STRAWBERRY CULTIVATION. 



Propagation is effected by taking off runners, or by sowing seed. 



Alpine Strawberries (red and white) are always best raised from seed, and the plants are not kept 

 longer than two years. 



Select largest fruit, quite ripe ; crush, and dry on paper. Before sowing, put the seeds in water, 

 and only sow those which sink. 



Sow in boxes, keep under shade, just sheltering from direct rays of sun, and plant out when the 

 leaves are well developed. 



Well rooted runners may be obtained for transplanting by loosening soil round the largest and 

 healthiest runners to allow roots to develop. 



Only those required for propagation should be allowed to remain, unless the plants are going too 

 much to leaf. 



Soil. — Any garden soil is suitable ; for cultivation on a large scale, a loam}' soil in a moist situa- 

 tion should be chosen. If the soil is rather clayey, dig in plenty of rotten leaves ; and in any case the 

 ground should be well manured. 



Planting. — The best time for planting is during showery weather. The soil should be made quite 

 firm about the roots. The seedlings or runners should be put 1£ feet asunder in rows, — the rows being 

 2 ft. to 2£ ft. apart. But Alpines and other vurieties with small fruit may be planted closer. 



Cultivation. — Weeding must be done by hand, as the roots are very numerous and close to the 

 surface. 



Forking between the plants is advantageous, if carefully done, so as not to injure the roots. 



As the fruit is much superior on young plants, the strawberry beds should be partial!}' renewed 

 every year, and the plants not left longer than 3 or 4 years. 



Just before the flowers open, short, rotten manure should bi spread over the ground ; and above 

 this, when the fruit begins to change colour, a layer of clean straw, or dry grass should be strewn. 



If there is dry weather, or if the soil is very light, when the fruits are swelling, the ground should 

 be watered heavily. 



If it is desired to get very large and choice fruit, only 4 of the flower-scapes should be allowed to 

 remain, the rest being removed with the leaves at their base. And, as the lowest blossoms on the 

 scape produce the finest fruit, all the flowers above these, appearing later, are clipped off. 



If the strawberries are attacked by slugs or snails, lay down fresh lettuce or cabbage leaves 

 through the plants, and search these every morning. A line of wood-ashes, soot, or quick lime, sur- 

 rounding the bed, will prevent incursions from other parts of the garden. 



LIQUORICE (Glycyrrhiza glabra, Linn.) 



The quantities of Liquorice in different countries vary greatly. It is said that the juice from Turkey 

 and Greece is bitter, of Sicily and Spain sweet and rich, but that of Italy the richest, .though less is 

 exported thence. Liquorice in these countries is a vigorous and abundant wild plant, almost too much 

 so in many places In Spain it grows finest in the rich bottom lands of the great rivers, and the crop 

 depends much on the mildness or severity of the winters. It is of such vigorous growth that other 

 weeds cannot encroach on it and crowd it out, and no parasite or insect pest is known to infest it. It 

 is so tenacious of life that if only a small portion of the root is left in the ground after the collecting 

 season it shoots up again. There are two kinds of liquorice, one sending down a tap root from 3 to 

 6 feet deep, and the other runs underground from 6 inches to 2 or 3 feet deep. The latter is the most 

 highly prized, from the facility with which it is dug up. Only the roots are used, the tops being burned 

 for fuel. It varies in quantity and quality according to soil in different provinces, changes its colour 

 to red, yellow or brown, and the proportions of saccharine and starch vary also. The climate best suited 

 to the growth of liquorice is that where oranges and all the citrus family thrive, as it cannot endure 

 severe ground frost nor cold high altitudes. In Sicily it grows most luxuriantly in low lands adjacent 

 to streams of water. The valley of the river Simeto is so rich that, with the rudest tools und culture, 

 the peasants have no difficulty in growing cereals and other plants for food. Their principal trouble 

 is keeping down the weeds that spring up so abundantly in the cultivated lands, and the liquorice from 

 its pertinacity is most dreaded. A. crop can be gathered every three or four years from the same 

 ground, and the digging commences after the autumn rains have set in. Liquorice requires the hot 

 sun to perfect its juice, but at the same time it bakes the ground so hard, the task of collecting the 

 deep-set roots would be too laborious and expensive till the earth is well saturated. There are seven 

 manufactories in Catania alone, and they produce from 700,000 to 800,000 lbs. annually, and others in 

 various cities of the island. Very little of the root is exported either from Sicily or Italy, only the 

 rolls or sticks made from the inspissated juice. Asia Minor exports largely to the United States. 

 So long ago as 1885 steam presses were in use there, and from Alexandreth, in Smyrna, 6,000 tons 

 were exported at a value of about $192,000. ( Chemist and Druggist, Aug. '91. J 



