1 82 MY GARDEN. 



far surpass the earlier forced, or even the outdoor fruit ; and they are 

 a great luxury during the month of May and the first week of June. 



Out of doors we change the beds, according to circumstances, every 

 two or three years, and we generally keep each plant distinct in rows 

 two feet apart, and two feet distant in the row. About February the 

 whole bed should be covered with fresh long dung. The spring rains 

 thoroughly clean the straw and wash the manure into the ground, 

 and a. good covering is left for the strawberries to ripen. It is 

 objectionable to manure the strawberries in winter, as then the straw 

 is thoroughly rotted before the fruiting season, and the wet during 

 the winter is apt to rot the plants. In spring, the young leaves push 

 through the straw, and are protected by it from frost. 



One of the varieties of strawberries we grow is the Black Prince 

 (fig. 346), which ripens out of doors the first week of June. When ripe 

 it is a first-rate fruit. It is small but hardy,, and in some years (as 1871) 



FIG. 346. Black FIG. 347. Keen's Seedling. 



Prince. 1 JG. 348. British Queen. FIG. 349. Amateur. 



yields a greater crop and finer strawberry than any other kind. It 

 remains some time in fruit, and when larger strawberries succeed it is 

 useful for preserving. The plant is small, the leaves are peculiar, and it 

 is better to let it stand for some years in the bed. There is another 

 early strawberry, called the May Queen, which is unworthy of culti- 

 vation. Following the Black Prince, the great standard strawberry 

 of gardens,- the Keen's Seedling (fig. 347), ripens. As a rule it yields 

 a larger crop than any other, but exceptionally in 1871 it yielded 

 none at all ; the entire fruit having then been destroyed by frost. The 

 Keen's Seedling is the strawberry for forcing, as well as for the main 

 crop, and therefore never should be dispensed with. Then follows 

 1 All figures of strawberries are drawn one-half the natural size. 



