56 



SMALL FRUIT CULTURIST. 



of wealth will be worked to an extent not dreamed of al 

 tlie j^resent time. 



Concentrated manures — siicli as bone, guano, poudrette^ 

 &c. — are sometimes used upon the Strawberry with good 

 results. It requires some care in their application, or the 

 plants are liable to be injured thereby. 



Ashes are also valuable, particularly on sandy soils. 

 They may be applied by scattering upon tlie surface at 

 the rate of from ten to twenty bushels per acre. A far 

 more preferable mode is to compost them with muck or 

 leaf mold from the woods, but they should never be 

 mixed with manure, for they will cause it to give off, in 

 the form of gases, the very materials which should be re* 

 tained. 



Lime is said to be injurious to the Strawberry, particu- 

 larly when applied directly or alone. I have had no per- 

 sonal experience with it upon the Strawberry, but have 

 known several instances of failure, the cause of which 

 was attributed to the use of lime. 



TIME TO PLANT. 



Spring and fall are the two seasons in which the Straw- 

 berry is usually transplanted. Although with the requisite 

 care the operation may be performed at any time during 

 the summer, the spring seems to be the more natural 

 and preferable one of the two. 



The plants are then just starting into growth after their 

 \ou(r rest. The small amount of foliasre which has sur- 

 vived the winter is fully matured ; consequently it calls 

 for very little nutriment from the roots. The warm spring 

 rains supply the plants with moisture, and the very atmos- 

 phere of this season appears to be full of life. 



Fall planting is usually performed in Aui^ust and Sep- 

 tember in the Northern States. 



This season has one advantage, and that is : if the 

 plants can be set so early that they will become firmly 



