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KOCKINGS GARDEN MANUAL 



judgment should be used, for, among the cultivated 

 varieties, numerous plants will be found by the 

 observant grower which produce a profusion of 

 blossoms, but little fruit. There are, in fact, three 

 sorts of blossoms produced by strawberry plants — one, 

 in which the stamens and pistils are properly formed, 

 which are, consequently, the most certain croppers • 

 the second, in which the stamens or male organs are 

 excessively developed, and which are often unfruitful ; 

 and third, those in which the pistil is well formed, 

 but the stamens or fertilizing parts being deficient, 

 they do not prove fruitful unless the wind or insects 

 carry the pollen from some staminate blossoms near 

 them. 



It is not proposed that amateur gardeners shall be 

 troubled to reduce these scientific details to practice, 

 except in the most simple and easy manner. The 

 most ordinary observer can see that certain plants in 

 a bed produce more fruit, and perhaps larger and 

 better flavored, than others. We would recommend 

 that little sticks be firmly placed to all such, and suckers 

 preserved from them only for making the new bed. 

 Any plants which are found to be unfruitful should be 

 dug out. 



Some of the best of our cultivated varieties have 

 been raised from seed, and it would be a worthy un- 

 dertaking for any enthusiastic amateur to endeavor to 

 obtain a few sorts by this means, suitable to the climate 

 of Queensland. 



Planting : From April to August, if the soil is 

 damp, plant the strawberries eighteen inches apart, in 

 rows distant two feet to two feet six inches. They 

 should be planted with all their roots extending 

 laterally, and pressed firmly down, but not crammed 

 together, into a little hole. The beds should not con- 

 tain more than three or four rows, having an alley two 

 feet six inches in width at each side, to obviate the 

 necessity for trampling upon the bed. 



