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the female, and grow to vigorous, healthy plants, which tempt the 
growers; their selection will, however, only lead to so many barren 
plants being planted. 
The conclusion growers should draw from these notes is that 
although pistillate sorts are highly profitable, they should not be 
planted alone, but other sorts with perfect flowering organs should 
be planted amongst them. 
Propagation Strawberries are propagated from seeds, run- 
ners, and divisions of the roots. Propagation by seeds is only re- 
sorted to for raising new varieties or crosses. 
“Runners” are the most common way of propagating straw- 
berries. To ensure their rooting, the surface of the soil should be 
kept loose and open. Mr. G. Whittington, once of the Orchard In- 
spection Staff of the Department of Agriculture, thus expresses the 
method of preserving strong suckers: “Starting to make a fresh 
plantation, the first three runners shooting from three-year-old 
stock should be laid down between the rows, and small pieces of 
wood placed upon them to keep them in position. If the soil is 
loose and moist, the young plant will soon take root. As soon as the 
young plant has developed a few leaves, the runners proceeding 
from it should be pinched off and all other runners separated from 
the parent plant. At the end of the season the young plants are 
severed from the parents, taken up and planted out. Strong plants 
are thus obtained.” Root division is seldom employed except with 
the Bush Alpine Strawberries, which produce few or no runners. 
In the early spring take up the stools and divide them, leaving only 
one crown to the plant. If the old root is very long, cut off the lower 
end. 
Soil and Location.—Strawberries adapt themselves to a wide 
range of soil and location. Too much sand or too much clay should 
be avoided. Like the other small fruits, the strawberry needs a rich, 
well-drained, and moist soil. In Western Australia the soil which, as 
yet, has been found best adapted to the cultivation of the greater 
number of varieties is the soil which, as on the slopes of the Darling 
Ranges and the undulating country of the lower plain below, sup- 
ports in its natural state spear wood thickets and red gum with 
bracken. Such a soil consists of a deep light loam, warm in colour, 
well drained and generally moist, overlying a stiffer subsoil at a 
depth of 18 to 24 inches; of the various species of strawberries the 
wild wood strawberry (F’. vesca) and the Hautbois (F. elatior) do 
well on light sandy loams. Calcareous soil of a drier nature suits 
the Bush Alpine (F. collina), a section of F. vesca. A rich clayey 
loam, moist, but well drained, is better suited to F. virginiana, and 
most of the large fruit strawberries. A stiff heavy clay and soil 
that is liable to become very dry in a short period is unsuitable, 
and should be avoided; on such soils once the growth of the plants 
