CATALOGUE OF STRAWBERRIES, BULBS, ETC. 



STRAWBERRIES. 



DIRECTIONS FOR CULTURE. 



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

 the growth of ordinary field or garden crops. The ground should be luell prepared by trenching or 

 plowing, at least eighteen or twenty inches deep, and be p7-operly enriched as for any garden crop. It is 

 unnecessary to say that, 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 accomodate 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. 



Culture 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 produces a new crown 

 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 

 w^eeds, and frequently stirred with a hoe or fork. 



Covering in Winter. — Where the winters are severe, w^ith little snow for protection, a slight cover- 

 ing of leaves or litter, or the branches of evergreens, 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 too 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 grqund around 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 from drying or baking, and thus lengthen the fruit- 

 ing 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 tkke its place. 



To Ascertain the Number of Plants Required for an Acre. 



The number of plants required for an acre, at any given distance apart, may be 

 ascertained by dividing the number of square feet in an acre (43,560), by the number 

 of square feet given to each plant, which is obtained by multiplying the distance be- 

 tween rows by the distance between the plants. Thus, strawberries planted three feet 

 by one foot, give each plant three square feet, or 14,520 plants to the acre. 



POT GROV^N STRAWBERRIES. 



