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Garden Work 
to plant three rows, 15 in. apart, with the plants 15 in. 
apart in the rows; a path 3 ft. broad is then left, then 
another three rows of plants, another path, and so on. 
In this way the runners are not taken off between the 
rows, and no bedding is required. It saves a great 
amount of labour when Strawberries are grown on a large 
scale, but the fruit can never be of a high order of ex- 
cellence, and this plan therefore should never be followed 
unless the fruit is cultivated very extensively. 
Where fruit of the highest quality is required, one 
of the first two methods should be adopted. If the plant- 
ing has been done in August or September, the plants 
should be well established before winter, and should 
produce a fair crop the following season. By the time 
the flowers have begun to open, the ground should be 
thoroughly bedded over, preferably with clean straw, care 
being taken to lift up the trusses of flowers and to put 
plenty of straw under them to ensure the fruit being kept 
perfectly clean. Grass that has been dried is sometimes 
used for this purpose, but care must be taken that the 
grass is not too far advanced before cutting, or much 
trouble may ensue the following year from the germi- 
nation of the seeds that have fallen from the ripened grass. 
The short grass from lawns is also used. This answers 
very well in dry seasons, but should the weather be wet 
the grass does not dry satisfactorily, and the dampness 
causes it to decay. In such seasons, also, the fruit is 
softer, and if lying on decaying matter it also begins to 
decay, and so considerable quantities may be lost. It will 
be seen that clean straw, although more expensive to 
begin with, may be more economical in the end. 
