040 FRAG 
lay fome o'd tanners ba/k over the furface of the bed be- 
tween the plants to keep out the froft:: this care is abfo- 
lutely necelfary to the Chili Itrawberry, whiclt is fre¬ 
quently killed iq hard winters, where it is expofed with¬ 
out any .covering ; therefore where tanners’ bark cannot 
eafily be procured, fuw-duft or fea-coal allies may be 
ufed; or in want of thefe, if decayed leaves of trees, or 
the branches of ever-green-tiees with their leaves upon 
them, are laid over the beds, to prevent the froft from 
penetrating deep into the ground, it will fecure the plants 
from injury. The following fummer the plants lhould 
be conflantly kept clean from weeds, and all the runners 
fhould be pulled otf as fait as they are produced ; if this 
is conftantly praftifed, the plants will become very ftrong 
by the following autumn ; whereas when this is negledted 
(as is too frequently feen), and all the runners permitted 
to (land during the fummer feafon, and then pulled off 
in the autumn, the plants will not be half fo ftrong as 
thofe where that care has been taken; and there will not 
be tfbar the fame quantity of fruit upon them the follow¬ 
ing fpring, nor will the fruit be near fo large and fair; but 
where proper care is taken of the plants the firft fummer, 
there is generally a plentiful crop of fruit the fecond fpring. 
The old plants of ftrawberries are thofe which produce 
the fruit, for the fuckers feldom produce any till they 
have grown a full year ; therefore it appears how necef- 
fary it is to dived: the old plants of them; for wherever 
they are fuffered to remain, they rob the fruitful plants 
of their nourifliment in proportion to their number; for 
each of thefe fuckers fends out a quantity of roots, which 
interfere, and ate fo clofely matted together, as to draw 
away the greateft part of the nourifliment from the old 
roots, whereby they are greatly weakened ; thefe fuckers 
alfo render each other very weak, and hence is the caufe 
of barrennefs ; and it is always obferved, that ftrawber¬ 
ries planted on frefh land are the mod fruitful. 
The next thing to be obferved, is in autumn to dived: 
the plants of firings, or runners, and all the decayed 
leaves,, and clear the beds from weeds; then the paths 
fhould be dug up, and the weeds buried, and fome earth 
laid over the furface of the beds between the plants ; this 
will ftrengthen the plants, and prepare them for the fol¬ 
lowing fpring ; and if after this, there is fome old tanners’ 
bark laid over the furface of the ground between the 
plants, it will be of great fervice to them. In the fpring, 
after the danger of hard froft is over, the ground between 
the plants in the beds fhould be forked with a narrow 
three-pronged fork, to loofen it, and break the clods ; 
and in this operation, the tan which was laid over the 
furface of the ground in autumn will be buried, which 
will be a good drefling to the ftrawberries, efpecially in 
ftrong land; then about the end of March, or the begin¬ 
ning of April, if the furface of the beds is covered with 
mols, it will keep the ground moift, and prevent the dry¬ 
ing winds from penetrating the ground, and thereby fe¬ 
cure a good crop of fruit ; and the ntofs will preferve the 
fruit clean, that when heavy rains fall after the fruit is 
full grown, there will be no dirt waflied over them, which 
frequently happens, fo that the fruit nuift be wafhed before 
it is fit for the table, which greatly diminifhes its flavour. 
Where there are any hot walls erected in gardens for 
the producing early fruit, it is very common to fee ftraw¬ 
berries planted in the borders, that the fire which is ap¬ 
plied for ripening the fruit againft the walls, may alfo 
ferve the purpofe of bringing forward the ftrawberries; 
but where this is pradlifed, the ftrawbe.rry plants fhould 
■be annually renewed, taking up the plants as loon as their 
fruit is over, and all the earth of the borders lhould be 
taken out, at lead two feet deep, and frelh earth brought 
in, which will be equally good for the wall trees ; but, 
as was before obferved, that the old plants of ftrawberries 
only are thofe whiclt produce the fruit, there lhould be 
a fufficient number of plants brought up in pots, to fup- 
ply the border annuallyq and the fame mull be done if 
ARIA. 
they are to be raifed in a common hot-bed, or in (loves. 
The forts which are the molt proper for forcing early, 
are the fcarlet, the alpine, and the wood, ftrawberries, 
for the hautboy grows too large for this purpofe. Iu 
the choice of the plants, there lhould be a fpecial care 
taken to have them from the mod fruitful plants, and 
thofe which grow immediately to the old plants ; they 
lhould be taken off in autumn, and each planted in a 
feparate fmall pot filled with loamy foil, and placed in a 
lhady fituation till they have taken root; after which 
they may be removed to an open fituation, where they 
may remain till the middle or end of November, when 
the pots lhould be plunged into the ground up to their 
rims, to prevent the froft from penetrating through the 
fide of the pots ; if thefe are placed near a wall, pale, or 
hedge, expofed to an eaft afpecl, or north-eaft, they will 
fucceed better than in a warm fituation, becaufe they will 
not be forced too forward ; the only care they require, is 
to fecure them from being turned out of the pots after 
froft. The fpring following the plants will be fo far ad¬ 
vanced as to have filled the pots with their roots by the 
end of April, when they lhould be turned out of the pots, 
and their roots pared ; then planted into penny pots filled 
with the like loamy loll, and plunged into the ground in 
a lhady fituation, where they ftiould remain the following 
fummer ; during which time they mull be duly kept 
clean from weeds, and all the runners mull be taken off 
as fall as they are produced ; likewife if there ftiould be 
any flowers come out, they ftiould be pinched off, and 
not fuffered to bear fruit, which would weaken the plants, 
for there cannot be too much care taken to have the 
plants as ftrong aspoftible, that they may produce plenty 
of fruit, without which they are not worth the trouble 
of forcing. 
About the middle of Oclober, or earlier if the autumn 
proves cold, the pots ftiould be removed into a warmer 
fituation, to prepare them for forcing; for they fhould 
not be fuddenly removed from a very cold fituation im¬ 
mediately into the Hove or hot-bed, but be gradually pre¬ 
pared for it; but where they are defigned for the borders 
near a hot wall, they may then be turned out of the pots, 
and planted into the borders, that they may have time to 
get frelh rooting, before the fires are made to heat the 
wall ; when thefe are planted, they may be placed very 
clofe to each other; for as they are defigned to remain 
there no longer than till they have ripened their fruit, 
they will not require much room, as their roots will find 
fufficient nourifhment below, and alfo from the earth 
which is filled into the fpaces between the balls of earth 
about their roots : and it is of confequence to get as much 
fruit as pofiible in a fmall fpace, where there is an ex- 
penfe to force them early. If the fires are lighted about 
Chriftmas, the ftrawberries in thefe borders will be ripe 
the end of March; or, if the feafon fhould prove very 
cold, it may be the middle of April before they will be 
fit for the table. In the management of the plants there 
muft be care taken to fupply them with water when they 
begin to fhew their flowers, otherwife they will fall off 
without producing any fruit ; and, in mild weather, there 
ftiould be frefti air admitted to them every day; but as 
fruit-trees againft the wall nuift be fo treated, the fame 
management will agree with the ftrawberries. 
If the ftrawberries are intended to be forced in a ftove, 
where there are pine-apples, and no room to plunge them 
in the tan-bed, then the plants fhould be tranlplanted 
into larger pots in September, that they may be well 
rooted before they are removed into the ftove, which 
fhould not be till December; but, if they are placed un¬ 
der a frame the beginning of November, where they may 
be fereened from the froft, it will prepare the plants bet¬ 
ter for forcing; and thofe who are defirous to have them 
very early, make a hot-bed under frames, upon which 
they place their plants the latter end of Odlober, which 
will bring them forward to flower, and then they remove 
