On the Preparation of Strawberry Plants, 8$c. 433 



to preserve them through the winter must be useless ; but I 

 deny the fact of their being annual productions only ; and I 

 contend that whenever they are found wholly lifeless round 

 the surface of the mould of the pots, as they often are after 

 unfavourable winters, the growth and produce of the plants 

 in the succeeding season will be much diminished. 



The mode of management, which I have adopted, and 

 which it is the object of the present communication to recom- 

 mend, is the following. 



I manure a small piece of ground very highly, but very 

 superficially, just covering the manure with mould ; thus 

 deviating widely from my ordinary practice of putting the 

 manure deep in the soil to occasion the roots to descend 

 deep, that they may be enabled to supply proper moisture 

 in dry weather. The ground being prepared, the strongest 

 and best rooted runners of the preceding year are selected 

 and planted in rows, one foot apart, in the beginning of 

 March. The distance between each plant is eight inches in 

 one half the rows, and four inches only in the other half, the 

 thickly and thinly planted rows occurring alternately. In 

 July all the plants of the thickly planted rows are removed to 

 ground that has produced an early crop of peas or potatoes; 

 and these, having their roots well preserved, always afford me 

 an abundant crop of fruit in the following summer. The 

 other plants remain unnoticed till the end of November, 

 when the mould between the rows is removed with the spade, 

 and the most widely extended lateral roots detached from it. 

 The spade is also made to pass under each plant, and between 

 it and the next adjoining, so that each plant becomes capable 

 of being removed at a subsequent period without having any 



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