1884.] 
THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 
THE MAT KING STEAWBEEHY ' 
AiioUioi- new camlidalo for nni.r' „ 
and supremacy in the field and 
this time is the May King StrawhenTio'; 
represei>t,ed ,n our life-like illustratiS, I 
IS now first oftered by John 1'. Colli„« o 
Moorestown, N. J., who says ■ ’ ^ 
-Of Strawberriesi„ fmiMl.o past season, 
the best that I saw, taking all points into 
considemhon, was the May King, a seedling 
raised by Ihomas Zanc, of Camden Countv 
N. J., from seed of tho Crescent, and ho 
claims it earlier than the Crescent. 
“The vino is very vigorous anil hoaltliy 
productive, with perfect blossoms ; tlio beri 
ries are of largo size, very bright scarlet 
color, and of best quality. 
“Thomas Zane had ouo-quarter acre in 
fruiting this season on sandy loam, moder¬ 
ately rich soil, from which he picked. May 
24th, 12 quarts, and during the season 
1822 quarts, which sold 
at wholesale for $330. 
“ I never saw a finer 
crop of nice fruit than 
of this variety, and in¬ 
tend to plant it largely 
for fruiting for market, 
and do not hesitate to 
recommend it either as 
a profitable market ber¬ 
ry or one that will give 
best satisfaction to am- 
atem-s.” 
209 
GEAPE CUTTINGS, 
Of the difllerent fruits, 
Raspberries and Grapes 
only give me eomiilete 
satisfaction. These 
never fail to yield a full 
crop, and I find it no 
trouble to secure a 
healthy growth of wood. 
A Pear, Plum, Peach, 
or an Apple orchard, or 
a Strawberry patch, I 
can maintain only at 
the price of unceasing 
vigilance. 
I propagate Grapes 
entirely by cuttings, 
and have always had 
highly satisfactory re¬ 
sults. The plan I have 
pursued during the past 
two or three years is this; I take the cut¬ 
tings either at the time when I prune the 
vines in autumn (which is the easier and 
better plan) or later. If I select them at the 
former time, I plant them at once. Roi’ ffds 
purpose a rich, loamy, warm soil is neces¬ 
sary ; and it must not bake or crack. If the 
cuttings are not made at the time of pruning, 
I pack them in damp earth in tho cellar. It 
will do as well to place them in the open 
ground, if they are protected from freezing. 
They are thus allowed to remain till spimg, 
when they are planted out. 
The best soil for cuttings is a ligkt, poious 
one; and I have to make mine so by e 
addition of sand. To plant, open a trenc 
six or seven inches deep. This can he one 
with a single diamond plow; hut e er, 
though slower, work is done with a s ove . 
It is a good plan to stretch a line and ma e 
the trench along one side of it. The si e o 
the trench nearest the line should s ope 
toward it at a coiisirtorablo juiglo. 'J'hi,s 
work IS done as soon as the soil can ho 
stirred m the spring. Tlio cuttings are laid 
against the sioping side, five or six inches 
apart, and placed so that the upper hud is 
just below the level of the surface. I then 
U! rciieli till tho dirt comes above the 
owor bud, and make it solid. I then take a 
light spadeful of fine earth and press it 
against the cuttings, covering all but the 
top. Tills dirt should be patted with tho 
back of tho spado till it is quite compact, 
and should then form a layer about half an 
inch thick. Tho trench is loft in this con¬ 
dition-p.artly open-till tho beginning of 
the growing season. Then the side of tho 
trench next the cuttings is given a liberal 
application of fine, well-rotted manure. Tho 
filling of it is completed with tho hoe or 
cultivator in rooting out tho first foreign 
growth which appears. But if the weather 
sand. 'I’liey are covered to a depth of half 
an inch. The sand is kept moist, and as 
roots are produced more slowly and at a 
lower temperature than leaves, at a tem¬ 
perature of 40° or 150°, to encourage the 
growth of roots. The air above the sand 
should be several degrees yet colder. After 
a sufliciont root formation has formed, the 
temperature of the sand is gradually raised. 
When tho plants have made a gi-owth of two 
or three inches they are “potted off,” which 
must be done two or three times during the 
summer, each time using larger pots; or 
the plants may bo put in a cold frame and 
gradually hardened till they can hear ex¬ 
posure. 
“ Mallet cuttings” are made by leaving a 
short section of the older wood attached to 
the cutting, or by using strong laterals with 
a portion of the cane attached. This requires 
much wood, as only one cutting can he made 
of each shoot or later¬ 
al. The only advantage 
mallet cuttings have 
over ordinary ones is 
that in the case of light 
cuttings the mallet in¬ 
creases the probabil¬ 
ities of success, as it 
furnishes additional 
material for the needs 
of preliminary growth. 
•JoHir M. Stahl. 
THE MAY KING STRAWBERRY. 
is droughty (which is not the case here one 
spring in ten, however), I fill the trench 
sooner. I make the trenches oast and west, 
with the slope facing tho sun. This I con¬ 
sider a point of considerable importance. 
Cuttings must bo of well-ripened wood. 
Some say to take large ones, but I prefer a 
medium size. They may h.avo only one bud, 
or as many as can be cut on a groivth of six 
inches. Perhaps two or three buds are tho 
best numbers. Cut immediately below the 
lower bud and about an inch above the 
upper one. Make a smooth, slanting cut, 
on the side opposite the bud. Cuttings of 
single buds are generally made when wood 
is scarce, or when the variety to be propa¬ 
gated is rare and valuable; but such cuttings 
are often made when common varieties are 
to be propagated extensively. 
With cuttings of a single bud I have not 
had so much experience. They are placed 
horizontally (end upward) in clean, sharp 
FALL PLANTING 
STEAWBEEEIES. 
To the question. What 
are the wants of the 
Strawberry when plant¬ 
ed in the fall ? the vet¬ 
eran Strawberry-grow¬ 
er, M. Crawford, of Ohio, 
answers as follows: 
“ Now, what are the 
wants of the Straw¬ 
berry when planted in 
the fall ? The soil for 
the Strawberry should 
be rieh and moist, but 
not wet. It matters 
not whether it be sand, 
clay, or muck, so that 
it furnishes anchorage 
for the plant and con¬ 
tains an abundance of 
the elements necessary 
to its growth. It should be stirred to a good 
depth, but little or no poor subsoil should be 
brought to the surface. It is well to have it 
prepared some little time in advance, so that 
it may have time to settle somewhat before 
the plants are set. The surface should be 
rich. This is especially important with fall- 
set plants, as their roots have comparatively 
little time to go far in search of food. 
“There is another advantage in encourag¬ 
ing sui-face roots; they are not drawn out 
nor broken by the expansion of the water in 
the soil when it changes to ice, but rise and 
fall with the ground. Roots that run deep 
are apt to be broken or drawn out—as Red 
Clover — while White Clover roots remain 
uninjured, although frozen and thawed a 
dozen times. If the soil has been enriched 
for a previous crop, so much the better; but 
if not, well-decomposed stable manui'e may 
be worked into the surface either before or 
after setting the plants. ” 
