conquer. 



Soon after your plants are set out you will see stems com- 

 ing up with buds on. There will be little leaves on the stems 

 also. Cut off all these stems as fast as they appear. It will 

 weaken the plant to grow any fruit the first year. What you 

 want is to grow as strong plants as you can, to become parents 

 of other strong plants, which will produce abundant and fine 

 fruit the following season. After a time you will see little 

 round shoots starting out from the plants you set. These are 

 called " runners." If allowed to grow, after running from six 

 to ten inches (according to variety ; late berries have long run- 

 ners and early ones shorter, usually), they will throw up leaves 

 and roots downward, and produce new plants. But you should 



