246 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GARDENING. 



answer of some growers ; and this may hold good on 

 poor hungry soils. But on sound rich loams, manure 

 should be employed with caution. If too rich, or 

 used in excess, leaves rather than fruit will be the 

 product. A heavy dressing of farm-yard manure 

 thoroughly incorporated with the soil is the best pre- 

 paration for Strawberry culture. The soil should 

 also be well mixed together as well as thus liberally 

 enriched — tops and bottoms, as well as the middle 

 of the tilth, all well incorporated into a homogeneous 

 mass of about uniform quality. 



Time and Distance to Plant. — So soon as 

 well-rooted runners can be obtained is the best 

 season — say early in July. The earth is then warm, 

 and the plants root with extraordinary vigour and 

 rapidity, and get thoroughly established before the 

 winter. But if crops cannot be cleared off so early, 

 the runners may be nursed out as already described, 

 and permanently planted out so soon as practicable. 

 Some even prefer planting out the permanent crops in 

 the spring, in February and March. 



Scarlet, Alpine, and other of the smaller-leaved 

 Strawberries yield excellent crops in beds. The latter, 

 three or four feet wide, were filled with plants at 

 distances varying from nine to eighteen inches apart, 

 and frequently allowed to become much closer 

 through the rooting of runners after the first year. 

 Alleys or spaces, two or more feet wide, were left 

 between the beds for gathering and culture. 



But bed culture has now given place to drill or 

 row ; the distance between these ranging from eigh- 

 teen inches to three feet, according to the character 

 of the soil, and of the varieties grown. From two 

 feet to thirty inches are the distances most generally 

 adopted. The distances between the plants may 

 range from fifteen inches to two f eet, eighteen inches 

 being a good average. 



Some plant as thick again as needful, gather 

 a first crop, and then remove every other row, and 

 re-plant where removed to form fresh plantations. 

 Others practise a sort of dual culture of Strawberries 

 and other crops. For example, Onions are sown in 

 drills tbirty inches apart, the vacant space being kept 

 clear of weeds and well cultivated, and planted with 

 a row of Strawberries so soon as the runners are 

 ready. These will make good and rapid progress, 

 and by the time the Onions are harvested, will have 

 furnished the ground. Excellent crops are gathered 

 the following season, alike of early runners and good 

 fruit, and Onions and Strawberries both gain by thus 

 running these two seemingly incongruous crops 

 abreast. 



Plant all rooted runners with a trowel, and transfer 

 tbem to their new quarters with a ball of earth and 

 roots intact. A drill two inches deep facilitates the 



planting considerably. Plant deeply right up to the 

 base of the crown, and press the soil firmly round the 

 latter and the roots generally. Should dry weather 

 prevail or immediately succeed, water freely to keep 

 the leaves stiff and the roots in active motion. To 

 allow a Strawberry plant to flag once during its grow- 

 ing period, is to lose time as well as sacrifice produce. 

 Promptly suppress the production of runners on the 

 young plants, and keep the surface soil loose and free 

 from weeds, and thus complete the culture of runners 

 for the first season. 



General Culture. — A firm tilth with a loose 

 surface is the beau-ideal of earth-condition for the 

 Strawberry. It bothers all insect pests, preserves the 

 earth sweet, cool and moist, and favours fertility 

 rather than leaf-growth ; unless during the period of 

 ripe fruit, it is good practice to keep the Dutch hoe 

 skimming the surface soil. Some add dressings of 

 rich compost or manure annually. These are useful 

 on thin, hungry, hot soils, and are best applied soon 

 after the crops are gathered, or shortly before the 

 plants bloom. 



Mulches. — These mostly perform the compound 

 functions of feeding the plants and forming a clean 

 bed for the ripe fruit. The best is formed of long 

 stable or farm-yard litter placed between the rows in 

 March or April, or even earlier. The rain washes 

 down the soluble manure, and leaves the strawy 

 substance sufficiently clean to protect the fruit from 

 earth- splashings. Such mulches also preserve the 

 moisture of the earth and keep it cool. 



"Watering. — From the time the plants show 

 flower, till the fruit changes colour, the roots must 

 not once suffer from drought. Delugings of sew- 

 age or clean water should be given every other day 

 if needful. 



Gathering the Fruit. — The sizes should be 

 sorted as gathered, into two or even three qualities, 

 to make the largest profit ; all the best gathered with 

 their husks for dessert, and packed separately in small 

 punnets, and the others without husks for preserving. 

 Great care should also be taken not to bruise or 

 break the stalks of the fruit left, nor trample on the 

 crowns or leaves of the plants. 



Removal of Runners and Leaves.— All 



runners not needed for propagation should be re- 

 moved, and the permanent crops should be gone over 

 two or three times during the- season for this pur- 

 pose. As to the removal of the leaves in the 

 autumn, volumes have been written for and against 

 the practice. As a rule it is safest to leave them 



