44 The Strawberry Book. 
erally the central one produced by the first blossom, all 
others having been cut off. 
‘a The berries that are to furnish seed, whether crossed or 
not, should be allowed to get fully ripe before they are 
gathered. As soon as picked they should be crushed, and 
mixed thoroughly with fifty or a hundred times their vol- 
ume of clean, dry sand, to absorb the juice and divide the 
seeds evenly among the mass. A bed of deep, very rich, 
and dry soil having been prepared, the sand and seeds 
mixed should be sprinkled over the surface, very lightly 
raked in, the soil thoroughly watered, and a frame and 
sashes put on over the whole. If the planting be made 
in the middle of July, young plants may be expected to 
appear during the first week in August, if the sashes have 
been kept closed and the soil well wetted every day. As 
soon as the yeung plants appear in numbers they should 
be shaded. This is best done by whitening the glass. 
The frames may then be kept closed a good part of the 
time, and the seedlings will grow so vigorously that they 
will bear transplanting in a few weeks to the bed where 
they are to remain and fruit. This method is well adapt- 
ed for bringing seedling vines into bearing in the shortest 
possible time, as they get a very strong growth the first 
year. 
Another way, involving even less trouble, is this: Sow 
the mixed sand and seed on a bed of rich soil in July, 
and rake it in lightly, putting on no sash atall. <A few 
seeds will germinate in August and September, but by 
far the greater number will come up the next spring, and 
should be thinned and transplanted as soon as large 
enough. In either case the young plants must be pro- 
tected, at the approach of winter, by a thick covering of 
leaves and pine boughs. This is absolutely necessary to 
prevent heaving by frost and thaw. 
The seedlings should be transplanted into beds of rich 
earth, encouraged to make stout, stocky plants, and to this 
