CHAPTER XL. 



th£ strawberry. 



It is uncertain how the name " strawberry " origi- 

 nated, but it is a fact patent to all that it is applied to 

 the earliest, most beautiful and most delicious of small 

 fruits. 



Strawberries should find a welcome at every home. 

 No spot of ground on the farm will give so rich returns 

 as the strawberry bed that receives the proper attention, 

 and in field culture the profits are sometimes almost fab- 

 ulous. The plants are raised principally from runners, 

 which are thrown out after fruiting, take root during 

 the summer and autumn, and are ready to trans- 

 plant in the fall or the following spring. One hundred root- 

 ed runners are sometimes taken from a single plant in one 

 season. While the strawberry will grow and bear crops 

 on almost any kind of soil, with the most indifferent treat- 

 ment, to give the best results, it requires a deep, rich soil, 

 good cultivation and abundance of moisture. It is indeed 

 a gross feeder, and there is little danger that the supply 

 of nutriment will be too great. 



Almost any kind of manure is received with thanks, 

 and a top dressing of ashes is very highly appreciated. 



A large number of varieties have been Introduced, 

 many of which have special merits that adapt them to 

 certain localities, but it often happens that the variety 

 which succeeds best at one place is wholly unsuited to 

 another. Hence, in making large plantings of the straw- 

 berry it is best to use only such kinds as are known to 

 succeed in the particular locality. Some varieties of this 

 fruit are bisexual, or have perfect flowers, and produce 

 fruit when planted alone ; others have imperfect flowers, 

 and are either entirely barren, or bear fruit only when 

 ther flowers are fertilized with the pollen from other 



