STRAWBERRIES. 



DIRECTIONS FOR CULTURE. 



The Soil and its Preparation.— The Sirawberry may be successfully grown in any soil adapted 

 to the growth of ordinary field or garden crops. The ground should be -ucell prepared by trenching or 

 plowing, at least eighteen or twenty inches deep, and be properly enriched as for any garden crop. It is 

 unnecessary to say that, if the land is wet, it must be thoroughly drained. 



To Cultivate the Strawberry. — For family use we recommend planting in beds four feet wide, 

 with an alley two feet wide between. These beds will accommodate three rows of plants, which may 

 stand fifteen inches apart each way, and the outside row nine inches from the alley. The beds can be 

 kept clean, and the fruit can be gathered from them without setting the feet upon them. 



Culture in Hills.— This is the best mode that can be adopted for the garden. To obtain fine, 

 large, high-flavored fruit, pinch off the runners as fast as they appear, repeating the operation as often 

 as may be necessary during the summer and early autumn. Every runner thus removed produces a 

 new crown, and in the fall the plants will have formed large bushes or stools, on which the finest 

 strawberries may be expected the following season. In the meantime, the ground among the plants 

 should be kept clear of weeds, and frequently stirred with a hoe or fork. 



Covering in Winter. — Where the winters are severe, with little snow for protection, a slight 

 covering of leaves or litter, or the branches of evergreens, will be of great service. This covering 

 should not be placed over the plants until after the ground is frozen, usually from the middle of Novem- 

 ber till the first of December in this locality. Fatal errors are often made by putting on too much and 

 too early. Care must also be taken to remove the covering in the spring, just as soon as the plants 

 begin to grow. 



Mulching to Keep the Fruit Clean. — Before the fruit begins to ripen, mulch the ground around the 

 plants with short hay or straw, or grass mowings from the lawn, or anv-thing of that sort. This 

 will not only keep the fruit clean, but will prevent the ground from drying or baking, and thus lengthen 

 the fruiting season. Tan-bark can also be used as a mulch. 



A bed managed in this way will give two full crops, and should then be spaded or plowed down, a 

 new one in the meantime hax'ing been prepared to take its place. 



To Ascertain the Number of Plants Required for an Acre.— The number of plants required for an acre, 

 at any given distance apart, may be ascertained by dividing the number of square feet in an acre 

 (43,560), by the number of square feet given to each plant, which is obtained by multiplying the dis- 

 tance between rows by the distance bet\veen the plants. Thus, strawberries planted three feet by one 

 foot, give each plant three square feet, or 14,520 plants to the acre. 



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VOl'.VG STRAWBERRY PLANTS LAYERED IN POTS. 



POT=QROWN STRAWBERRY PLANTS. 



Ready for Sfiipment after July 15th. 



Of late this kind of plant has become very popular, and is almost exclusively employed for garden 

 planting. The failures are few, and much care and labor are avoided. We grow the plants in thumb 

 pots, and when they are well established and ready to ship, we turn them out of the pots, preserving 

 the ball of earth around the roots and wrapping it in paper. In this way during the hottest weather in 

 July and August, plants can be transported safely and transplanted satisfactorily. 



Plants set out in July or August will yield a moderate crop next season. These cannot be sent by 

 mail. 



