162 FRUIT GARDEN. 
centre of the flower, are termed staminate or perfect 
blossoms. 
In the United States, strawberry plants are set out 
either in the spring months of March and April, or in the 
months of August and September. A good size for beds 
is four feet wide with three rows of plants about fifteen 
inches apart. The beds may have walks two or two anda 
half feet wide for the workers or pickers to meve in. 
After the middle of July, the runners not required to 
produce fresh plants are to be clipped off or otherwise 
destroyed. The beds should be weeded so that the soil 
may be kept clean and open, and in light soils a few inches 
of well-rotted leaf mold should be dug in between the rows 
every fall. Where exposed to severe cold, some straw or 
rough litter should be lightly spread over the beds in win- 
ter. In dry seasons, after the plants have done blooming, 
it will generally be of great service to the fruit to have the 
beds occasionally watered with weak liquid manure of some 
kind, either the draining from the cattle yard or other 
fertilizing liquid. A solution of guano, in the proportion 
of one Ib. to six or eight gallons of water, will answer very 
well. Manure must generally be given in some way or 
other if very large fruit is wanted. As the beds will not 
generally produce well longer than three or four years, it 
is requisite to have a succession of new ones coming on in 
other places. It is recommended to set out the female 
plants, with the exception of every fifth bed, which is to 
consist of males. The clean straw or tan usually placed 
about the plants to keep the fruit from the ground or sand, 
should be put round in early spring before the blooming. 
A deep, light rich loam is the best soil for the straw- 
berry, and where nature has not placed this at the conveni- 
ence of the planter, he should have recourse to trenching. 
