386 MORE POT-POURRI 



runners trimmed off. In November cut off any remain- 

 ing runners, mulch them well, and they will stand all 

 through the winter. The second year they will bear, 

 from May to November, good large fruit about an inch 

 long and half an inch across. They should be gathered 

 with clean hands and allowed to drop off their stalks into 

 the basket. If they do not drop to-day, they will next day 

 or the day after, as they should be quite ripe. They will 

 stand plenty of sunshine if they are watered in propor- 

 tion to the heat of the weather. The fruit-bearing stems, 

 in the best kinds, are strong and stand up above the 

 leaves, so that the bloom coming on may be in full 

 light and warmth. The leaves should never flag. Treat 

 the bed the same way in the next winter, mulching, etc. 

 This is the result : first year, sowing and producing the 

 plants ; second year, a good half-crop, July to November ; 

 third year, a spring crop and autumn crop. The fourth 

 year the autumn crop will not be so large ; but if they are 

 sown every year, as they should be, a subsequent sowing 

 will be bearing its first autumn crop. It is possible to 

 try a late summer sowing to crop the following autumn ; 

 the runners must be taken off in the same way. Although 

 the plants bear any amount of frost, a short light frost 

 during blooming-time will turn the yellow centres of the 

 flowers black, which means no fruit there. It is well, 

 therefore, to be able to protect the beds by tiffany or 

 bracken fixed between two laths. It is well, also, to have 

 some natural shelter against the north and north-east 

 winds.' This last sentence is a most useful hint for any 

 Strawberries, and I shall certainly adopt it, as my first 

 crop is constantly destroyed by these spring frosts. 



While in Germany I saw beautiful beds of these 

 Alpine Strawberries bearing profusely. The gardener 

 told me that the way he managed them was to strike the 

 runners off the young plants early in August and plant 



