1846.] Strawberries. 297 



take the liberty of extracting from a letter of our esteemed cor- 

 respondent, the Hon. James Mathews, of Coshocton, 0. This 

 gentleman appropriates a portion of his ground, exclusively, to 

 what he terms his " gooseberry orchard," and in reference to 

 which we quote as follows: 



" They are planted in rich soil composed of sand and loam, 

 and on a sandy foundation. First, I keep them well pruned, so 

 that when fruiting the sun and air may penetrate freely, and the 

 limbs and foliage not interfere with each other. In the fall or 

 commencement of winter, I cover the ground amongst the bushes 

 (which are planted about ybwr feet distant each way) and parti- 

 cularly near to them, with a good coat of coarse barn-yard ma- 

 nure. This I permit to remain until the first opening of spring, 

 or until the leaf buds are about to burst open; when I take off 

 the coarsest part of the manure, and in the morning when the 

 bushes are wet with dew, or just after a shower, I scatter over 

 each one a spade full of strong slaked lime, permitting as much 

 as possible thereof to adhere to the branches. This remains until 

 the weeds begin to become troublesome, when I cause the ground 

 to be well spaded and kept clear the balance of the season. 

 With this treatment I have not yet seen a particle of mildew in 

 the cultivation of about forty varieties which have fruited. I 

 have been led therefore to believe that lime is efficacious in the 

 prevention of mildew." 



Strawberry. — We copy in connection w^ith the above, and from 

 the same source, a few remarks of James Allen on the cultivation 

 of this fruit, as they contain one or two methods of treating this 

 plant which is new to us. 



" More than thirty years ago I commenced cultivating straw- 

 berry vines, and at first obtained but little fruit; and as I was 

 then but a new beginner, the directions of every person were well 

 received, and the old (and I hope exploded) doctrine of having 

 male and female plants set together, appeared rational to me; 

 and the consequence arising therefrom soon proved that my beds 

 produced but moderately at first, and every year after rendering 

 them more worthless, I plainly saw that I must know more or 

 abandon the business; and with me at that time I had every thing 

 to hope for and nothing to lose, by any experiments I could make. 

 Consequently I sought new kinds to commence with. The first 

 kind was from Philadelphia, called Scarlet Hautbois — and as I 

 knew the weakness of my judgment, induced me to choose the 

 first of May to set out my plants, when I could select such as had 

 branches of young fruit on them. The following year I had a 

 great crop for the size of my bed; and since that time I have 



