230 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ October, 
after lie entered a new situation, liis employer pointed to some Strawberry-beds 
tliat bad been planted about twenty years, and the instructions given were tbat 
they were not to be disturbed. Tbe proper thing for the gardener to do under 
such circumstances would be to avoid argument, and at once take steps to make 
a new plantation in another part of the garden, asking pemiission to be allowed 
to purchase a number of plants of approved sorts. The Strawberry may be 
planted successfully at any season of the year, but experience tells us that the 
best time is the end of July, or any time in August. If strong runners can be 
obtained at that time, and the ground is well prepared by trenching and manur¬ 
ing, the plants, if well managed, ought to sustain no check to their growth, and 
will bear well the following season. A comparison can then be made between 
the two beds—the one not a year old, and the other containing plants that 
have been striving for a miserable existence for a score of years. The bed of 
young plants will contain fruit of large size, well developed, and of good quality; 
while the other will not bear the fourth part of a crop, and the fruit will be 
comparatively worthless. 
I will now as briefly as possible state the method to be followed to obtain the 
best results. To secure a good crop of fruit the first season after planting, the 
runners must be layered into small pots, in rich soil, composed of good loam two 
parts, and rotted stable-manure one part; old beds from a mushroom-house furnish 
as good a material as any. Place over the hole a bit of fibrous turf, and on this a 
pinch of soot; the soot is more especially useful to prevent the ingress of woims, 
when it is intended to cultivate the plants in pots. In two weeks after layering 
the young plants may be cut away from the parents, and after a week may be 
planted out permanently. Before planting them out, the under-sides of the 
leaves must be examined for any trace of red-spider; and if this insidious intruder 
is even suspected, the leaves must be dipped in a pail of soapy water, to which 
has been added half a pint of tobacco-liquor. The best way to do it is this :— 
Invert the pot, holding the fingers of one hand over the surface-mould, to prevent 
it falling into the pail; then with the other hand move the leaves for a second 
or two about in the water, and then lay the pot on its side, to allow the water 
to drain off from the leaves. 
The bed in which it is intended to put out the plants ought to be 
trenched at least two feet deep. At the bottom of the trench place a good 
layer of manure, and another layer about nine inches below the surface. If 
the soil is very light, it will be a great aid to the plants to place a spade¬ 
ful of compost, similar to that in which the plants were layered round the roots 
of each. After planting, if the weather continues dry, water freely until the 
plants are established. They will grow rapidly, and the ground must be kept 
free from weeds by frequent hoeing ; the runners also must be cut off as soon as 
they are perceived. As to the distance at which they ought to be planted, the 
dwarf-growing sorts should be 20 in. apart, and the more robust sorts 24 in. apart 
in each direction. 
