Strawberries. 413 



fully spread out when set, as just described. The earth should be 

 well settled about them with water, and mellow earth then drawn 

 over the surfaces. A covering of fine manure, an inch or two in 

 thickness, is then spread on the ground to preserve the moisture. 

 It is only in cases of severe drought that further watering is required. 

 But when given it should be copious and repeated daily until the 

 fresh leaves begin to expand. By this treatment scarcely a plant 

 will be lost. 



Transplanting early in autumn, although succeeding well as far 

 south as Philadelphia, or even at New York city, is often attended 

 with failure further north, the plants being thrown out and frozen in 

 winter. Treading the earth firmly about the plants when set, les- 

 sens the liability to winter killing. 



The following easy mode of raising the strawberry, by a sponta- 

 neous renewal of the plants, or " culture in alternate strips," is thus 

 described by A. J. Downing, and has since been successfully prac- 

 tised in various parts of the country ; 



" Early in April, or in August, being provided with a good stock 

 of strong young plants, select a suitable piece of good deep soil. Dig 

 in a heavy coat of stable manure, pulverizing well and raking the top 

 soil. Strike out the rows, three feet apart, with a line. The plants 

 should now be planted along each line about a foot apart in the 

 row. They will soon send out runners, and these runners should 

 be allowed to take possession of every alternate strip of three feet 

 the other strip being kept bare by continually destroying all runners 

 upon it, the whole patch being kept free of all weeds. The occupied 

 strip or bed of runners will now give a heavy crop of strawberries, 

 and the open strip of three feet will serve as an alley from which to 

 gather the fruit. After the crop is over, dig and prepare this alley 

 or strip for the occupancy of the new runners for the next season's 

 crop. The runners from the old strip will now speedily cover the 

 new space allotted to them, and will perhaps require a partial thin- 

 ning out to have them evenly distributed. As soon as this is the 

 case, say about the middle of August, dig under the whole of the 

 old plants with a light coat of manure. The surface may be then 

 sown with turnips or spinage, which will come off before the next 

 season of fruits. 



" In this way the strips or beds occupied by the plants are 

 reversed every season, and the same plot of ground may thus be 

 continued in a productive state for many years." 



Mulching among the plants to keep the berries from becoming 

 soiled with earth, should not be omitted. Straw answers a good 



