254 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
comes round, and our present number of 
readers is doubled, as we have every reason 
to expect will be the case, there may then 
be among them all, at least five thousand 
STRAWBERRY BEDS. 
WHEN—WHERE—AND HOW TO GROW STRAW¬ 
BERRIES. 
When. —They may be set out at almost 
any season. We prefer about the first of 
May for this latitude—earlier South and later 
North. But the month of August or the 
fore part of September will answer just as 
well, and with a little more care in trans¬ 
planting and watering, quite as well as early 
in the Spring. Plants set out the first of 
this month will yield a pretty full crop next 
year, wirile those of later setting will pro¬ 
duce somewhat. We have gathered a mod¬ 
erate supply the present season from a plot 
planted the 8th day of last October. We 
repeat then, any time will do, but if a supply 
of berries is desired next season, the earlier 
now the better. 
Location and Soil .—Any place, .except a 
low, wet, swamp, or barren, sandy hill will 
do, but a sandy or light loam, moist but not 
wet, is the best for a soil; and a surface 
sloping towards the south produces the ear¬ 
liest fruit, especially if it be protected from 
cold breezes by a close, high board fence on 
the west, north and east. A thick border of 
live hedge, or shrubbery of any kind will af¬ 
ford partial protection. For later berries a 
northern slope should be chosen. Those 
who have a variety of locations to choose 
from may secure both early and late crops. 
But few have this choice. To such we say, 
take any plot you can spare in the corner of 
a garden, or of the field if need be. If it can 
be deeply underdrained all the better, no 
matter how dry the land is, for air circulat¬ 
ing from the drains up through the soil is 
quite beneficial to the crop, for sundry rea¬ 
sons. However, draining is not indispensa¬ 
ble, Strawberries will grow without it, un¬ 
less in a place subject to stagnant water. 
Preparing the Ground. —Clear the surface 
of grass, weeds, and weed seeds as much as 
possible. Dig up the soil deeply, stirring it 
a foot and a half in depth at least. If the 
surface soil is rich, mix it partly with the 
under or sub-soil. If not rich, spade into 
the subsoil some well rotted manure, or rot¬ 
ten chips or leaves. Strawberries require 
much water, and Avhen the soil is prepared 
deeply the roots will penetrate down far 
enough to find moisture even during a 
drouth. If the land is moderately rich, a 
little ashes, lime and salt may be mixed with 
it, while it is being spaded and finely pulver¬ 
ized. If the soil be poor, it should be treat¬ 
ed to a fair coating, well stirred in, either of 
rotten turf or of good surface soil from else¬ 
where. Decayed leaves are also excellent. 
•Well rotted manures of any kind may be 
used in small quantities. Too much of any 
strong animal manure j is apt to induce too 
great a growth of vines at the expense of 
fruit. Let it be borne in mind that the soil 
should be thoroughly prepared by deep 
spading, and finely pulverizing it, as it can¬ 
not well be worked after the plants are 
jmder way. Here “ a stitch in time wiU 
save nine.” Two or three hours work of a 
man will prepare a bed large enough to sup¬ 
ply a family with fruit during the entire 
season of bearing. 
Selection of Varieties. —If a new hand at 
the business, get of the nearest nurseryman, 
for the first bed, one or more of the most 
easily obtainable of Die following varieties : 
Hovey’s Seedling,McAvoy’s Superior,Burr’s 
New Pine, or Crimson Cone. If more than 
one kind is used, set them in separate rows, 
and whether one or more of these four kinds 
be taken, as they are all pistillate or female 
plants, be sure to set a short row upon one 
side of the bed of a few staminate or male 
plants, say Longworth’s Prolific, or of the 
Large Early Scarlet or Iowas. If you can 
only take the trouble to get one kind of 
plants, let it be Longworth’s Prolific, as this 
is partly hermaphrodite, and will bear of its 
own accord. 
Setting the Plants. —These should be put 
out in rows, say 18 to 24 inches apart, and 
the plants 10 to 12 inches from each other 
in the row. Before taking them up for're¬ 
moval, wet the ground thoroughly around 
them, and keep as much earth remaining 
upon them as may be. Just after a heavy 
rain is the best time for transplanting, though 
it may be done at any time if sufficient care 
be taken to wet the ground well, not merely 
sprinkle it, and repeat a thorough watering 
often enough to keep the soil well moisten¬ 
ed. Set boards up by the rows to shield 
them from the sun’s direct rays, for a few 
days after planting. It is advisable to cover 
the surface between the rows close up to the 
plants with tan-bark or leaves, or with fresh- 
cut grass, and allow this to remain there. 
Tan-bark is thought to be the best. When 
cold weather comes on, cover the bed with 
say two inches of straw, old hay, or even 
leaves, to protect them during Winter. For 
further treatment see our Calendar of Opera¬ 
tions from month to month, and the article 
in our June number. For fuller particu¬ 
lars as to soil, planting, varieties, &c., see 
our issue for March last, and also Pardee’s 
Strawberry Manual. 
For a bed 20 feet square the whole work 
we have indicated will scarcely amount to a 
day’s time, and who would not give that 
much to have a large supply of firstrate, 
home-grown berries. The job will be a 
pleasant and short one when you once set 
about it. Put it down upon the programme 
for work that must be attended to early this 
month, then attend to it, and about next 
June you will thank us for urging this mat¬ 
ter upon you now. Who speaks for one of 
these FIVE THOUSAND STRAWBERRY BEDS?- Ed. 
Take care of fallen fruit. —Never per¬ 
mit green fruit to decay on the soil beneath 
the trees. In every apple, pear, plum and 
cherry, which is prematurely cast, there 
exist a minute insect which eats its way out 
in time, and becomes the source of evil to 
the succeeding crop. Gather all up and 
either feed them to your domestic animals, 
or dispose of them in some way which will 
secure you against the results which must 
necessarily ensue from neglect. Swine 
turned into orchards the last of June, and 
permitted to have access till the fruit is 
gathered against insects by destroying the 
wormy fruit that produces them. 
WORMS IN APPLES. 
THE APPLE WORM OR CODLING MOTH, ( CarpOCUp - 
sa pomonalla.) 
A correspondent writing from Jackson, 
Mich., says that fruit growing is the princi¬ 
pal business of the farmers in his vicinity, 
but the depredations of the apple worm offer 
material obstacles to the orchardist. During 
some years, and especially in 1854, the crop 
in many orchards was lessened at least one 
half. He thinks that if any method can be 
devised for preserving the fruit from this 
destructive insect it will be an immense 
boon to the pomologist. In a Post Script, 
Mr. Cook adds, “ Having a leisure moment 
and not knowing whether you have ever 
been favored with a sight of one of these 
pests, I enclose three specimens with the 
hope that they will come to hand in good 
condition. And that you may have no doubt 
as to the genuineness of these, I will state 
that I have repeatedly taken the worms 
from the apple, put them in a glass jar 
where they remained during the transition 
which was from one to two weeks, accord¬ 
ing to the temperature of the weather. Thus 
what Mr. Cole conjectured we have dem¬ 
onstrated over and over, to be a fact, viz.; 
that some come out soon and produce a 
second generation the same season. * * * 
By the way I would like very much to as¬ 
certain how it is in other sections, whether 
they are on the increase or decrease.” 
D. C. 
The specimens came to hand in good or¬ 
der, and we at once recognized them as very 
familiar acquaintances. We have met them 
wherever we have traveled during many 
years past. Our impression is that they are 
not quite so abundant this year, as they were 
in 1854 and previously. They are the moths 
of the apple-worm, or rather a caterpillar, 
the insect that enters the apple itself is a 
true caterpillar. 
These moths are seen at various times 
during the month of June and July, gener¬ 
ally appearing first about the middle of June. 
They are sometimes seen in the evening 
trying to escape outward through the win¬ 
dow, having been brought into the house 
with the fruit, in the caterpillar state. They 
can be distinguished from all other moths by 
a large oval, brown spot, edged with bright 
copper color, on the hinder margin of each 
of the fore wings. The fore wings, when 
seen at a distance have the appearance of 
brown watered silk, upon which a close ex¬ 
amination show numerous gray and brown 
lines crossing each other. The head and 
thorax (chest) are grayish brown ; the abdo¬ 
men and hind wings, satin yellowish brown. 
The wings of the full grown moth expand 
three-fourths of an inch. 
During the evenings of June and July, 
these moths drop their eggs one by one in the 
eye or hollow of the blossom end of the fruit, 
where the skin is most tender. Early fruit 
