129 
with the moisture absorbed from the soil. When the wliole bed 
was thus planted, it was well watered ; and as the weather was 
very dry, a mat was thrown over it for a few days, to exclude 
the heat of the sun. Under this management the plants soon 
established themselves, and increased rapidly; the roots having 
in about ten weeks penetrated the soil in all directions. About 
the latter end of August, or early in September, he formed the 
bed for their final situation, in an open, exposed part of the 
garden. This he made eighteen inches w ide, and having thrown 
out the soil to the depth of twelve inches, he filled up the trench 
with well-decomposed manure, mixing it up with the soil at the 
bottom of the trench to the depth of another foot. The surface 
was then reduced to a proper height, on which the plants were 
placed, having, in order that their roots might sustain no injury 
in removing them from the nursery' bed, divided the soil into 
cubes with a spade, each having a plant in the centre of its up- 
|)er surface, which were placed twelve inches distant from each 
othe'". He then ])laced a portion of the soil tlrat had been mixed 
with manure round the plants, which were afterwards watered, 
and nothing further was done to them till the following spring, 
when the bed was cleaned by hand weeding, to prevent injury 
to the roots by the use of either hoe, or rake ; and in the course 
of the spring they w ere twice w ell supplied w ith liquid manure. 
.About this period, to his great surprise, instead of one scape 
from each plant being produced, as he had anticipated, none 
threw up less than three, and the average number was five, all 
sufficiently strong to support the fruit above the foliage. Hav- 
ing previously observed, that after the first seven or eight blos- 
soms on each scape had set their fruit, the remaining ones were 
so small as to be nearly useless, he cut off all the blossoms ex- 
cept this number. Thus managed, the fruit all assumed the 
cockscomb shape, and were unusually large and of a delicious 
flavour. Plants, which, for experiment, were left to bear a 
second crop, produced numerous weak offsets, but little fruit, 
and that of an ordinary quality. 
IMr. Darke’s method, here stated, is, we doubt not, excellent. 
We have, ourselves, for several years, practised annual jdant- 
ing of Strawberries, and generally, with complete success. If 
however, the months of July and August prove very dry, par- 
ticular attention will be required to watering and encouraging 
W ADCTAalOM. 
