28 THE STKAWBEBKY CULTTJR1ST. 



have found that a pound of sal soda or common potash to a barrel of 

 water, and the plants watered with the solution, will stimulate them 

 to produce an immense amount of runners. The potash acts upon the 

 vegetable fiber in the soil as well as upon the manure upon the sur- 

 face, decomposing it very rapidly, making it soluble, and conse- 

 quently readily absorbed by the roots. Besides, I have found the 

 plants less troubled by insects and grubs where the potash was used 

 than where it was not. 



The quantity of plants that can be produced from a single plant in 

 one season depends very much upon the character of the variety; 

 some kinds produce many more than others when subjected to the 

 same treatment, and it is not always the most vigorous growers that 

 produce the most runners. 



I planted, in the spring of 1860, four thousand Triomphes de Gand, 

 which produced one hundred thousand the first season, or an average 

 of twenty-five to the plant, without any special care or artificial appli- 

 cation of moisture. The soil was trenched two feet deep, and a 

 liberal supply of manure given it before planting. "With the Downer's 

 Prolific, I have grown at an average rate of one hundred to the plant. 

 An increase of fifty to one is a good yield, but one hundred to one 

 is not uncommon. 



The young plants are usually taken up in September, at which time 

 there are many plants on the runners that are not well rooted. These 

 may be planted close together in a bed previously prepared and raado 

 very rich ; give them a good soaking of water so as to settle the soil 

 around them ; then cover with hay or straw, just enough to shade the 

 plants, and give an occasional watering if the weather should prove 

 dry. In this position the plants will soon throw out new roots, and 

 in a week or ten days the covering may be removed. Small, partially 

 rooted plants, if treated in this manner, will become good, strong 

 plants by the time cold weather sets in, at which time they should I* 

 again covered, and transplanted in the following spring. 



The small, unrooted runners may also be potted in small pots, and 

 placed in a greenhouse, or in frames that have been used for hot-beds ; 

 if there is a little heat remaining in it, so much the better. When 

 treated ttius, they will make better plants than when planted in tlw 



