84 



FRUIT GARDEN COMPANION. 



ground should be well cleansed of any perennial 

 roots, as couch-grass, dock, &c. ; it may then be 

 well manured with rotted dung and dug a spade 

 deep, raked off even, and shallow drills drawn 

 eighteen inches apart, leaving an alley of two or two 

 and a half feet between every three rows, for the 

 parting of the beds. Having the ground prepared, 

 the plants may be then taken up and dressed by 

 taking from them any dead leaves, and shortening 

 the roots with a sharp knife. The plants should be 

 dibbled in the rows from twelve to fifteen inches 

 apart, and a gentle watering given immediately after 

 planting. This work should, if possible, be per- 

 formed of an evening after a shower of rain, as the 

 plants will then strike root freely. The culture of 

 the strawberry is simply to keep the ground clear, 

 by hoeing, raking, &c. in spring and summer. 



After the strawberry has flowered and the fruit 

 begins to swell, if the ground is very dry, the bed 

 should have two or three good waterings in order to 

 swell the fruit in good perfection. The cause of 

 strawberries bearing light crops of fruit is more 

 owing to drought than any thing else I am acquainted 

 with. 



Ripening the fruit. — When the fruit begins to 

 change its color, some short grass or straw may be 

 laid under the vines in order to keep the fruit from 

 rotting on the ground, which is often the case, espe- 

 ally in wet seasons. When the fruit is all picked 

 and the plants have put out their stoles or runners, 

 the beds may then be dressed of their weeds and 

 any litter, by cutting off all the runners close to the 

 stool, hoeing up the weeds, and raking off all the 

 rubbish neatly between the rows. 



