Hints on Vegetable and Fruit Farming. 23 



" sieves " and " half-sieves"* in w^hich much of the English 

 fruit is packed ; many of these are dirty in the extreme, and 

 wholly unfit to put fine fruit in. 



Strawbeeeies may be profitably grown in most of the 

 lighter clays, also upon loams, and upon the better sandy soils. 

 Upon loams and good descriptions of clay, the plants will con- 

 tinue to bear well and pay for several years. Upon some soils 

 they will only pay for three or four years. In parts of Kent, 

 upon the London Clay, and Greensand, they will last for six 

 or eight years. They are propagated by runners taken from 

 the best plants directly the fruit is picked, and are put in a 

 nursery, and transplanted from thence in the autumn. Or the 

 runners are left on the plants till the autumn, by which time 

 many have thrown out roots ; these are cut away and put at 

 once into the ground in rows, 30 inches apart, with a distance 

 of 18 inches between each plant. Some put the plants 30 inches 

 apart each way, or 3000 plants per acre, so that the ground 

 between may be horse-hoed. Early potatoes may precede straw- 

 berries ; the land should be well manured and deeply ploughed, 

 and subsoiled if necessary. Just before the fruit is changing 

 colour the ground is covered with rough farmyard-manure or 

 litter, laid all round the plants, to keep the fruit from the dirt, 

 to stimulate the growth of the plants, and to retain the moisture. 

 Picking is done by men and boys very early in the morning, 

 and necessitates a good supply of labour. Women pack the 

 fruit for dessert in punnets, which are put into deal boxes, 

 holding five dozen. In some districts the best fruit is put into 

 earthen crocks or pots. Inferior fruit is put in tubs, and sent 

 to jam markets. For this there is a very extensive demand. 

 The average price of the fruit is about 6c?. per lb. An average 

 crop would be about 3000 lbs. per acre. Frequently as much 

 as 5000 lbs. have been grown per acre. Keen's Seedling, Princess 

 Alice, Dr. Hogg, Refresher, La Grosse Sucree, Elton Pine, 

 Eleanor, Comte de Paris, Sir Joseph Paxton, are among the best 

 for field purposes. It is curious to notice how little attention is 

 given to strawberries in the ordinary farm-gardens. The bed, 

 in all probability, has not been changed for many years, and is 

 a thick mass of roots and runners, instead of having been moved 

 every four or five years. The fruit may be profitably grown 

 upon banks and side ground which it is difficult to cultivate. It 

 always meets with a ready sale, either raw or made into jam. 



* Half-sieves are generally used for gooseberries, currants, and cherries in 

 Kent, and the weight is made up to 24 lbs. for currants and cherries, and 28 lbs. 

 for gooseberries. Raspberries are sent in tubs holding ^ cwt. In other counties 

 various sized baskets, called "pots" in some places, are used. 



