STRAWBERRIES. 
253 
STRAWBERRIES—THE SECRET OF GROWING 
THIS FRUIT SIX MONTHS CONTINUOUSLY. 
This secret has been discovered and prac¬ 
tised by Charles F. Peabody, of Columbus, Geor¬ 
gia, one of the editors of the “Soil of the South,” 
for several years, not as a theory or mere ex¬ 
periment, nor accidental production, but as a 
science—a study of time, successfully carried 
out for profit; for he sends his market wagon 
into the city loaded with this rich luxury from 
March till September; and last year, his vines 
continued to ripen fruit until Christmas. 
What is the secret ? our fair readers exclaim. 
What new variety ? No other than Hovey’s 
seedling, impregnated by early scarlet, and 
never manured , but kept continually moist by 
artificial watering; for which purpose, he uses 
a garden engine. 
For four years, Mr. P. cultivated the same va¬ 
riety in rich garden mould, manuring liberally 
every year, and at any time during summer 
could have mowed a heavy swath of green lux¬ 
uriant vines, which would have made very good 
hay, but that was not what he wished to grow. 
Failing to get fruit by garden culture, he com¬ 
menced the experiment which for six years has 
proved so eminently successful. He cleared off 
a strip of low land along a little rivulet, the soil 
of which is coarse sand and loose gravel, inter¬ 
mixed with clay slightly, and of course covered 
with forest mould, digging out the roots of a 
thick growth of bushes sufficiently prepared 
the land. The vines were then set in rows, six 
of Hovey and one of scarlet, and the surface 
has never been disturbed since by spade or hoe, 
except so far as going over the ground once or 
twice a-year to cut out here and there a decay¬ 
ing vine or bunch of grass or weeds—few of 
which, however, in consequence of using no 
manure, ever make their appearance; neither do 
the plants run to vines, spreading all over the 
surface every year as they did in the garden. 
The whole strength seems to be exerted for the 
production of large rich berries to such a degree 
that the ground is red with fruit, not green with 
leaves ; and this not upon a little plat, but over 
a field of five acres. 
And does he never manure them 1 is undoubt¬ 
edly asked by every tyro in the business of 
growing strawberry vines, Mr. Peabody grows 
roots, stems, and fruit. I repeat, he never ma¬ 
nures, never digs the ground nor turns under the 
old roots to give place to new ones. In autumn, 
he gives a light dressing of the Surface soil of 
the forest, and covers the ground with leaves; 
these remain until decayed, and serve to keep 
the berries clean during the long bearing sea¬ 
son. This, and the watering every hot day 
when it does not rain, is the great secret of 
growing strawberries, not only six months, but 
last year he actually had them upon his table 
every month but two—January and February. 
Of course, at the north, the bearing season could 
not be of equal duration, but it may by greatly 
extended by the same course of cultivation. 
Solon. 
HEMP COTTON. 
Mr. George C. Davis has exhibited in Louis¬ 
ville, Kentucky, a specimen of hemp prepared 
in such a manner that it resembles flax cotton, 
and seems equally well adapted for the manu¬ 
facture of textile fabrics with that new article. 
The process of Mr. Davis is much more simple, 
quicker done, and less expensive than M. Claus- 
sen’s, and he thinks the cost of preparation 
will not exceed half a cent a pound, which will 
enable hemp growers to compete with cotton, 
and manufacturers to choose between cotton, 
flax, or hemp, at about the same prices. Per¬ 
haps the same process applied to the cotton 
stalks may produce similar results, as well as 
several other fibrous plants, hitherto considered 
worthless. 
We believe the discovery of a new method 
of preparing fibrous plants for the manufac¬ 
turer is destined to work a revolution in trade 
at no distant day. 
Names of Plants.— The importance of having 
all plants, including fruit trees, properly named, 
even in small gardens, cannot be too clearly 
pointed out. A plant may have beautiful foliage 
and flowers, but without a name, it yields com¬ 
paratively little interest. Every plant has a his¬ 
tory of its own, and the first step towards ob¬ 
taining a knowledge of that history is its name; 
the next, its native country. A garden of plants 
without names is like a library of books with¬ 
out their exterior superscriptions. 
Sense of Hearing in the Horse.— The hear¬ 
ing of the horse is remarkably acute. A thou¬ 
sand vibrations of the air, too slight to make 
any impression on the human ear are readily 
perceived by him. It is well known to every 
hunting man, that the cry of hounds will be 
recognised by the horse, and his ears will 
be erect, and that he will be all spirit and 
impatience, a considerable time before the 
' rider is conscious of the least noise .—The Horse 
^ and his Rider. 
