156 FRUIT GARDEN. 



piest success. Early in spring he sowed the seed in flower- 

 pots, which were put into a hotbed; and as soon as the 

 plants attained a sufficient size, they were transplanted 

 into the open ground. They began to blossom soon after 

 midsummer, and continued to produce fruit till interrupted 

 by frost. Thus Mr. Knight is inclined to treat the alpine 

 strawberry as an annual plant. The same practice has 

 been recommended in France by M. Morel de V hide" ( Cat. 

 Hort. Mem., vol. iii.) ; but he very properly preserves his 

 plants for three years, spwing every year a successional 

 crop. Mr. Keen has applied this method of culture to the 

 wood strawberry ; and we doubt not but it might be ex- 

 tended with beneficial effects to the Old Scarlet and others 

 of the less artificial varieties. 



A clayey soil or strong loam is considered as best suited 

 to strawberry plants. On a sandy or very light soil they 

 seldom succeed in England ; and in very close situations, 

 and over-rich ground, most varieties produce little else 

 than leaves. Before planting, the ground should be 

 trenched, or digged over deeply, and when stiff and com- 

 pact it should be very carefully worked. Keen, and 

 others in the neighborhood of London, grow their straw- 

 berries in beds, three rows in each, with an alley between 

 them. The market-gardeners of Edinburgh, who, in the 

 culture of this fruit, are perhaps not excelled by any, 

 plant in rows two feet asunder, and from a foot to fifteen 

 inches in the rows. When the weather is dry, the young 

 plants are watered till they be well established. As little 

 fruit is produced the first year, a line of carrots, onions, or 

 other vegetables, is often sown between the rows for one 

 season. In May the runners are cut off, with the view of 

 promoting the swelling of the fruit. During dry weather, 

 careful cultivators water their plants while in flower, and 



