74 
JOURNAL  ON  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
July  23,  1903. 
Strawberries. 
The  Care  of  Runners  and  Making  New  Beds. 
There  is  a  natural  human  sentiment  about  the  keeping  of  an 
old  horse  or  an  old  dog  after  it  has  ceased  to  be  useful,  and  allow¬ 
ing  it  to  end  its  days  in  the  peaceful  retirement  of  kennel  or 
stable,  but  this  kind  of  feeling  must  not  be  extended  to  the 
Strawberry  bed,  no  matter  how  good  and  prolific  it  may  have 
been  in  its  best  days.  The  time  over  which  a  Strawberry  plant 
will  continue  bearing  depends  very  much  on  the  conditions  of 
culture  and  the  treatment  it  receives,  but  at  the  most  it  is  only  a 
few  years,  and  when  it  begins  to  show  signs  of  impaired  vitality, 
no  sentiment  or  friendly  feeling  should  prevent  its  being  done 
away  with  in  favour  of  a  younger  and  more  vigorous  edition  of 
its  ovm  self.  I  have  heard  of  a  Strawberry  bed  continuing  in 
good  bearing  for  as  long  as  ten  years,  but  this  was  under 
exceptional  circumstances,  and,  as  a  rule,  three  or  four  seasons  is 
the  limit. 
Perhaps  when  going  over  your  Strawberry  bed  this  summer 
to  pick  the  fruit  you  have  noticed  a  falling  off.  The  fruit  was 
not  so  plentiful,  nor  yet  so  fine  as  in  the  season  before,  and  here 
and  there  a  plant  has  succumbed  under  the  strain  of  bearing. 
These  are  the  signs  of  weakening  constitutions  and  impaired 
vitality,  and  when  they  appear,  depend  upon  it  that  the  best 
thing  IS  to  do  away  with  the  bed  after  all  the  fruit  has  been 
picked,  and  make  a  fresh  start.  By  careful  management  there 
need  be  no  shortage  while  the  young  plantation  is  establishing 
itself,  and  where  space  permits  it  is  a  good  arrangement  to  have 
three  beds,  so  that  when  one  is  going  off  and  doomed  to  destruc¬ 
tion,  you  have  another  in  full  bearing,  and  a  third  just  becoming 
established. 
But  before  consigning  a  batch  of  old  Strawberry  plants  to  the 
outer  darkness  of  the  rubbish  heap,  they  must  be  made  to  fulfil 
one  more  office,  namely,  the  supplying  of  young  plants  for  the 
future  bed.  There  seems  to  be  a  natural  desire  on  the  part  of  an 
old  Strawberry  plant  to  establish  its  kind  before  passing  from  the 
scenes  of  its  own  triumphs,  and,  therefore,  its  last  useful  act  is 
that  of  sending  out  numerous  runners,  which  follow  the  instincts 
of  nature  by  taking  root  and  establishing  themselves  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  parent. 
For  the  making  of  fresh  beds  many  people  content  themselves 
with  taking  up  these  rooted  runners  in  the  autumn  for  trans¬ 
planting,  but  in  garden  cultivation  it  is  a  slipslop  method  to 
say  the  best  of  it.  Plants  obtained  in  this  way  have  no  chance 
.of  becoming  established  before  the  winter  sets  in,  and  if  they 
manage  to  survive  the  latter  season,  they  only  produce  a  few 
straggling  flowers  the  next  .summer,  and  another  year  passes  away 
before  they  bear  anything  like  a  crop. 
If  circumstances  necessitate  the  formation  of  a  new  Straw¬ 
berry  bed,  follow  my  advice  and  go  to  a  little  trouble  over  the 
selection  and  treatment  of  the  runners,  on  the  assurance  that  you 
will  be  rewarded  in  the  end.  Fir.st  form  an  idea  of  the  number 
of  plants  you  will  require,  and  then  fill  sufficient  Sin.  pots  with 
a  mixture' of  loamy  soil  and  decayed  manure  in  equal  quantities, 
pressing  the  compost  in  firmly.  Select  sturdy  runners  at  once, 
that  are  just  emitting  roots,  and  fasten  them  on  to  the  surface 
of  the  soil  in  the  pots  by  means  of  small  wooden  pegs.  The  soil 
should  be  kept  moist  by  watering,  when  necessary,  until  the 
runners  are  rooted,  after  which  the  connection  between  them 
and  the  parent  plant  may  be  severed. 
The  next  best  method  to  the  above  is  to  cut  sods  of  turf  into 
pieces  about  Sin.  square.  These  should  be  well  soaked  with  water, 
and  placed  grass  side  downwards  near  the  plants,  the  runners 
being  pegged  on  to  them,  as  recommended  above.  The  turves 
must  be  kept  in  a  moist  state  by  watering  until  rooting  has  taken 
place.  Failing  either  pots  or  turves,  I  would  suggest  reducing 
the  runners  on  a  number  of  old  plants  to  say  half  a  dozen.  Then 
prick  up  the  soil  round  the  parents,  and  work  in  a  little  decayed 
manure  or  artificial  fertiliser.  By  this  means  the  young  plants 
will  root  ciuicker,  and  be  stronger  than  if  left  to  establish  them- 
.selves  as  be.st  they  can  in  the  hard  ground.  In  any  and  all  of 
the  above  operations  the  object  is  to  secure  strong  early  plants, 
and  these  obtained,  the  sooner  they  are  in  their  permanent 
quarters  the  better. 
In  the  work  of  planting,  however,  the  state  of  the  weather 
should  be  taken  into  con.sideration.  Though  an  advocate  of 
early  planting,  I  would  rather  wait  a  month  than  put  the  plants 
out  when  the  weather  is  hot  and  the  soil  dry  as  dust,  just  for  the 
sake  of  getting  them  in  by  a  certain  date.  Strawberries  planted 
in  moist  weather  in  August,  or  even  September,  have  an  infinitely 
better  chance  than  if  they  were  put  out  in  dry  soil  under  a  scorch¬ 
ing  July  sun,  and  by  waiting  for  suitable  conditions  the  labour 
of  watering  is  also  minimised. 
Deeply  cultivated,  rather  retentive  soil,  is  what  Strawberries 
rejoice  in,  and  by  the  time  the  plants  are  ready  to  go  out  there 
will  be  space  available,  as  early  vegetable  crops  will  be  removed. 
Ground  that  has  carried  a  crop  of  Potatoes  or  Peas  may  be  utilised 
for  Strawberries,  but  before  the  latter  are  planted  it  should  be 
deeply  dug,  and  a  dressing  of  well  decayed  manure  be  worked 
into  the  sub.soil.  Two  feet  apart,  and  the  same  distance  between 
the  rows,  may  be  allowed  in  planting,  and  if  the  runners  are  nicely 
rooted  in  pots,  all  that  is  needed  is  to  see  that  the  soil  is  moist 
before  they  are  turned  out,  and  then  plant  with  a  trowel  and  press 
the  soil  firmly  round  the  roots.  When  planting  care  should  be  taken 
,so  that  the  crown  of  the  plant  is  level  with  the  surface  of  the 
ground.  If  set  in  a  hollow  there  is  a  danger  of  the  croAvn  decay¬ 
ing  through  wet,  and  if  much  above  the  surface  it  is  likely  to 
suffer  equally  through  drought. 
Hot  and  dry  weather  after  planting  necessitates  watering  till 
the  Strawberries  are  well  established,  but  this  should  be  done 
either  early  in  the  morning  or  late  in  the  afternoon.  After 
cultivation  consists  of  stirring  the  soil  between  the  rows  with  the 
hoe,  and  if  any  of  the  plants  are  lifted  by  frost  in  the  winter,  they 
should  be  made  fiwn  and  secure  by  the  time  growth  commences 
in  the  spring. 
Provided  early  runners  are  obtained,  and  the  above  routine 
is  followed  under  favourable  conditions,  the  grower  w’ill  be 
rewarded  by  a  nice  little  crop  of  fruit  the  first  summer  after 
planting. — G.  H.  H. 
Notes  for  Exhibitors. 
Melons. — Splitting  of  the  fruits  is  often  a  source  of  much 
trouble  to  some  growers,  while  others  manage  to  avoid  it  almost 
entirely.  The  evil  is  brought  about  by  various  and  oppo.site  con¬ 
ditions  connected  with  culture.  No  one  can,  perhaps,  claim  com¬ 
plete  immunity  from  the  trouble,  but  undoubtedly  by  good 
management  it  can  be  reduced  to  a  minimum. 
Leaving  a  chink  of  air  on  the  top  ventilators  and  maintaining 
a  little  heat  in  the  hot-water  pipes  at  night,  and  during  dull  or 
wet  days,  are  generally  recognised  as  good  methods  to  adopt 
during  the  ripening  stage.  In  regard  to  the  application  of  water 
at  the  roots,  there  is,  however,  much  diversity  of  opinion,  and 
consequently  of  practice.  Some  cultivators  withhold  water 
entirely  after  the  fruits  show  signs  of  colour  over  the  greater  part 
of  their  surface. 
With  this  treatment  cracking  is  often  prevented,  e,specially. in 
the  case  of  varieties  which  ripen  quickly.  In  other  instances 
there  is  a  shrinkage  at  the  .stem  through  sheer  lack  of  moisture, 
but  this  “  drying  off  ”  process  is  certainly  not  productive  of  the 
highest  flavour  and  juiciness.  Another  practice  is  to  let  the  soil 
get  very  dry  and  then  give  a  little  water — “  just  enough  to  keep 
the  plant  going,”  as  it  is  often  put.  Well,  my  experience  has 
taught  me  that  this  is  the  least  effectual  of  all  methods  of  pre¬ 
venting  cracking,  because  under  the  influence  of  dryness  at  the 
root  the  sap  vessels  contract,  and  when  water  is  applied  the 
tender  skin  cannot  resist  the  pressure  and  therefore  splits. 
I  have  proved  over  and  over  again  that  it  is  not  really  necessary 
to  treat  Melons  on  starvation  lines  when  the  fruit  is  ripening  in 
order  to  prevent  cracking.  Given  healthy  plants  with  plenty  of 
root  action  and  a  little  growth  going  on  at  the  extremity  of 
shoots  carrying  a  fruit,  watering  may  be  continued  right  up  to 
the  time  of  cutting.  Then  if  the  fruits  are  placed  on  a  dry  warm 
shelf  for  a  few  hours  the  be.st  of  flavour  may  be  obtained. 
In  regard  to  watering,  it  must,  of  course,  be  performed 
judiciously,  but  the  soil  .should  get  very  little  drier  than  during 
the  growing  season,  while  the  fruits  are  swelling.  Sometimes 
the  weather  appears  likely  to  be  dull  throughout  the  day,  and 
under  such  conditions  the  plants  would  need  no  water  till  the  fol¬ 
lowing  morning ;  but  if  bright  sunshine  suddenly  occurs  those  in 
charge  should  bC'  on  the  alert  to  water,  and,  if  necessary,  to  shade 
for  an  hour  or  two. 
It  is  then  an  excellent  plan  to  partially  cut  through  the  shoot  s 
just  below  fruits  which  are  ripening.  When  exhibiting  in  single 
dish  classes,  where  the  decision  is  usually  decided  by  flavour, 
moderate  sized  fruits,  which  are  heavy  in  proportion  to  their 
size,  usually  win,  provided  they  have  been  cut  Avhen  in  ju.'-t  the 
right  condition  in  regard  to  ripeness. 
It  is,  however,  a  very  common  mistake  to  cut  such  deep  fleshed 
kinds  as  the  Hero  of  Lockinge  and  Countess  a  little  too  soon. 
They  require  to  be  thoroughly  ripe  before  they  gain  their  full 
flavour.  To  provide  beautifully  netted  samples  51b  or  Gib  in 
weight  for  collections  of  fruit,  two  or  three  fruits  only  .should  be 
allowed  to  develop  on  a  plant.  They  then  grow  quickly  froni 
.start  to  fini.sh,  whereas  heavy  cropping  causes  the  fruits  to  remain 
.stationary  for  a  long  time,  and  sometimes  to  become  hard  in  the 
skin. 
Figs. — Brown  Turkey  and  Negro  Largo  are  still  the  varietie,s 
generally  exhibited  early  in  the  season.  While  taking  their  l»t 
swelling  the  selected  fruits  should  be  fully  exposed  to  sunshine 
(by  tying  back  the  leaves),  and  the  atmosphere  of  the  house  kept 
fairly  dry  by  free  ventilation. 
