THE AMATEUR’S KITCHEN GARDEN. 28$ 
The Strawberry admits of literary treatment to almost 
any extent, as may be seen by the miles of essays that have 
been written upon it in the horticultural papers, and a few 
good books have been especially devoted to its cultivation. 
But to grow strawberries in any quantity and of quality sans 
reproche is such a simple business that we shall hope to sum 
up in a very few words all that need be said on the subject 
here. 
The strawberry requires a deep fertile soil which may vary 
from a warm sandy loam to a cold tenacious clay. A shallow 
sand and a poor limestone soil are equally unsuitable, and 
therefore to produce strawberries on such, a made soil is 
required, and even then there are difficulties to be encountered 
as the price of a few good berries. Any soil that will pro- 
duce a cauliflower will produce strawberries, but an open 
situation is absolutely necessary, and the purer the air the 
better for the fruit. We have seen nice samples of Black 
Prince grown in worn out soil in a London backyard, where 
such fine sorts as British Queen and Carolina would not pro- 
duce a fruit at all. On the other hand, in one of our gardens 
which consists of stubborn clay that turns up in hard clods 
like quartern loaves, we can grow the finest strawberries ever 
seen by preparing the land in good time, planting in showery 
weather, and then leaving the rest to nature, for we do not 
give them a drop of water from first to last. To prepare the 
land, deep digging and liberal manuring are requisite. 
Strawberry culture begins in August, when the early 
runners are nicely rooted. To promote rooting peg them 
down and put a little fine soil about them, and if the weather 
is dry water regularly. When the first runners are rooted 
take them off and plant them at once. It is customary to 
plant them rather close with a view to transplant when 
strong. It is better practice to plant them where they are to 
stand at a proper distance apart, and never after remove them 
until they are worn out, when you will dig them in with a 
good body of manure, and devote the ground to rotation 
crops. The proper distance will in some degree vary with the 
sorts and the strength of the land. From eighteen inches to 
two and a half feet may be the range, and the larger distance 
is the best if you can make it square with the general busi- 
ness of the garden. Little crowns dotted about at two feet 
apart make an appearance of waste of ground, but you can rum 
