182 



TITE CANADIAN HORTrCCLTURIST. 



Put it on light land, give it just enough 

 manure to tantalize it, cut the runners 

 now and then, and you will have some 

 very fine berries which the birds and 

 casual visitors will reduce to about one- 

 tenth the number of quarts that you 

 would get from Wilson or Crescent on 

 the same ground. Its one of the easiest 

 berries to lose money on that I have 

 ti'ied. 



But let the owner of a rich loamy lot 

 near to a city or largo town set it out 

 eighteen inches apart in the row, rows 

 three feet apart, mulch the whole ground 

 with well rotted manure and promptly 

 repress all weeds and runners, and I 

 should expect him to average at least a 

 pint per plant under average conditions 

 of climate. Will that pay 1 



The blossom of the Sharpless seems 

 tender, often blasting with a slight late 

 spring frost that varieties like Crescent, 

 with hardier blossoms, would escape. 

 But it is rather a late variety so that 

 the frosts ai-e generally over before 

 it is out in full blossom. 



Of newer varieties, — Cornelia, At- 

 lantic, Lacon, ifec. I must acquire more 

 experience before speaking positively. 

 Have any " Horticulturist" readers tested 

 them 1 



EDIBLE MUSHROOMS. 

 In cutting out, pulling off edible 

 mushrooms which are more commonly 

 grown by what is called a brick of 

 spawn, but more i>roperly named myo- 

 silium, the mushroom is only the 

 flower, the plant is under ground, care 

 should be taken to cover up at once 

 with earth the detached part of the 

 stem so as to prevent the fungus flv 

 from depositing its eggs, the grubs of 

 which will speedily destroy the whole 

 plant. This modus operandi is well 

 understood in some i)arts of Europe 

 where mushrooms form an essential 

 part of food. j^ 



Berlin, 6th April, 18S5. 



'THE JUCUNDA STRAWBERRY-HOW 

 TO GROW IT. 



The Jucunda is the grandest berry 

 that ever appeared in our markets. It 

 has always brought the highest jnico, 

 and large quantities of other varieties 

 have been sold for it. It has been in- 

 troduced under new names, as Abra- 

 ham Lincoln, Field's E.xcelsior, cfcc. 

 One grower sold over 300 bushels from 

 a day's picking, at $1G a bushel. It 

 has brought a dollar a pint — ten cents 

 a berry. Notwithstanding, it is now 

 rarely found in market, and but few 

 raise it for home use. This is because 

 it requii-es more skill and cai^e in its 

 culture than the average grower can 

 give. 



It originated in Europe, and the 

 plant is not quite as vigorous and hardy 

 as our native varieties. The young 

 plants are always small and their roots 

 seem to be too tender to resist mueh 

 freezing and thawing, for this variety 

 is amon" the first to {jet heaved out. 

 Its blossoms ai'e perfect, and it con- 

 tinues in bearing a long time. The fruit 

 is very large, roundish, conical, and 

 quite uniform in shape and size ; color, 

 very bright glossy scai'let ; flesh, firm 

 and sweet with a peculiar musky fla- 

 vour that nearly every one enjoys. 



The idea prevails that the Jucunda 

 can be grown only on heavy soil ; but 

 this is a mistake. I have had it in 

 great perfection on light sand. We 

 might as well learn first as last that 

 plants do not live on the soil, but on 

 the plant food contained in it, and this 

 food can only be taken up in solution, 

 and when the air can circulate in the 

 soil about the roots. This is the reason 

 why stirring the soil promotes growth, 

 and why florists use unglazed pots and 

 soil that remains porous. When a crust 

 is allowed to form on the sui-face plants 

 make but little growth, and if the roots 

 renuiin any length of time under water 

 growth ceases entirely and death will 



