JULY 385 



grew mine from Vilmorin's No. 17,239 fraisier des 

 quatres saisons " Berger " 0.60 centimes per packet. This 

 is cheaper than yourself selecting, maturing, and preparing 

 the seeds, which probably would mature less thoroughly 

 here than under the hot summer sun in France. Sow in 

 March in a shallow box or pan under glass, well watered* 

 in soil as follows : one half of thoroughly well-rotted leaf- 

 mould, one quarter of sand, one quarter of light loam. 

 Cover with a glass, as usual, until they begin to grow. 

 Very moderate heat. Prepare in a well-sheltered border 

 exposed to the sun a strip of soil two and a half feet wide. 

 Mix in plenty of well-rotted manure from an old hot-bed 

 with the light loam of the open border. Plant the young 

 seedlings in a row down the middle of this strip about 

 five inches apart. Water them well, and shade them for 

 a few days till their roots have taken good hold of the 

 ground. Then they will grow rapidly and produce large 

 leaves and strong runners, which must be laid out across 

 the piece of ground on either side of the plants. Any 

 runners beyond this first break should be cut off. The 

 runners and the plant are left to grow together till about 

 September, when the off-sets will have rooted and grown, 

 and the strip of soil will be covered with rich leaves and 

 strong, healthy, young, plants. In winter, or early next 

 March, prepare the bed in which they are intended to 

 fruit : light loam with fair quantity of old leaf-mould or 

 rotted old hot-bed manure. There should not be more 

 than four rows in one bed without a small path, in order 

 to facilitate the cropping and the cutting-off of runners 

 later on. The rows should be fifteen to eighteen inches 

 apart, and in these rows plant, in March, the rooted 

 runners of the seedling with as good balls as you can 

 get. They will begin to bear about July, and will go on 

 bearing until the frost comes in October or November, if 

 they have been kept well watered in hot weather, and the 



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