STR 



[ 855 ] 



S.TR 



ceivetl in May, a profusion of runners 

 will have been produced, the rambling 

 foliage from which will obstruct the 

 light from the older and principal 

 leaves, which have from this time 

 forward the important office of pre- 

 paring for the formation of the ensuing 

 year's blossom. The waste runners 

 should therefore be trimmed away as 

 soon as possible, for they also exhaust 

 the soil by their roots. In cutting 

 away these runners, great cave must be 

 exercised, in preserving all the true 

 leaves, which must by no means be 

 cut. No further trimming need be 

 practised until the following March, in 

 the early part of which all the decayed 

 and injured foliage may be cut away. 

 The rows being three feet apart, at the 

 end of October, one foot in the centre 

 only is to be dug, thus leaving the 

 plants one foot of roots on each side 

 entirely undisturbed. Introduce some 

 decayed manure annually in this 

 centre, and the small amount of loss 

 of root is more than compensated by 

 the volume of new white fibres, which, 

 by the month of May following, have 

 fully invested the new ground. The 

 dung or vegetable matter should be 

 somewhat fresh ; such is preferable to 

 rotten manure. 



Making new plantations. Trenching 

 should be had recourse to, going as 

 deep as the good soil will permit, 

 placing the manure necessary i>rinci- 

 pally between the two spits. If the soil 

 be shallow, of course the manure will 

 be dug down with a single spit. If 

 good runners can be obtained early in 

 July, and carefully cultivated, they may 

 be expected to bear a respectable crop 

 the following summer. From those 

 planted in February of course little 

 can be expected. It is by far the best 

 to keep a little nursery for runners in 

 a very open situation, and the plants a 

 long way apart. 



Strawberry Walls or Banks. These 

 have been highly recommended, and 

 are, doubtless, very useful, as heighten- 

 ing flavour. They have, however, 

 never become very general, owing to 

 their being rather expensive in con- 

 structing. A strawberry wall, in the 

 direction of east and west, would be a 



useful adjunct in high gardening, if 

 properly managed. On the south side, 

 plant the Black Prince and the Keen's 

 Seedling ; and on the north side the 

 Elton. The former would ripen a fort- 

 night earlier than ordinary ones, and 

 the latter continue bearing until Oc- 

 tober. These walls may be built of 

 any kind of material which will main- 

 tain its position, and should be as near 

 to an angle of 45 as can be approached. 

 They may be thus constructed 



Strawberry Forcing. One principal 

 point here, is to obtain very early run- 

 ners, which is generally effected by 

 laying the earliest in small pots, in a 

 sound compost. These, when full of 

 roots, are repotted into larger ones ; and 

 the whole business henceforth is to give 

 them kindly cultivation, as to regular 

 waterings, &c., and by keeping them in 

 an open situation. By the end of Sep- 

 j tember they will possess stout buds, 

 j and must be plunged up to their rims 

 ! for the winter. Forcing must be com- 

 I menced very gently, with plenty of 

 ; atmospheric moisture, say, commence 

 I with the temperature at 55, and rise 

 i gradually by the time the leaf is tho- 

 ; roughly developed, to 60, and the less 

 advance that is made beyond this the 

 I better, except in sunny weather. They 

 | love to be near the glass, and to have 

 abundance of air. 



Culture of the Alpines. Sow seed 

 from choice fruit at the end of January, 

 in gentle heat, and prick the seedlings 

 out into boxes, still under glass, in 

 rich soil. Towards the end of April, 

 the plants, having been hardened off, 

 may be planted out finally; and an 

 elevated bed, in a sunny situation, 

 I should be chosen. They may be planted 

 | in double rows, half-a-yard apart in 

 the row, and the rows two feet apart. 

 The soil should be a rich loam ; and 

 when they are fruiting, some slates or 

 tiles may be placed beneath them, as 



