1012 



Gardening for Amateurs 



the current year's growth every chance to 

 develop and ripen properly, for they will 

 produce fruit the following year. Let the 

 young canes be tied loosely to the trellis or 

 stakes, cutting off the tips of the longest of 

 them. Sometimes more shoots develop from 

 each root (or " stool," as it is called) than are 

 wanted ; five or six are quite enough, and 

 if there are more, let the weaker ones be cut 

 out. If the suckers which appear during 

 summer are not wanted for increasing the 

 plantation, let them be forked up as soon 

 as they appear above ground, as they rob 

 the soil unnecessarily. 



Varieties are numerous, and the follow- 

 ing is a selection of the best : Superlative 

 is probably still the best red Raspberry ; 

 Devon (red) is good and productive ; 

 Norwich Wonder (red) is particularly valu- 

 able, as it ripens earlier than other sorts. 

 Guinea Gold is an excellent yellow variety, 

 much liked for dessert. 



Autumn-fruiting Raspberries. There has 

 been a remarkable improvement in these 

 varieties during the last few years. Those 

 who like the Raspberry, either for cooking or 

 for dessert, should not fail to plant a few 

 autumn-fruiting sorts in their garden. They 

 need the same treatment as already described 

 for the ordinary varieties, with the import- 

 ant exception of pruning, which is quite dif- 

 ferent. The fruit of the autumn Raspberries 

 is borne on the stems of the current year's 

 growth, and pruning consists of cutting these 

 shoots almost to the ground in winter or 

 early spring. Surplus sucker growths should 

 be pulled up as they appear, unless it is 

 wished to increase the stock ; not more 

 than five or six stems or shoots ought to 

 be allowed to remain on each root. 



Among varieties, Hailsham is one of the 

 best, the fruit being of large size, dark red 

 colour, and of good flavour ; Alexandra 

 (red) bears a heavy crop of richly flavoured 

 fruits ; November Abundance is a late and 

 prolific red sort ; October Yellow is a 

 handsome deep yellow variety, sweet and 

 pleasantly flavoured. 



Strawberry. The Strawberry has al- 

 ways been a great favourite with amateurs, 

 for it is a luscious fruit, easy to grow, and 

 practically the first to ripen out of doors. 



An increased stock may be obtained either 



by seed or by runners. The former method 

 is rarely resorted to, except for the purpose 

 of raising new varieties. Those wishing to 

 attempt this may be interested in learning 

 of the method to adopt, which is as follows : 

 Sow the seed as soon as the fruit is ripe in 

 shallow, well-drained boxes or pans of light 

 sandy soil. Cover the seeds with not more 

 than J inch of soil. The boxes are placed 

 in a cold frame or greenhouse during winter, 

 and in spring the seedlings will vegetate. 

 As soon as they are large enough to handle, 

 say towards the end of April, plant them in 

 rows out of doors. At the end of August 

 they may be planted permanently in clumps 

 of three, each clump 15 inches apart. The 

 plants will yield fruit the following June. 

 The fruit may be good, bad, or indifferent, 

 and it remains for the grower to select the 

 best varieties and then to increase them by 

 runners. 



Layering. Nature has made wonderful 

 provision for the increase of the Strawberry 

 in the numerous small plants that are pro- 

 duced on the stalk-like growths and called 

 runners. Sometimes there are as many as 

 from eight to twelve on each plant, though 

 not more than three or four should be layered. 

 To ensure good crops the following year, it 

 is necessary to layer the earliest and finest 

 runners, and these are found on the stafk 

 nearest the parent root. The best method of 

 layering is to fill 3-inch pots with loamy soil, 

 sinking the pots in the ground round the 

 old plants and within reach of the runners. 

 Place one runner or small plant on the top 

 of the soil in each pot, and secure it by 

 means of a wire or wooden peg. Keep the 

 soil moist, and when, in four or five weeks, the 

 pots are full of roots, detach the layers from 

 the parent plants by severing the stalk, and 

 place the pots in a sunny place on a gravel 

 or ash base, and be careful to keep the soil 

 moist. If plants show signs of an attack 

 of mildew, dip them in water arid sprinkle 

 heavily with flowers of sulphur. Keep them 

 away from healthy plants for a week or 

 two, and, if necessary, apply the sulphur a 

 second time. 



Planting a Strawberry Bed. The plants 

 will be ready for planting in their permanent 

 quarters the second or third week in August. 

 By planti them thus early they become 



