STR 



STR 



" Trenching the ground a foot and 

 a half deep, and mixing pk'iity of 

 \veli-r()lled dung willi the soil that is 

 brought to the surface, is the best 

 preparation. 



"The time of planting is the first 

 week in August for the offsets of the 

 first spring runners, nlways choosing 

 those that are large, and rejecting 

 small ones. During the first year, 

 cut off all ruimers as they appear. 

 Any time from October to May will 

 do for planting out old stools which 

 have borne fruit once. Those which 

 liave borne twice are good for no- 

 thing, and should be thrown away. 



"The offsets may be planted in a 

 single row along the borders of the 

 walks, at ten or fifteen inches apart : 

 if another row be made, it ought to 

 be filteen inches from the other; 

 they may also be planted in clumps 

 of three or more together, six inches 

 or less apart, and tlirec feet between 

 the clumps. Beds with four rows 

 each, and two feet between the beds 

 for cabbages, answer well. But the 

 best situation for planting strawber- 

 ries is where a row of dwarf apple, 

 pear, or other trees is grown on ei- 

 ther or both sides of a walk, to have 

 a bed of strawberries, four or five feet 

 wide, beneath them ; for in this situa- 

 tion they will be afforded that degree 

 of shade which is necessary for them 

 in dry weather, without injuring the 

 trees or being injured by them. In 

 these beds they should first be plant- 

 ed in fijur rows, two on each side of 

 the trees, and the oflsets from these 

 should be allowed to spread so as to 

 extend themselves over the whole of 

 the bed, only cutting off annually 

 those that are disposed to wander 

 from the prescribed bounds of the 

 bed. A strawberry bed of this de- 

 scription would produce a far great- 

 er crop than if planted out in single 

 rows, and will continue bearing for 

 a greater number of years, as well as 

 be less liable to injury from drought. 



" It is important to fix the roots 

 well in the ground, otherwise they 

 may be drawn out by earth worms, 

 or pushed out of the ground on a 

 thaw succeeding a hard frost. 

 760 



I " The best sorts are Keen's seed- 

 ling, Hovey's seedling, Myatt's Brit- 

 ish Queen, Swamstone's seedling, 

 old pine, red wood, the roseberry, and 

 the haulbois. The scarlet is the ear- 

 liest, and the small red Alpine, which 

 some say is best when raised from 

 seed, others say best from runners, 

 planted in August or September, at 

 SIX inches distance, will produce fruit 

 from the end of May till the frost sets 

 in. For a late crop, ail the fiower 

 stems should be cut off as they show, 

 up to the end of June. 



" .Strawl)erries are much injured by 

 hot, dry weather, and therefore they 

 must be abundantly supplied with wa- 

 ter when this occurs, particularly just 

 as the blossom falls ; but the blossom 

 must not be wetted. Weeds must 

 be cleared off, but in stirring the 

 earth wiih a fork, not with a spade, 

 care must be taken not to go too near 

 the roots, as recnmmended by some. 

 Birds must be guarded against, as 

 well as snails and slugs, which would 

 eat the blooms and spoil the fruit. 

 Pieces of slate, tiles, tin, boards, or, 

 what is preferable, hay, straw, or dry 

 moss, should be laid three or four 

 inches thick under the fruit as it be- 

 comes ripe, to keep it clean from 

 sand: but this precaution is seldom 

 necessary. The superfluous runners 

 and dead leaves should be removed 

 in September. What are termed male 

 or barren plants should always be 

 grubbed up." 



STREAK. In mineralogy, the 

 mark left by a mineral when drawn 

 along the surface of paper. 



STREET MANURE. The sweep, 

 ings of streets, consisting of the dung 

 of animals, vegetable garbage, earthy 

 matters, rubbish from buildings, soot, 

 &c. It is necessarily of very differ- 

 ent values. It is chiefly useful to 

 lighten stiff soils, and may be used 

 at the rate of 20 to 30 loads the 

 acre. 



STRENGTH. "In mechanics, 

 this term is used in the same sense 

 as force or power. Thus, strength 

 of animals is the muscular force or 

 energy which animals are capable of 

 exerting ; strength of materials is the 



