THE SfRAWBERBY CULTTTKIST. 21 



learn) since the first one-leaved strawberry was grown until the second 

 was fruited by me in 1861. But neither were of any value, except as 

 a botanical curiosity. 



From the Iowa I produced a five leaved variety, and one with leaves 

 having a beautiful silver stripe, but of no value to the cultivator. 



HOW TO RAISE SEEDLINGS. 



To obtain strawberry seed for planting, the berries may be dried 

 perfectly, after which the pulp, by a little rubbing, will be reduced to 

 a fine powder, throughout which the seeds will be distributed ; or the 

 seeds may be washed free from the flesh very readily by mashing the 

 berry in water, when the seeds will fall to the bottom, and the re- 

 mainder can be poured off. But the plan we prefer is as follows : 



When the berries from which you wish to grow seedlings are ripe, 

 they should be mashed and mixed with dry sand, so thoroughly that 

 no two seeds shall remain together, using sufficient sand to absorb all 

 the moisture. Then sow the sand containing the seeds in a bed pre- 

 viously prepared in some half shady place, or under glass ; sift on 

 some fine mold, covering the seeds about an eighth of an inch deep. 

 If the soil is kept moist, the plants will begin to appear in about four 

 weeks, and will continue to come up until cold weather, at which time 

 they should be covered lightly with straw, say one inch deep. The 

 following spring the plants should be set in rows, at least two feet 

 apart, and 18 inches apart in the row. 



Stop all runners every week throughout the season, and keep the 

 beds clean. The second year after transplanting, you will have fruit. 

 Mark sexes of each as they conne into blossom. As the fruit ripens, 

 mark the time and character, select the very best, and destroy all 

 other plants. Lift carefully those that are to be preserved, and put 

 them into new beds where they will have more room to make runners. 

 The correct estimate of the value of any new variety can not be ascer- 

 tained until it has fruited two or three years. For my own part, 1 

 shall never again save a pistillate, although I have done so heretofore 

 extensively, for the purpose of ascertaining by actual experiment 

 whether they were any more likely to be better or more productive 

 than the bisexual or perfect varieties. 



