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of what used to be called Wild Strawberries, the cultiva- 

 tion of which is receiving the greatest attention. The 

 soil at Cronberg, being strong, is very good for growing 

 Strawberries. When I arrived last year the main crop 

 was just over, but the cultivated Alpines appeared in 

 large quantities at every meal. These improved Alpine 

 Strawberries last all through the summer and late on 

 into the autumn. I never can understand why this class 

 of Strawberry is so much neglected in all English gardens. 

 They are rather troublesome to pick, and have to be done 

 with clean hands, as they come to table without their 

 stalks. 



In the ' Horticultural Journal ' for January 1899, 

 there is a most interesting article by the great improver of 

 the whole family of Alpine Strawberries M. Vilmorin 

 which will do away with any excuse of not understanding 

 their cultivation. But I will not quote from it, as anyone 

 can get the number of the ' Journal ' who is sufficiently 

 interested in the subject to wish for the last word. Up 

 to the present I have never been successful in producing 

 fruit in any sufficient quantity to make the growing of 

 these Strawberries seem worth while, but I mean to try 

 with improved knowledge to see if it cannot be done even 

 on this sandy soil. A neighbour of mine has been most 

 successful ; but a vein of clay runs through his garden, 

 which is a helpful point, not to mention his greater 

 knowledge and experience on the subject, having pre- 

 viously grown them in France. He kindly wrote out for 

 me the system which he practises in the growing of this 

 most useful and healthful little fruit, called the ' Improved 

 Alpine Strawberry ' : * To obtain these large and abundant, 

 it is necessary to grow them on young plants (certainly 

 not more than three years old) and plants originally 

 grown from seed. The fruit degenerates rapidly, if grown 

 on runners from an old plant. Select the best seed. I 



