Jnly 23, 1886. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
61 
from the commencement. One of the greatest evils is in taking 
runners from the one vear-old plants for forcing. The runners 
weaken the parents, so that it is best to take runners from plants 
especially set apart for the purpose. I have heard it remarked 
often that the plants inputs always afford the largest fruits, and 
no wonder, as they have no strain upon them. Treat them fairly, 
and they will give fruit of the largest size and finest quality. 
SURFACE DRESSINGS. 
These are much neglected. I do not allude to dressings of 
decayed manure. Road scrapings, sidings, ditch and pond 
cleanings are very useful, but everybody seems to have given up 
scouring ditches and plashing hedges. We see few compost 
heaps nowadays mixed with a sixth to a tenth of lime and turned 
over a time or two. What a change such effects in the herbage 
of grass land, and in none more than Strawberries. The Straw¬ 
berry has its stems elougated more or less yearly through the 
growth being made at the top, and these stems, if stripped of the 
lower leaves, have a number of white points, which in a favourable 
medium form roots. Now, by giving a top-dressing of manuie, 
leaf soil, or other material the stems will push roots from the 
part buried, and the plants will in consequence be much invigo¬ 
rated. A surface dressing over the plants, as well as the ground, 
of fresh loam or the compost indicated above, free of weeds, in 
March is of considerable benefit, and an old practice fast becoming 
obsolete since the idea has begun to obtain that labour is a super¬ 
fluity in cultivation. Soil from the alleys or anywhere so as to 
cover the stems and allow of the embryo roots pushing has a 
considerable effect upon the health and continuance of the 
plantations. 
VARIETIES. 
There are now so many varie ies that it is extremely difficult to 
select the best for every description of soil and situation, and 
classing them is impossible, through the varieties being so 
much intermingled by cross-fertilisation. For general purposes 
they are best divided into early, midseason, and late. Twenty- 
four of the best are: — 
Bakly.— King of the Eavlies (Laxton), Yicomtesse Hericart 
de Thury, Ne Plus Ultra (Browsho), Sir Joseph Paxton (Bradley), 
Eclipse (Reeves), Duke of Edinburgh (Moffatt) Bothwell Bank 
Prolific Keens’ Seedling or Sir Harry (Underhill), which is best 
on light soil- 
Midseason.— President (Green'', Marshal MacMahon, Sir C. 
Napier (Smith), Marguerite (Lebretonl, James Veitch, Dr. Hogg 
(Bradley), Seedling Eliza (Rivers), La Constante (De Jonghe), 
British Queen only does well in some soils. 
L\te. —Crimson Queen (Myatt), Oxonian, Loxford Hall 
Seedling (Douglas), Filbert Pine (Myatt), on light soils a good 
substitute for British Queen, Frogmore Late Pine (Ingram), 
Anna de Rothschild, Eleanor (Myatt). Elton (Knight). 
Hautbois. —Belle Bordelaise (Prolific Hautbois), Royal 
Hautbois (Rivers), Ama'eur (Bradley), stated to have a distinct 
smack of Hautbois is difficult to detect. 
Three of the best Strawberries, one of each class.—King of 
the Ecirlies, President, and Oxonian Six, two of each class.— 
King of the Earlies and Eclipse, President and Dr. Hogg, 
Oxonian and Elton. Nine, three of each class.—King of the 
Earlies, Eclipse, and Bothwell Bank Prolific; President, Sir vj- 
Rapier, and Dr. Hogg; Oxonian, Crimson Queen, and Elton. 
Twelve, four of each class.—King of the Earlies, Eclipse, Duke 
of Edinburgh, and Sir Joseph Paxton; President, Sir C. Napier, 
Dr. Hogg, and Marshal MacMahon; Oxonian, Crimson Queen, 
Eleanor, and Elton Amy Robsart and Pauline are good early 
sorts Of late Enchantress is large and fine. Bicton Pine is the 
ouly white fctrawberry worth growing, and does well on light 
soils 
Perpetual or continuous bearing sorts are considered to have 
merits, but l think the one-full crop and-over are much the best 
for general purposes. Of this class is Early Prolific (Roden), 
Amateur (Bradley), and The Captain (Laxton). They are con¬ 
sidered good for market purposes. The best market sorts are 
King of the Earlies, President, Sir C. Napier, and Oxonian. 
These are Mr. R. Gilbert’s, of Burghley Gardens, selection, and 
I can vouch for their being first rate All the varie'ies named 
in the selections are useful market sorts, having fine colour, firm 
flesh, and good quality. Vicomtesse Hericart de Thury is omitted 
from the selections, because it is considered superseded by King 
of the Earlies. It is, however, a capital sort and very productive, 
but it did not succaed with me on light soil. 
The best on light soil I found to be Sir Harry, President, Sir 
Joseph Paxton, and Filbert Pine(Myatt’s Seedling). Of varieties 
not inc'uded in the selection mention should be made of Sir John 
Falstaff, fine handsome fruit, very bright in colour, and a great 
cropper, it is a fine market sort Unzer Fritz, glossy crimson, 
solid, and rich, often very large. Kitley’s Goliath, hardy, 
vigorous, great cropper, fine market sort. Fidbasket is also a 
great cropper. Nimrod, large and fine, deep scarlet, often con¬ 
founded with Eleanor. Souvenir de Kieff, after La Constante, 
better grower, great cropper, shining red skin, a taking sort of 
excellent flavour. Cockscomb, very large and very good quality. 
Early Crimson Pine, telling colour and heavy cropper. 
Varieties with smaller compact foliage are—Mammoth, very 
large, prolific, and hardy. Lucas, large, capital quality, produc¬ 
tive. Gipsy Queen, large and prolific. Carolina Superba, large, 
of the British Queen race, hardy, and excellent. Marguerite 
also has small foliage. 
Varieties with very large fruit—Empress Eugenie, Marguerite, 
Mammoth, James Veitch, Eleanor, and Enchantress. Due de 
Malakoff his very large fruit, very dull bad c lour, but capital 
quality. It is very different from the variety grown so exten¬ 
sively about Liverpool under that name for forcing, which is a 
very fine form of Vicomtesse Hericart de Thury or Garibaldi 
British Queen, Dr. Hogg, and Cockscomb are the very best of 
the large Strawberries. 
For culinary or preserving purposes Deptford Pine, The 
Sultan, Newton’s Seedling, Oxonian Eleanor, and Elton. 
Pioneer, Gipsy Queen, and Oscar may be mentioned as having 
nearly black fruit. Good packers are Oscar, Gipsy Queen, and 
The Countess All the kinds in the selections have firm flesh 
and are good packers. 
ALPINE STRAWBERRIES. 
These are best raised from seed, which should be saved from 
the best plants, giving the most prolific crop and finest fruits. 
It may be sown so soon as ripe, or in July either in pans or a 
sheltered spot outside. Any good light soil will suit them, 
sowing in shallow drills about 3 inches apirt and covering lightly 
with fine soil. If in pans, place in a frame; in any case keep 
them moist The plants will appear within a month. Keep 
those in pans well up to the light; ha' den and prick them off 
about 3 inches apart outdoors ; shading and keeping moist until 
esta 1 dished. Outdoor plants may be treated similarly. They 
may be transferred to their permanent quarters when they have 
made four to six leaves. They may be planted in rows a foot 
apart and the same distance asunder in the rows, every fifth row 
being left out. The plants should have a mulching of leaf soil 
before sharp weather sets in. They will fruit the following year. 
Seeds are, however, mostly sown in February or March under 
glass, pricking off and growing on in gentle heat, and hardening 
off so as to plant out early in June. I he plants will give fruit 
in autumn. The runners should be kept off the seedlings, none 
being allowed to grow, only the first for stock if wanted. Mulch¬ 
ings of partially decayed leaves or manure are necessary, and 
very copious supplies of water in dry weather. They are very 
often grown on north borders with a view to affording a late 
supply of fruit. They are, however, best flavoured in the open. 
Plants grown in pots are fine for decoration, seedlings from a 
spring sowing fruiting until a late period in a cool house, but are 
best flavoured in gentle heat with a free circulation of air. 
There are only the red and white varieties, the variety of the 
ter—viz., Blanche d’Orleans, being larger and very prolific. 
Bush Alpine does not produce runners. 
ENEMIES. 
Snails and slugs are very troublesome in Strawberry planta¬ 
tions. There is no better remedy than dusting with quicklime 
in the early stages of growth in spring and after the crops are 
gathered. The best preventives are dressings of nitrate of soda, 
gas lime, soot and lime prior to putting in the plants. Millipedes 
are very troublesome in some soils. Where these pests abound 
some Potatoes cut in halves, and placed in the mulching about 
the plants before the fruit begins to ripen will attract them, and 
a stick being thrust in each bait they can readily be examined, 
the stocks serving as indicators, and the millipedes destroyed. 
The grubs of the spotted garden gnat (Tipula maculosa) are 
sometimes very destructive, cutting off the flower stalks close to 
the ground. Handpicking is the only remedy, the pest usually 
being ensconced in the Soil near where it commits its depreda¬ 
tions. There are also grubs or larvae that feed on the roots. 
Ammoniacal liquor diluted with six times its bulk of wa' er seems 
the only cure for them. Caterpillars sometimes eat the foliage, 
they are removed by handpicking and squeezing. The worst 
pest of all is mice. If the gardener is near where game is pre¬ 
served, and cats and weasles are not allowed to live I pity him. 
Grass mice will eat all the best fruit —i e., the seeds, collecting the 
fruit in heaps, nipping the fruit off. Have piifall traps in 
winter, and in summer small steel spring traps, the table baited 
with crust or hard cheese. Rats are great devourers of Straw- 
