8 



XEW-YORK FARMER AND 



the preceding' autumn, and which had never borne fruit. 

 These, he assured me, would be burned as well as the 

 older ones, the next year. 



Perhaps, however, all this, though perfectly new to 

 me, is by no means so to you and your worthy Horti- 

 cultural associates. Perhaps it is even a long since 

 exploded system of culture. If so, I hope you and the 

 other gentlemen will pardon my giving' you the trouble 

 of this communication, and believe that I am, with an 

 ardent zeal for promoting the object of your association, 

 your sincere friend and humble servant, 



Samuel Miller. 



JWr. Jtlichacl Floy, Secretary, <§c. 



— ••^e©9*« — 



ART. 5. — On the cultivation of the Strawberry, 

 hy Mr. William Clrr, of JVew-York, read Feb. 20. 

 1S22. To the President and members of the Horticultural 

 Society o/*JVew- York. 



Gentlemen — I take the liberty to lay before you a 

 short slcetib of the method practised by me in cultiva- 

 ting the Fragaria or strawberry plant, together with a 

 few observations which I consider will be found of ad- 

 vantage to the cultivater of that excellent fruit. 



The patch on which I have my strawberries, had 

 been under the same plant for several years. For the 

 month of September, 1S19, I laid on about five inches 

 thick of well rotted manure which I dug down with the 

 old vines. I then set out plants of the Hudson kind of 

 strawberry at the distance of 16 inches each way 

 ig care to have them in line the long way of 

 the ground. In the month of November I covered the 

 plants with a thin coat of long litter, which I took oft" in 

 the beginning of April, and pointed the ground with the 

 spade, and raked it smooth. The ground was kept ( 1 ian 

 i-\ hoeing till the fruit began to form. I then took 

 siiort grass cut from the walks and spread between and 

 under the vines, which had the effect to keep the fruit 

 clean, the weeds down, and kept the scorching drought 

 from p avetrating into the roots of the plants. 



As soon as the fruit season was past, I pointed in the 

 between the bed. in September, 1620, I cut out 

 all the superfluous runners and dressed the bed, and in 

 the month of November covered as before. 



On the first of March of last year, 1821, I took the 

 covciing from a part of the patch and replaced it with 

 inch thick of straw, which I burned off as directed 

 by Dr. Miller. I then gave a slight hoeing and raking. 

 \t this time there was hardly the least trace of vines 

 I ifl on the ground ; but in H or 10 days the leaves be- 

 > make their appearance. On the 22d of March, 

 I uncovered another part of the patch, a part of which I 

 burned with straw as before, and the other part with a 

 parcel of dry leaves which I laid on two inches thick. 

 The remainder of the patch I uncovered in the begin- 

 ning of April, and dressed in the usual way. 



The first burned part continued to keep more forward 

 than the others, and showed flowers eight days sooner 

 than the unburned part of the patch. The unburned 

 grew less rapid, and was considerably less productive of 

 fruit. That part burned with leaves was the most lux- 

 uriant in growth, the quantity of fruit nearly the same as 

 those burned with straw. 



The burning has this good effect, that it keeps the 

 ground more clean of weeds, and will doubtless kill a 

 great many insects and their eggs ; besides, it clears the 

 vines from all decayed leaves and hardened bark, gath- 

 red around the body of the plant; and by that means 

 allows the free expansion of the leaves and flowers. 



I am of opinion that leaves when dry, will answer the 

 purpose of burning equally with straw, and their ashes 

 prove a good manure. 



I shall now give a few observations concerning' the 

 selecting' of proper plants for planting. A great deal 

 lies in choosing proper plants : for if they are taken 

 promiscuously, the greater part will prove barren, pro- 

 ducing plenty of flowers but no fruit. 'Ihose when ex- 

 amined will be found to want the female organs of gen- 

 eration : that is, they will have abundance of stamina, 

 but few or no styles; so that it often happens among 

 those barren plants, that some of them have a part of an 

 imperfect fruit formed, which sometimes ripens. Plants 

 ought, therefore, never to be taken out of old neglected 

 beds which have been allowed to spread and run into a 

 multitude of suckers, nor from any plants which do not 

 produce plenty of fruit. Those suckers which stand 

 nearest the old plant, should always be selected in pre- 

 ference to those produced from the trailing stalks, at a 

 distance from the fruit bearing plants. 



There has some kind of strawberries been greatly 



improved by seed selected from the largest and fairest 



fruit. In this case the seed should be sown as soon as 



ble after the fruit is eaten. The best way is to 



sow the seed in pots or boxes, placed in the shade. 



Should some of the members of this Society put this 

 in practice, the result might be of general advantage, by 

 improving the different sorts of this delicious fruit. 



William Curr. 



New-YoA; Feb. 26, 1822. 



— — »© ©©<*»— 



The Season. — It will be set down as memorable 

 hereafter, that in the year 1828, at the middle of Janu- 

 ary, there was no frost in the ground at New- York ; 

 that the weeds, grasses, herbs, flowers, and esculent 

 vegetables are growing, and buds swelling, in the gar- 

 dens : and that the steam and sail boats are passing 

 between this city and Albany, w ithout seeing ice in the 

 river, or scarcely a vestige of snow on the mountains. 

 There is time enough for severe weather yet ; but so 

 far, the weather has been without a parallel for manj 

 vcars. — JYcw-Yorlc Statesman. 



