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GENERAL CATALOGUE. 31 



STRAWBERRIES. 



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DIRECTIONS FOR CULTURE. 



The Soil and its Preparation.— The Strawberry may be successfully grown in any soil adapted, 

 to the g-rowth of ordinary field or garden crops. The ground should be well prepared by trenching- 

 or plowing-, at least eighteen or twenty inches deep, and be properly enriched as for any garden crop. 

 It is unnecessary to say ^ lat, if the land is wet, it must be thoroughly drained. 



To Cultivate the Strawberry.— For family use, we recommend planting in beds four feet wide 

 with an alley two feet wide between. These beds will accommodate three rows of plants, which 

 may stand fifteen inches apart each way, and the outside row nine inches from the alley. The beds. 

 can be kept clean, and the fruit can be gathered from them without setting the feet upon them. 



Cultvire in Hills.— This is the best mode that can be adopted for the garden. To obtain fine,, 

 large, high-flavored fruit, pinch off the runners as fast as they appear, repeating the operation as: 

 often as may be necessary during the summer and early autumn. Every runner thus removed pro- 

 duces a new crown in the center of the plant, and in the fall the plants will have formed large bushes 

 or stools, on which the finest strawberries may be expected the following season. In the meantime 

 the ground among the plants should be kept clear of weeds, and frequently stirred with a hoe or fork. 



Covering: in Winter. — Where the winters are severe, with little snow for protection, a slight cov- 

 ering of leaves or litter, or the branches of evergi*eens, will be of great service. This covering- 

 should not be placed over the plants until after the ground is frozen, usually from the middle of 

 November till the first of December in this locality. Fatal errors are often made by putting on t<io^ 

 much and too early. Care must also be taken to remove the covering in the spring, just as soon as^ 

 the plants begin to grow. 



Mulching to Keep the Fruit Clean.— Before the fruit begins to ripen, mulch the ground 

 among the plants with short hay or straw, or grass mowings from the lawn, or anything of that sort. 

 This will not only keep the fruit clean, but will prevent the ground fi-om drying or baking, and thu& 

 lengthen the fruiting season. Tan bark can also be used as a mulch. 



A bed managed in this way will give two full crops, and should then be spaded or plowed, 

 down, a new one in the meantime having been prepared to take its place. 



The plants xvhich ive usually furnish are tvell rooted layers from the open ground. 



Plants by Mail.— For the convenience of those who cannot be i-eached by the express compames,^ 

 we will forward by mail, pre-paid, layer plants of most of the varieties enumerated in this list. 

 J^" At the dozen rate the pla^tts will be mailed at the prices annexed, without extra charge. At the. 

 hundred rate, if sent by mail, 25 cents additional, per hundred plants, must be remitted for postage^ 

 This is an actvxil outlay for postage. 



POT GROWN PLANTS. 



Ready for Shipment after July 15th. 



Of late this kind of plant has become very popular and is almost exclusively employed for garden 

 planting. The failures are few, and much care and labor are avoided. We grow the plants in thumb 

 pots, and when they are well established and ready to ship, we turn them out of the pots, preserving 

 the ball of earth around the roots and wrapping it in paper. In this way during the hottest weather 

 in July and August, plants can be transported safely. Plants set out in July or August urill yield a, 

 moderate crop next season. These cannot be sent by mail. A separate list of Pot Qrown Straw- 

 berry Plants will be issued in July. 



