Culture. — On arrival of plants, unpack them at once, loosen the bunches, *'heer ' them in the ground 

 or dip their roots in a "muddie," made by mixing earth in water until of the consistf ncy of cream, and lay 

 away in a cool, damp cellar, where they can neither dry nor freeze, until they can b t planted in suitable 

 weather. Do not leave in package and pour water over them, as this will surely ca ase the plants to heat 

 and spoil. If by chance the stock should arrive in a frozen state, bury the packag l- or place it in a cool 

 place until the frost has become entirely abstracted by slow dofrrees. These remarks apply also to other 

 Plants and Trees, as well as Strawberries. The Strawberry delights in a moist soil, but will succeed almost 

 anywhere, if well manured and mulched. Avoid planting near trees, as it resents shade. To grow large 

 berries and plenty of them, fertilizers must be used freely. Unleached wood ashes is a speciflc fertilizer for 

 the Strawberry ; ground bone is also excellent. In planting take but few plants from the trench or package 

 at a time, and expose as little as possible to wind or sun. Never plant on a windy day, and never plant in 

 freezing weather. Do not plant deep, but press the earth very flrmly about the roots. Should the weather be 

 warm, shade valuable plants for a few days with a handful of coarse litter over each plant, or -nith berry 

 baskets or boxes (old rejected ones are as good as any). An excellent plan is to plant just before freezing 

 weather, and cover each plant with earth, to be removed at the approach of Spring. By this method the 

 plants start early, make a strong growth, and scarcely one will fail. 



For hill'culture, plant in beds four feet wide, with alleys two feet between them. Plant in each bed 

 three rows of plants fifteen inches apart, and the plants the same distance apart in the rows. For the matted- 

 row system, plant in rows three feet apart, and the plants a foot apart in the rows; requiring 14,520 plants 

 per acre. For the best results, mulching with some^ight material Is indispensable, which should be ap- 

 plied just as soon as tlie ground has become slightly frozen, and partially or entirely removed when the 

 ground has become "settled" in Spring. It is well for all to plant at least three varieties— ear' y, medium 

 and late— to expand the season to its full limits. 



Bi-Sexual, or Perfect, is no reason for any prejudice against them. Success Pistillate, or Imperfect 

 depends in a great measure on getting fine, healthy plants, strict? y imrc and true to r«mc. This I know 

 my plants to be. 



In shipping plants, we send out none but young plants, as shown at Fig. 457, grown under the so-called 

 " pedigree system." We never send out old plants. When grown on deep, black soilt^ie roots of young 

 plants are of a dark color, but soft, succulent and nearly uniform in size and appearance, i.s shown by the 

 figure just referred to.' With old plants, the lower roots are black, dead and wiry, witl generally a few 

 young roots just below where the leaves r.re jointed to the crown, as shown in Fig. 456. \\ e clean all plants 

 of dead leaves and tie in bunches (Fig. 455) before packing. Strawberries arc perhaps tht most difficult of 

 all nursery stock to ship long distances in good condition, and to overcome the d.mger of hmage in ship- 

 ment we pack large lots in cases designed and nianufaotured expressly for the purpose. 



The blossoms of all varieties are bi-sexual or per- 

 fect, except those marked with the letter P, which I 

 are destitute of stamens and are termed pistillate or 

 imperfect, as shown by the following figures. Pistillate 

 varieties must have a row of a perfect-flowered sort, 

 planted every nine or twelve feet apart among then: I 

 or, better yet, every third or fourth plant in the ro:v.j 

 to pollenize their blossoms. When properly fertilized! 

 the pistillate varieties are the most prolific ; and ther(>| 



Old Plants. Fig. 456. 



