THK STK AW BERRY. 



841 



celleut. As the runners appear, unless desired to make 

 new beds, they should be cut off — not pulled, which dis- 

 turbs the roots. As soon as the blossoms begin to appear, 

 the great necessity is water. Unless it rains twice a 

 week, give water by hand, water to swell the fruit, and 

 water to form new fruit stems. In this way, Mr. Pea- 

 body has crops of Hovey's Seedling, from March until 

 hard frosts. Kill all grass and weeds as fast as they ap- 

 pear, with the hoe. After the plants have done fruiting, 

 let the beds remain until winter, when they should be 

 well hoed, thinned out to twelve or eighteen inches in the 

 row, the cut-up vines dug in, and a new coat of leaves, 

 straw, muck or decayed tan given the whole bed, except 

 the crowns of the plants. Keep the proportion of male 

 and female plants, the same as when planted. A very 

 easy way to get a good spring crop is by cultivating in 

 alternate strips. Prepare your soil as before, strike out 

 the rows three feet apart, and plant eighteen inches apart 

 in the row, giving a due proportion of the different sexes 

 as before ; let these runners fill up every alternate section 

 of three feet, keeping the other bare, by destroying all 

 runners, and the whole patch free from weeds. The strips 

 of runners will give a heavy crop of fruit, and the open 

 strip will serve for a path while gathering them. After 

 the fruit season is over, dig and prepare this alley for the 

 occupation of new runners for the next crop ; dig in plenty 

 of decayed tan, swamp-earth, or leaf-mould, trench two 

 spades deep. The runners from adjacent vines will soon 

 cover this strip. The plants will need thinning in order 

 to be evenly distributed. When the strips are well cov- 

 ered, which they will be by August, dig under the old 

 plants, and add a light coat of manure. Here a crop of 

 turnips or spinach may be raised and removed before the 

 next fruit season. By thus changing each season the 



