Mar.] 



THE FRUIT GARDEN. 



381 



flavored fruit. Keen, a respectable market-gardener, and a 

 successful cultivator of this fruit, observes, that great care is 

 necessary to be taken in selecting young plants of these sorts 

 for making out new plantations ; that there be a proper pro- 

 portion of male plants to the female, not having too many of 

 the former, as they bear no fruit, and are more prone to run 

 into leaves and runners than the other. He considers, that 

 the proportions ought to be one male to ten females, and states 

 his experience for making such a choice. Having formerly 

 been in the habit of selecting female plants alone for his beds, 

 he failed in being able to procure crops ; but in 1809, suspect- 

 ing his error, he obtained some male blossoms, which he 

 placed in a bottle on the bed of female hautboys. In a few 

 days, he perceived the fruit near the bottle to swell. On this 

 observation, he procured more male blossoms, and in like 

 manner placed them in bottles in different parts of the beds, 

 removing the bottles to fresh places every morning, and by 

 this means obtained a moderate crop where he had no fruit the 

 preceding year. 



In making out fresh strawberry plantations, attention should 

 be paid to the above, as far as regards this species of straw- 

 berry. The distinctions between the sexes can be most readily 

 observed while in flower, and the plants should be then 

 marked ; or in selecting them while in fruit, choose ten young 

 plants from those which bear fruit, and one from those which 

 are barren. 



Strawberries require a larger portion of water than almost 

 any other of our cultivated fi-uits to bring their crops to per- 

 fection. A considerable expense is incurred on this account 

 by the strawberry-growers in the vicinity of London and Edin- 

 burgh. They seldom have the opportunity of selecting a na- 

 turally moist situation for this fruit, and the formation of an 

 artificial strawberry-garden would be attended with too much 

 expense for them, the quantity which they cultivate being so 

 great. A very rational and useful strawberry-garden is de- 

 scribed by W. Atkinson, Esq., in the Horticultural Transac- 

 tions, Vol. V. p. 191, which was observed by that scientific 

 gentleman some years ago, in the vicinity of Chatham, and 

 was the invention of a person at that place. 



