320 The Profitable Culture of Vegetables. 



ground for several years, small areas should be bastard 

 trenched and large areas subsoil ploughed, but when the 

 plantation is only to be cropped for one or two seasons good 

 ordinary cultivation will serve every purpose. Newly-broken 

 pasture land is unsuitable; it should have been previously 

 cultivated for at least one season, to reduce such pests as wire- 

 worms, surface caterpillars, leather jackets and cockchafer 

 grubs, which harbour in old grass fields, and also so that the 

 soil, by the decay of the sod, may be brought into the compact 

 condition in which the Strawberry thrives best. 



For summer or autumn planting, the preparation of the soil 

 should be completed as long as possible beforehand, so that it 

 may become settled down before the plants are set out. For 

 spring planting it is advisable, when possible, to ridge up the 

 soil before winter, so that it may be made mellow and friable 

 by the action of the weather. 



Runners. When the Strawberry plant begins to flower it 

 puts forth long, slender, bare, cord-like branches, known as 

 "runners." When these branches have attained a certain length 

 their extremities become swollen and bear a cluster of leaves, 

 and from the under surface roots are emitted. These roots 

 enter the soil as soon as they come in contact with it, and thus 



the cluster begins a 

 separate existence at 

 a short distance from 

 the parent plant. The 

 runners do not end 

 Strawberry Runner. w ith the production 



of one cluster of leaves, but each continues growing throughout 

 the summer until four or five new plants have been formed in 

 succession. If the runners are cut off the plant will produce 

 fresh ones. All varieties are not equally prolific in the produc- 

 tion of runners, some few being rather shy in this respect. 

 In any batch of plants there are often a few " blind " ones 

 those which form neither flower nor fruit and such are always 

 fine looking plants with bold foliage, and are the most prolific 

 in the production of early and vigorous runners ; they should 

 be searched for when the plants are blooming and destroyed, 

 as plants propagated from them are likely to be barren also. 



