HORTICULTUEAL JOURNAL. 343 



tained ; and that, in general, all the varieties ought to be gathered before 

 their perfect maturity, which should be attained in the fruit-room. 



G-ard. Chron. 



(From the Germantown Telegraph.) 



STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 



The Strawberry is, and deserves to be, the most extensively cultivated of 

 all our small fruits. Productive, easily cultivated, and equal to any fruit 

 in flavor and general usefulness, it would be strange were it not familiar to 

 every garden. Neither has it lacked notice in horticultural literature. 

 Much valuable information has of late years been disseminated relative to 

 its history and management ; and although there are various opinions held, 

 with reference to its botanical distinctions, its treatment as a fruit-bearing 

 plant is reduced to a matter of certainty. On the former question it is not 

 my present purpose to enter, but beg to offer a few remarks in regard to its 

 general treatment and culture. 



When we consider the habit of growth, season of ripening, and perma- 

 nency of the strawberry plant, we are led to the conclusion that the soil 

 intended for it3 growth should receive the most thorough preparation. Its 

 dwarf, spreading growth is not favorable for after improvement of the soil, 

 farther than what can be derived from applications on the surface. Ripen- 

 ing at a period which, in nine seasons out of ten, is characterized by defi- 

 cient moisture in the soil, and extreme atmospheric aridity, suggests the 

 idea of allowing the roots a deep and rich medium, where they can luxuriate 

 uninfluenced by surface temperature. And when we farther consider that 

 a strawberry plantation should produce at least three crops before removal 

 we may safely aver that the preparation of the soil in the first instance is of 

 the utmost importance. 



This leads us again to tne foundation of all permanent improvement, 

 subsoil culture. Trench the soil at least 18 inches in depth, incorporating a 

 heavy dressing of well-decomposed manure, and if the soil is clayey, or ad- 

 hesive in its nature, an application of charcoal dust will be highly beneficial. 

 As a corrective for clayey soils, charcoal cannot be too highly recommended. 

 In a physical view, it renders the soil porous and permeable to gases, and 

 chemically, its absorbing and disinfecting properties are equally valuable, 

 the amount of ammonia and other gases which it is capable of absorbing, 

 giving it value as a fertilizer. On a soil thus treated, there will be no dan- 



