480 Observations on the Cultivation of Strawberries. 



of bleak and cutting winds. The soil consists of a dark 

 sandy loam of about two feet in depth, having a very fine 

 white sand for the sub-soil, which I take care never to dis- 

 turb. In preparing the ground for my crops, I trench it all 

 over two spades deep, and then lay upon the surface a 

 dressing about two inches thick, of rich yellow loam, rotten 

 dung, and bog earth, mixed together in equal proportions, 

 and which is afterwards well dug in with a fork ; I then 

 form the beds four feet four inches wide, with alleys at least 

 two feet wide between them. The runners of most varieties 

 are set out eighteen inches from plant to plant, and the same 

 distance from row to row ; the Roseberry and Common 

 Scarlet do not require so much room, I consequently set 

 them sixteen inches from plant to plant, and only allow a. 

 foot between the rows, which I find quite sufficient for their 

 growth. The sorts I prefer and cultivate chiefly, are the 

 Pine, Downton, Mathven Castle, Hautboy, Hudson's Bay, 

 Wilmot's late Scarlet, Common Scarlet, Keen's Imperial, and 

 two sorts of Chili ; but I never suffer any of the varieties to 

 remain in the ground more than one year. Early in August, 

 or as soon as the gatherings are over, I destroy all my beds, 

 and proceed immediately to trench, form, and manure them in 

 the manner before directed, to receive the plants for the crop 

 of the ensuing year, taking care to select for that purpose, 

 the strongest and best rooted runners from the old rejected 

 plants. If at this season the weather should be particularly 

 hot, and the surface of the ground much parched, I defer the 

 operation of preparing my beds and planting them till the 

 ground is moistened by rain. 



Such is the simple mode of treatment which I have adopted 



