500 
September 26. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
children,” before you cun possibly enter the kingdom of God! 
You must understand the meaning of John Henry’s letter, 
or else you are not in a safe state; nay, not even in the road 
that leads to it! “ Do not err, my beloved brethren; ” a 
mighty work must be done; a mighty change must take place 
before you can say “ I look to Christ by faith:' You may 
look by custom, by the precept of men, by the talk of the 
lips; but you must be wholly and effectually converted to 
to God, when you can look to Christ by faith. 
APIARIAN'S CALENDAR— October. 
By J. H. Payne, Esq., Author of “ The Bee-Keeper's 
Guide," tie. 
Presuming the directions given in the Calendar for Sep¬ 
tember as to unions and feeding have been attended to, but 
little attention will be required this month, beyond guarding 
against depredations of wasps, which are unusually numerous 
this season. 
Winter Preparations. —Glasses, small hives, and boxes, 
should now all be removed from stock-hives, where it can be 
done without reducing the store below twenty pounds ; the 
stocks should be also well defended against wet for tbe 
winter. The stands, likewise, where wood is used, should be 
examined ; and if found to be at all unsound replaced with 
new ones. 
The Moors. —Where bees are kept in the vicinity of the 
moors, or where they have been removed to them, an 
abundant supply of honey will be obtained from the heather 
during this unusually fine weather, an advantage quite un¬ 
known to the bee-keeper’s of the eastern counties. 
W.\srs—I find that for destroying wasp’s nests, gas-tar is 
even better than turpentine, and their destruction effected 
with much less trouble; it being only necessary to put a 
small quantity into the mouth of the nest and cover it with 
earth, digging out the nest, or anything further being done, 
is quite unnecessary. 
THE STRAWBERRY—ITS PROPAGATION AND 
CULTURE. 
- I am induced to write and publish this short treatise on 
the above subject, in compliance with the numerous appli¬ 
cations I have had to do so, and also having just introduced 
to the public my seedling Strawberry, “Sir Harry," which 
has made its own way with such unrivalled success, without 
any effort on my part, other than exhibiting it this season; 
the fruit speaking for itself. 
The Strawberry, the Latin name of which is “Fragaria,” 
supposed to be significant of its fragrance, is indigenous to 
Britain, and, in its wild state, is chiefly found in woods and 
| shrubby banks, and very small in size. It grows in great 
abundance on the rocky mountains in Norway. 
till.within the last thirty years, but little attention was 
paid to its cultivation, and there was not above five or six 
sorts known; the largest of these was the Haulbois , so called 
from being originally found in the high hois, or woods of 
Bohemia. Now, by crossing, change of climaLe, and situation, 
there are, and have been, ns many hundreds, for they can be 
multiplied infinitively by skilful inoculation of the varieties. 
Till lately, Keen’s Seedling ranked first as an early Straw¬ 
berry, both for bearing and flavour, and Myall's British 
Queen for a later crop. To the cultivation of these two sorts 
I have, for many years (as an amateur grower), bestowed 
much care and attention, and with such success, as always 
to take the first prize at our local exhibitions. Of course, I 
have grown many other sorts, but, on testing their qualities, 
I have at once removed them from my garden. 
My mode of cultivation is to fix on a piece of ground 
entirely free from shade. About the beginning of July, I 
commence preparing it, by manuring thoroughly, and if the 
soil be light, I add some marl, as most Strawberries are 
fond of a stiff, loamy soil, for the latter tends to throw them 
into bearing, instead of leaf. When the ground is dug, and 
the plants ready, tread it well where they are to be planted. 
Choose runners with short roots ; indeed, those that have 
scarcely tasted the soil are to be preferred, as they more 
readily shoot into the ground, and there is nothing after¬ 
wards to check their progress, though care should be taken 
to plant them a little below the surface, pressing the soil 
firmly to the roots, yet the heart must not be covered with 
earth, and if the weather be not rainy, they will require 
water. I he second, third, or fourth runners, or even runners 
from either of them, will bear equally with the first runner. \ 
The great object is early planting, so as to get your plants ! 
well and deeply rooted before frost sets in ; otherwise the | 
frost, by raising the soil, would raise the plants with it, then 
comes a thaw, the soil sinks, and leaves the plants worse i 
than fresh transplanted, nay, almost out of the ground. : 
Again, by early planting you obtain the finest and largest 
fruit the first year, but the greatest crop the second year. * 
Then directly root up your plants, and on no account keep 
them for a third year. Indeed, for quality alone, an annual 
replanting is best. 
It rarely happens in a prolific sort, by this early mode of 
cultivation, that two plants out of a hundred miss fruiting, but 
should they fail doing so the first year, the finer their fruit 
will bo the next, though some persons have the absurd idea 
they are barren, and throw them away as worthless. To 
strengthen your young plants, they should be deprived of 
all their autumnal runners as they make their appearance, 
for they necessarily weaken the parent. 
Strawberry-beds should always be kept entirely free from 
weeds, the plants as distinct as when first planted out, but 
April is the best time for removing the old leaves and refuse; | 
for if cleaned earlier in the spring, a severe frost, that some- ! 
times occurs in March, cuts oft' the tender shooting leaves, 
which, otherwise, would be sheltered and protected from it. 
In the autumn, when you have taken sufficient runners 
for your new plantations, clear the old roots of all that 
remain. When the beds are cleaned in the spring, some 
rotten manure should be put over the surface, and great ad¬ 
vantage will arise from it, as the rains will wash the good¬ 
ness of the manure to the fibrous roots, or you may give 
some weak liquid-manure. Guano will be found to be, 
perhaps, the best, but this must be used sparingly, as few 
may be found to apply it with a sufficiently light hand. 
Strawberry-beds must never be dug or forked amongst, 
for by doing so you destroy a number of fibrous roots which 
the plant requires to mature fine fruit, and the soil is alsa 
so loosened, that in the fruiting season the hot sun more 
easily penetrates to the roots (which require to be kept 
cool), to the great injury of the fruit. 
When*the fruit commences setting, and until the first 
berries begin to change colour slightly, you may apply to 
the roots any quantity of water, perhaps the more the better; 
but when that change takes place, the beds cannot be kept 
too dry, or the flavour of your fruit will be impaired. One 
great object in giving plenty of water is, that in dry weather 
land will crack, and such roots of the plants which cross 
the opening are broken, or so much strained and injured, 
as to be of little or no service afterwards. Now, the watering 
will prevent this dividing of the ground. When the berry 
is about half-grown, commence putting some loose straw 
between the plants in the row, and then spread some clean 
wheat straw between the rows about an inch thick, or you 
may take the cleanest of stable litter, well shaken, for both 
purposes. This prevents your fruit from being damaged 
by the grit and soil which would be washed up with heavy 
rains, keeps the ground cool, and tends to give that air of 
cleanliness, neatness, and order, without which a good 
article loses half its value. If the strawing be delayed till 
the berry is getting ripe, you may chance to bruise it, and a 
ripe Strawberry bruised or handled never recovers its 
beauty. It is, perhaps, the most perishable and tender of 
all ripe fruit. 
The methods practised by many persons of putting the 
mowings of their grass plots round their plants should be 
avoided as decidedly bad, for it is better to have the fruit 
damaged by grit than spoiled by mould. Even the name 
of the plant suggests the use of the straw. 
The proper distance for planting the best and largest 
sorts is two feet each way. 
Frogs and toads shouh^be encouraged, they seek the beds 
for shade, and subsist upon snails, blackbats, and other 
insects that so frequently disfigure and destroy the finest of 
the fruit. If a Strawberry grower will observe a frog or j 
