No. 1. 



Culture of the Strawberry. 



29 



times a year, and the ground mu.-t be main- 

 tained in good order by con^tant dressing. 

 Durinsr the firt^t year a row of any small 

 vegetables may be sown in the spaces be- 

 tween the rows. Every atitnrnn, if the 

 plants are not luxuriant, a light coat of ma- 

 nure should be dug in between tiio rows; 

 but if they ix'e very thrifty it must be omit- 

 ted, as it would cause them to run too much 

 to leaf 



A ligiit top-dressing of leaves, or any good 

 compost, applied late in the fall, though not 

 necessary, greatly promotes the vigor of the 

 plant, and secures the more tender kindsj 

 against the eticcts of an unusually cold win- 

 ter. Before the fruit ripens, the ground be-j 

 tween the rows should be covered with 

 straw, or light new-mown grass, to keep it 

 clean. 



A plantation of this kind in rows, will be 

 found to bear the largest and finest fruit, 

 which, being so fully e.xposed to the sun, 

 will always be sweeter and higher flavoured 

 than that grown in crowded beds. A planta- 

 tion in rows is generally in full perfection 

 the third year, and must always be renewed 

 after the tburtli year. 



Culture in alternate strips. — A still more 

 easy and economical mode is that of growing 

 the strawberry in alternate strips. 



Early in April, or in August, being pro- 

 vided 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 lino about a foot apart in the 

 row. They will soon send out runners, and 

 these runners should be allowed to take pos- 

 session of every alternate strip of three feet 

 — the other strip being kept bare by contin- 

 ually 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 run- 

 ners for the next season's crop. The run- 

 ners from the old strip will now speedily 

 cover the new space allotted to them, and 

 will perhaps require a partial thinning 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 

 epinnage, 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. 



Both of the above modes are so superior 

 to the common one of growing them more 

 closely in bfds, that we shall not give any 

 directions respecting the latter. 



It may be remarked that the Alpine and 

 European Wood strawberries will do well, 

 and bear longer in a rather shaded situation. 

 The Bush-Alpine, an excellent sort, having 

 Ijno runners, makes one of the neatest borders 

 ji for quarters or beds in the kitchen garden, 

 'and produces considerable fruit till the sea- 

 j'son of late frosts. If the May crop of blos- 

 soms is taken off, they will give an abun- 

 j dant crop in September, and they are, there- 

 fore, very desirable in all gardens. 

 ;| To accelerate the ripening of early kinds 

 ! in the open garden, it is only necessary to 

 plant rows or beds on the south side of a 

 wall or tight fence. A still simpler mode, 

 by which their maturity may be hastened 

 ten days, is that of throwing up a ridge of 

 soil three feet high, running east and west, 

 and planting it in rows on the south side. 

 The north side may also be planted with 

 later sorts, which will be somewhat retarded 

 in ripening. The best early sorts for this 

 purpose are Duke of Kent, and Large Early 

 Scarlet. 



Varieties. — The varieties of this fruit are 

 very numerous, indeed quite unnecessarily 

 so for all useful purposes. They have chiefly 

 been originated abroad within the last thirty 

 years. The ditferent species from which 

 the varieties have been raised, have given a 

 character to certain classes of strawberries, 

 pretty distinctly marked. Thus, from our 

 own Wild Strawberry, or Virginia Scarlet, 

 I as it is called abroad, have originated the 

 I Scarlet Strawberries; from the Pine or Suri- 

 [nam Strawberry has been raised the class 

 called Pines. From the common Wood 

 Strawberry of Europe, another class, com- 

 prising the Woods and Alpines. Beside, 

 there are the Hautbois, from a sort, a native 

 |of Bohemia, the Chili Strawberries, from 

 'South America, the Green Strawberries, 

 and the Black Strawberries. 

 i Of these the Pines and the Scarlets are 

 the largest and highest flavoured. The 

 Wood and Alpine Strawberries are valuable 

 j for bearing a long time, and parting freely 

 from the hull or stalk, in picking. — Down- 

 ins'' s Fruits and Fruit Trees. 



More than 35,000 tons of coa] were brought 

 down on the Philadelphia and Reading rail- 

 road during one week in last month, and the 

 amount of transportation is increasing. 



